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11 May 2015

The Magic Behind Making a Cigar

The magic of cigar making, whether it’s a Cuban cigar or Honduran cigars, actually begins in the fields and the curing barns. Involved is the choice of soil, the type of seed and the timing of the harvest to bring the leaves to the barns in optimum condition. Of course, this is dependent on whether nature has cooperated. However put the weather aside, workers in the fields play a role in each of these choices.

At harvest time wrapper leaves are treated like pieces of fine crystal, as the smallest blemish affects the value of the leaf. The length of drying, the stacking of leaves into bales for fermentation, the duration and intensity of the fermentation are all critical elements and are choices made by specialist tobacconists.

Once cured and fermented, the tobacco must be aged. The bales, either wrapped in burlap or stored in large boxes, sit in vast, temperature-controlled warehouses for up to two years and sometimes longer. Once they are primed and ready, the transformation of the tobacco from a pile of leaves to a cigar depends almost totally on the touch and feel of human hands.

The leaves are broken out of the bales and ‘cased’ – this is a technique that moistens the leaves so they become supple and ready for manipulation. Some factories may use a technique where the leaves are bathed in a fine mist of water, whereas others use huge rooms with extremely high humidity. The leaves are usually prepared a day in advance.

Once cased, the leaves are deveined either with the aid of machines or simply by hand – this is done by delicately pulling the stem down the middle of the leaf. These go on to be separated by strength or tobacco type. A supervisor or blender will prepare the exact proportion of leaves to be used in a cigar, usually by arranging the leaves into different boxes that are then placed on the rollers’ desks.

Rollers receive instructions on how much of each leaf to press into the cigars they are making that day. Depending on the factory the cigars are made in, some cigars are made from beginning to end by the same person; a good roller in this setup can make 100-150 cigars a day. In other factories, workers who create the filler/binder unit are teamed with a roller, who places the outer wrapper on the cigar. This setup may be able to make 250-300 cigars a day, or even more depending on the size.

The bunch is created by the cigarmaker taking the three or four different leaves in the blend and pressing them together in his or her hands. They fold the leaves over on themselves to form cylinders, leaving a narrow passage through the centre of the cigar. This will ensure that the cigar draws properly. In some factories the maker places the filler leaves in a roller’s aid called a Temsco machines – a cigarette-style rolling device.

The binder is then applied either in the machine or by hand-rolling it around the filler leaves. The entire package is placed in a wooden mold, a form with slots that approximate the size and diameter of the cigar being made. Once filled, the top half is placed over it and the mold is taken to a manual hydraulic press. The bunches are usually pressed for around 30-45 minutes, with the mold given a quarter turn at intervals to prevent tobacco ridges from forming where the mold halves meet.

The mold then goes into a roller and the outer wrapper leaf is rolled around the bunch. When the cigar has been checked for defects and is almost complete, a cap is applied to the head or smoking end of the cigar. This cap is usually a piece of tobacco which is sliced off the leaf before the cigar is rolled.

Once all cigars are rolled, they are placed in an aging room where they remain for at least three weeks. This allows the tobacco’s to blend and acquire balance. Some companies age their cigars for up to six months or more before shipping. Once the aging process is complete, all cigars are spread onto tables and sorted by hand into groups of 25 that will go into the same box. Attention to detail is required at this stage, as there are as many as 20 slight colour variations. At this stage, the person who is sorting through the cigars is able to reject any that have visible flaws such as cracks or blemishes. They are then nestled into boxes made of cardboard or Spanish cedar or for some, cellophane, then sealed and shipped.