Cigars 101, Part 3, a true, hands on art!

Is a smoke (Rudyard Kipling). Smoking has been around since the beginning of time but insofar as more recent times the home of both rum and cigars - a wonderful combination - remains the Caribbean. If you can't find a Cuban, you might try an expatriate smoke like one from Gran Papi Rodriguez and Family in Key West.
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Capn Jimbo
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Cigars 101, Part 3, a true, hands on art!

Post by Capn Jimbo »

Most people have no idea...


... the tremendous hands-on artistry involved in entirety of growing tobacco and the making of a fine cigar. Rather than blather about it, let me just carry you through a bit of it.

1. First though you need to know that unlike wheat, rye, barley, grapes, et al that benefit from rich soil, tobacco grown for cigars likes really poor soils. These exist mostly in the Caribbean, but especially in Cuba. The kind of soil there is sandy, loose, grainy and reddish: full of iron and other minerals. Perhaps you've heard of this unique region, called Vuelta Abajo.

FYI, although tobacco is also grown in Virginia, Kentucky and really all over the world, these tobaccos are not suitable at all for cigars.

2. The first step in September is planting seeds, in special beds near the main farming building, as they require intense daily attention. Linear mounds of earth about 3 feet wide are created, and the seed is spread by hand by the vigueros (growers). It can't be spread too thinly (wasting planting space) or too densely (the babies will fight each other and grow excessive roots). Most of them will ultimately be discarded.

4. The seeds are covered with straw or loose cloth to protect them from the hot sun, but which allow water to pass through. They are watered by hand. After about ten days, the straw or cloth is removed and replaced twice a day, morning and late afternoon, to allow light sun, but to still avoid the hot midday sun. Insects are a huge and ever present danger, so insecticides are used as needed during this critical stage.

5. By mid-October the delicate seedlings are ready to be carefully picked (preserving their root systems), moved, and transplanted to the main growing fields. Again, all is done by hand. The main fields have been plowed and readied by adding calcium carbonate (for needed acidity), and fertilized with bat guano or manure, along with some commercial fertilizers. The babies must be moved very quickly to new homes in 3 inch deep furrows, and planted a few inches apart.

All by hand.

6. As the babies grow they are regularly cultivated and fertilized - again by hand - and they start to grow very rapidly toward full height of about five feet tall. Still the hand-work continues and actually intensifies.

7. Now comes the culling. Ultimately the plants need about two feet of space, which means that the weaker, lesser plants must be culled (removed). Everyday the vigueros walk the field and remove growing plants to leave only the best, about one every two feet. All by experienced hand and eye.

8. And there's more! Now come the "pinching". The tip tops of the plants and the flowers that grow there are pinched using a crisp movement so as to break them off (and not tear them). Tearing weakens the plant. In this fashion, the energy of the plant is directed toward the lower leaves. This "debudding" is called "repasar" (removing suckers). And once again, this is all by hand.

The vigueros are actually very skilled people who have the experience to know which plants will be most likely to grow well and to produce the finest tobaccos. I'll stop here, but the handiwork is just beginning. Even thus far, the planting and growing of the tobacco plants is a completely hands-on, 24/7 project. It cannot be done by machine and it isn't.

Good vigueros are paid well and are valued employees. The ultimate product and reputation of the cigar company depends on them. Stay tuned...
Last edited by Capn Jimbo on Sun Aug 02, 2015 4:38 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by da'rum »

What makes a good cigar tobacco Jimbo? The variant? Or cultivation method?
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

da'rum wrote:What makes a good cigar tobacco Jimbo? The variant? Or cultivation method?
This is a bit of the blind leading the blind, but all of the above plus perhaps the most important element - the terroir (which unlike cane, is VERY important). Cuba's tobacco growing regions are quite unique (see #1 above) and this is why Cuban cigars - while sometimes not having the very best construction - are still the most valued. Of these Cuban growing areas, the Vuelta Abajo region of Cuba is primo (and where Cohiba - Fidel's Favorite - are made).

After Fidel took over, a great number of Cuban cigar makers left, at first to Honduras (due to its similar climate) but also with many moving to the Dominican Republic. Although Honduran and Dominican tobacco are both well regarded, the earth and environments were different enough that even though they used smuggled Cuban seed, the makeup of the soils just wasn't the same. Over the years some growers have actually taken steps to modify the Dominican fields' soil in an attempt to duplicate the Cuban makeup, with some success. But it still isn't the same.

Tobacco destined for pipes or cigarettes is grown in very different, rich soil and the planting and harvesting is quite different, and mass produced. Much is Virginia Brightleaf. Unlike cigar tobacco (Cuba's Criollo), these are just briefly cured, and are not fermented or aged. No real attention is paid to any individual plant or leaf. It's like growing wheat.

Personally I had the great pleasure of smoking an authentic Cuban cigar (a Cohiba I recall) with a good friend, and accompanied by a bottle of a good single malt. How was it? God only knows, thanks to the single malt, lol...


Factoid: The Vuelta Abajo is about 10 miles wide by 90 miles long, about 576,000 acres and is home to the finest tobaccos in Cuba (there are five regions). Of that Cohiba's tobaccos are grown in just 700 acres, and only half of that - 350 acres - ends up in these rare cigars.



*******
http://howtogrowtobacco.com/forum/
(I spotted this site some months ago when researching how to grow coffee and tobacco)
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatu ... Fidel_6005
(An interview with Fidel about Cuban cigars and his personal favorite)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohiba_%28cigar_brand%29
(About the revered Vuelta Abajo region, and the five extra special and secret fields chosen to make the Cuban Cohiba)
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Post by da'rum »

I have smoked quite a few Cuban cigars from low to mediumly expensive. I, for the most part, wasn't convinced of their superiority. I have been told that I must spend big and age to get the ultimate Cuban cigars experience. I assume though that if I spent good money on a non Cuban my experiences would be similar. That won't probably ever happen.
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

And another thing, lol...


...and this may help answer your questions too, as there is still much more handiwork to go. Next up: the mature plant, the different leaves and harvesting, and again all by hand.
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Harvesting by hand. The hands on art continues...


So now we have fields of carefully cultivated and well-protected growing tobacco plants. These still require 24 hour attention as insects and diseases like blue mold can strike very quickly, sometimes even overnight!

Thus the individual plants and leaves must be examined constantly, and even that is much harder than you'd think. Often the bugs are hiding on the bottom of the leaves, which must be carefully lifted and "spritzed" with a hand sprayer if needed.

Dampness is the enemy and can cause fungus, mold and rot. Thus watering is done via ground level hose/soakers that avoid wetting the leaves.


Finally, it's time to harvest!


But first we need to discuss the actual leaves of tobacco. For purposes of picking the plant really is divided into zones (and a few sub-zones). The top of the plant is the "corona" and "semi-corona" (just a bit lower). These leaves are smaller, get the most sun, and tend to be darker, a bit harsher and stronger. They are destined for filler. At the bottom - the "velado" leaves - are lighter and lack flavor, and thus are used for binders. The very best tobaccos are in the center or "seco". The seco section is subdivided into the upper middle (centro gordo), the finest, middle middle (centro fino) and the lower middle (centro ligero). These are the primo leaves that will end up as wrappers or the finest of fillers.

If this isn't complicated enough, some special tobaccos are grown under cloth (to reduce sun exposure). These low light tobaccos have their own set of names. Further, damaged leaves are also graded. So what happens now?

The vigueros (growers) must now quickly and carefully pick the leaves, making second by second decisions as to what category into which that leaf must be placed. And if I must say again - this is entirely hand and eye work by skilled and experienced pickers who can grade on the fly. Thus ends what some have described as a three month, 24/7 labor of love...

But yet - the handwork is not yet over. Next up: drying, fermentation and aging...




*******
http://www.cigarjournal.co/index.php/us ... abakanbaus
(A visit with a Cuban viguero - his story demonstrates even more of the artistry combined with science)
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