How is Cuban tobacco grown?

How is Cuban tobacco grown?

 

How is Cuban tobacco grown?


A Cuban cigar is so distinctive and unique because it is made entirely from Tabaco Negro Cubano (Cuban black tobacco), a straightforward descendant of the tobacco plants that Columbus reported more than five hundred years ago.

There are two different ways of growing tobacco plants, depending on the later use of the leaf types.

The bracts are grown in the fields of "Tabaco Tapado" (i.e. covered fields). The plantations are protected from the sun by a thin cloth to give the leaf a soft and smooth texture, with the lower leaves giving a lighter wrapper and the upper leaves a darker wrapper.

 

tying the tobacco plants

 

The leaves for inlay and outer leaf (Capote) receive full sunlight during cultivation.


The characteristics of the leaves differ depending on their position on the plant (top, middle, bottom). Each leaf is sorted according to its type and characteristics.

There are three main types:

Ligero: The strongest tobacco. It gives the cigar the strength of flavour and is located at the top of the plant

Seco: Medium strength and particularly important for the aroma.

Volado: tobacco at the lower part of the plant. It is the least vigorous and is particularly appreciated for its combustibility and its function as a binder.

 

The Tabaco Tapado - the complete division of the bracts is as follows:

Corona - Centro gordo - Segundo Centro Fino - Primer Centro Fino - Segundo Centro Ligero - Primer Centro Ligero - Uno y Medio - Libre de pie - Mañanita


In the Tabaco Tapado process, the fabric filters sunlight, retains heat and protects against weather damage. The leaves can grow unhindered and become finer. Only the largest and finest leaves of the Tabaco Tapado are used as wrappers for Havana cigars and are the most expensive and sensitive leaves in Habanos production.


The Cuban tobacco seed

At the beginning of the 20th century, science undertook efforts to study and specifically improve the great variety of plant strains used at that time to grow Tabaco Negro Cubano.

Two goals were defined: To identify and isolate the plant strains that provide tobaccos with the classic Cuban flavor and to find resistant varieties, resistant to numerous pests that repeatedly attacked plantations and caused great damage.

In 1907 the variety Tabaco Habanensis was created.

In 1937, the cigar industry opened its first research and testing station in San Juan y Martínez.

In 1941 an improved seed variety called Criollo was introduced. Since then it has been the basis of all approved seeds for the cultivation of tobaccos for Havana cigars.

The Criollo was further developed and improved and a variety called Corojo was developed especially for the cultivation of wrappers.

The tobacco regions of Cuba are currently served by four tobacco research stations. All the seeds used by the growers are controlled here. And, of course, research continues into the secret of the Habano...


The Tabaco de Sol - the complete classification of the inlays and binder is:

Corona - Centro Gordo - Centro Fino - Uno y Medio - Libre de pie - Mañanita

Ligero: Strong, spicy leaf for the insert (upper part of the plant)

Seco: Aromatic, medium-strong leaf for inlay (middle part of the plant)

Volado: Light leaf for the filler and structure of the cigar (lower part of the plant)

The intense power of the Cuban sun gives these leaf varieties the typical aromatic spiciness and variety of flavors that characterize each Habano.

 

The annual cycle of the grower

In every top plantation, the experience of its growers has led to special cultivation styles. A single grower can look after more than half a million plants, which he must monitor and control more than 150 times during the growing season.


Starting in the months of June and July, the planter works for nine months without interruption. Different fields are cultivated one after the other at different times so that the workload is spread over the entire growing season. For the bracts, the time between sowing the seed and harvesting the crop is about 17 weeks; about 16 weeks are sufficient for interleaving and turning the leaves.

Just to record an order of magnitude: About a thousand small tobacco seeds fit in the palm of a hand; enough to produce about 30,000 wrappers.


Tobacco plants require loose, well ploughed soil. The seedlings grow in special plant nurseries and are covered with straw for their protection. After 45 days they reach a height of approx. 13 to 15 cm and are thus large enough for transplanting. After about 18 to 20 days, soil is heaped around the foot of the plant to promote strong roots.


Once the plants have reached the desired height, the top bud is removed to allow the development of the largest possible leaves. The side shoots must be removed regularly by the planter.


About 10 to 20 days after planting / beginning of growth, the fields are completely covered with special tissue sheets. The plants are tied to weed, running horizontally under the fabric panels. Regular irrigation by sprinkling is essential.

 

How is Cuban tobacco harvested?


Harvest time is about 40 days after transplanting. Every single leaf is harvested by hand, only two to three leaves can be removed at once. There are always a few days between each harvesting step to allow the remaining leaves to develop. The complete harvest of a single plant takes about 30 days.

 

harvesting the tobacco

 

Harvesting takes place in individual steps from bottom to top. Plants that are grown in the shade grow higher and have more leaves, so several harvests are necessary. The mañanita, the leaves of the plant foot, are harvested first. They are too small for Habanos cigars but have the ideal size for cigarillos.

 

How is Cuban tobacco dried?


The harvested leaves are traditionally taken to the "tobacco houses" and hung in pairs on sticks in the air, where they are dried slowly and carefully. During the drying process, moisture is extracted. The tobacco leaf gradually takes on a golden colour. As drying progresses, the rods are moved to the upper part of the tobacco houses. Air circulation and light incidence must be constantly monitored to achieve the desired regulation of temperature and humidity.

 

drying the tobacco

 

How is Cuban tobacco further processed?


After complete drying, the leafy material passes into the hands of the "Empresa de Acopio y Beneficio del Tabaco", a company that buys the tobacco from the growers. The dried leaves are sorted according to the individual harvests and are transported to the selection to undergo a first fermentation.


The first fermentation of the tobacco leaves


Tied into bundles (gavillas), the dried leaves are taken from the tobacco plantation to the selection. In order to maintain a natural fermentation process, they are placed on top of each other in stacks covered with yagua leaves or cloth. The fermentation is triggered by the leaves' own moisture and the resulting heat.

 

fermentation of tobacco

 

The fermentation is decisive for the quality of each cigar. The acid and protein content of the tobacco leaves is reduced and the development of aromas is promoted. Any subsequent impairment of smoking enjoyment is thus reduced and eliminated. The cigar lover receives a product from fully fermented tobacco with considerably less nicotine and tar than would have been obtained from simply dried tobacco leaves.


The fermentation reduces the inherent taste of the filler leaves. In addition, the colouring of the wrapper leaves is more even, with leaves from the plant top fermented for longer because they have a denser structure and are richer in essential oils.


The process is similar to composting in the garden. The moisture and pressure of the stacked leaves generate heat. Constant monitoring ensures that the maximum temperature of 45° C is maintained, otherwise the valuable essential oils in the leaves are destroyed.

 

 

Selection and classification of tobacco leaves


The leaves are selected according to the function they will later fulfil in the making of a Havana cigar; size, colour and texture are the main criteria of this selection.

 

selection and classification of tobacco

 

Cover sheets get special attention. They are first slightly moistened and ventilated again for preparation. Then they are sorted into more than 50 different categories to ensure that only perfect bracts are used. Each rejected leaf is used for a different purpose.


The leaves of Tabaco de Sol for filler leaves and binder leaves are divided into three main sizes and categories according to their taste characteristics and their suitability for the blend (league) put together in the filler. The categories are Ligero, Seco and Volado. Leaves of the plant base are the volado (less strong, Fortaleza 1); the strongest/best of them become umbels. Leaves of the plant base are aromatic and of medium strength, designated Seco (Fortaleza 2). Leaves of the upper part of the plant give the ligero, the strongest (Fortaleza 3).


According to the bracts, the selection for insert and binder is also made. Sorted leaves are used in the production of cigars that are not Habanos or in cigarette production.


After selection and resting time, the bracts are fermented only once due to their finer structure, packed in tercios and transported to storage, where they mature further. The Tabaco de Sol undergo a further treatment.

 

 

The stripping of the leaves


The inlay and pages are now stripped, i.e. the leaf veins are removed. The leaves are first moistened with a mixture of water and the juice of the tobacco veins to allow the second fermentation.

 

stripping of the leaves

 

The despalilladoras (specialists for this step) remove the lower part of the central vein of each insert or reed. They carry out the final sorting of the leaves according to size and use as Ligero, Seco or Volado and sort out. Then the leaves are grouped and shaped between wooden boards.

 

 

The second fermentation of the tobacco leaves


During the second fermentation, interleaves and outer leaves ripen longer and in considerably larger stacks than during the first fermentation, with thicker, stronger leaves fermenting longer than thinner, weaker leaves. 

 

second fermentation

 

The temperature is carefully monitored by sword-shaped thermometers placed in the middle of the stacks. If the temperature is exceeded, the stack is taken apart so that the sheets cool down. Then the arrangement is changed (the bottommost sheets on top and vice versa) and restacked. This process is repeated several times if necessary. For some tobaccos, this last fermentation phase is also carried out in barrels.

 

 

The maturing process


After the second fermentation, the Tabaco de Sol (filler and binder) are aired in racks (parrilleros) for several days, then packed and taken to a warehouse in Havana. Here a longer maturing process takes place together with the bracts. Here too, the following applies: stronger leaves (ligero) are stored for longer, less strong leaves for shorter periods. In general it can be said that the longer the ripening period, the better the quality.


Interleaves and bracts are packed in bales of sackcloth (pacas) and pressed into shape before dispatch. Bracts are made of yagua leaves (bark of the king palm).


On each package there are labels with information about the leaf (size, year of harvest, date of packaging). The bales are also marked with a code that contains bracts. In the case of bales of sackcloth, the label indicates the age, the result of selection and the date when the leaves were stripped.


This information is needed by the ligador - he mixes the leaves in the insert - to include the specific character of each leaf in the mix. This is the key to the specific blend of each Habano brand.

 

 

Fermentation and maturation times of the tobacco leaves


Bracts - Tabaco Tapdo:

Air-drying for about 25 days - Fermentation for about 30 days - Maturing for at least 6 months


Inserts and binders - Tabaco del Sol:

Air-drying for about 50 days - first fermentation for about 30 days - second fermentation for about 90 days - maturing Ligero for at least 2 years, Seco for 12 - 18 months, Volado for at least 9 months