TOBACCO
Tobacco is grown in countries with a tropical or semitropical climate such as Cuba, Jamaica, Sumatra, Philippines, India, Syria, Australia, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Myanmar and parts of the USA.
The yellowish green leaves of the plant are harvested, dried and cured after which they are ready to be used by the cigarette or cigar manufacturer.
The two methods used for curing tobacco are:
- Fermentative method
- Non-fermentative method
Fermentative method:
In this method, the curing is done by exposing the tobacco leaves to a temperature of about 77°C for 3 to 4 weeks. The leaves develop a distinct flavour and turn brown, glossy and pliable.
Non-fermentative method:
In this process, the leaves are dried in the sun for about 4 to 5 days when the minimum temperature is between 18°C and 24°C and some moisture is also present in the air. The leaves turn light and yellow in colour. After curing in the sun, the leaves are subjected to a higher temperature for a particular length of time to retain the colour. To start with, they are subjected to a temperature of 37°C. This temperature is consistently raised to 82°C and is maintained for 4 to 8 hours. It is then decreased to 51°C, and retained for another 4 to 8 hours and is again slowly increased until it reaches 77°C. The tobacco is then considered cured and the leaves retain their yellow colour. Chewing tobacco is made by this sun-cured process.
Varieties of tobacco:
There are four varieties of tobacco namely brown, yellow, latakia and perique. Latakia is a strong and dark variety, made from tobacco plants grown in countries such as Syria. This tobacco is cured by the fire of the Asiatic oak, which turns it into a dark colour. Perique is a similar variety and is grown in Louisiana. This variety is used to strengthen pipe tobacco.
Cigarette tobacco:
The moisture and impurities present in the tobacco leaves are removed. The dried leaves are shredded by machines, rolled and allowed to mature. To make cigarettes, machines roll the tobacco in special tissue papers, gum the paper ends and cut the rolls into the required sizes. The cigarettes are then dried for 24 hours and mechanically packed. A comparatively small quantity of cigarettes are still made by hand for which a lot of practice and skill is needed.
Cigarette tips are of various types and these are called filters. Cork tips are most common in the West. Filter tips have a thin lining of cork obtained from the bark of the querque tree in Spain.
Pipe tobacco:
The blending of the varieties of tobacco is normally done by experts. Correct proportions of strong tobacco such as latakia and perique are blended with lighter tobacco. Today’s popular pipe tobacco combinations are composed almost entirely of empire tobacco, made from tobacco leaves from Zimbabwe.
Quality of cigarettes:
Cigarettes made from Virginian tobacco are considered to be the best while Turkish cigarettes are the most aromatic and expensive in the world. Egyptian and Russian cigarettes are best appreciated after a meal or during the sorbet course due to the strong tobacco used in them.
Service of cigarettes:
Cigarettes should always be served on a quarter plate with a doily paper as an underliner. The packet should be opened and several cigarettes should be partially pulled out of the packet. A box of matches should be placed inside the packet of cigarettes. A waiter should light the cigarette for the guest and extinguish the lit match by a swift downward swish of the hand.
The waiter should ensure that there is an ashtray on the table before cigarettes are served to a guest. Too many stubs should not be allowed to collect in the ashtray. The used ashtray should be replaced with a clean one. This is done by covering the used ashtray with a clean one and placing them on a salver, then replacing it with the clean one in the centre of the table.
Cigars:
In earlier times, cigars used to be made by hand and were straight in shape. With the introduction of a wooden mould in which the leaves could be pressed into any desired form, cigar shapes were standardized. Cigars produced with the help of this mould came to be known as the torpedor.
The best quality of tobacco leaves for production of cigars are grown in Cuba, Java, Jamaica, Borneo and the East Indies. Tobacco of a lower quality is grown in India, Japan, South Africa, Holland, Russia and Hungary. The best cigars come from Havana in Cuba, though good quality cigars are also made in Jamaica, Mexico, Myanmar, India, Holland and Russia. Handmade cigars are preferable to machine made ones.
The making of a cigar:
A hard wooden board, a sharp knife to cut the wrapper, and scissors to trim the leaves are needed to make hand made cigars. Large leaves are selected for binding and several pieces of filler tobacco are arranged to make up the desired length, thickness and shape. The filler tobacco is rolled in a binder, then a wrapper leaf with the same characteristics is cut into the required shape and the whole lot is rolled. The vein of the outer leaf should run straight down the cigar. Moulded cigars are made in the same way, using moulds instead of being shaped by hand.
A cigar is composed of three parts – Filler, Binder and Wrapper.
Filler is the inner core of the cigar. It is made up of different blends of imperfect leaves of different varieties of tobacco that are broken up. The strength of the cigar depends on the filler.
Binder is made up of a single strong leaf to hold the filler together. The filler and the binder are together called bunch.
Wrapper is the outer wrapping of the cigar. It is made from the finest tobacco leaf. This makes it more presentable and aromatic. The outer wrapper is not necessarily obtained from the same source as the filler tobacco. In fact some cigars with Jamaican filling have a Havana wrapper and these are indistinguishable in appearance and taste from the original Havana product.
Strength of cigars:
The strength of a cigar depends on the filler and the wrapper as well as the curing and fermentation methods employed in making it.
Cigars are classified according to their sizes.
- Colorado Madurao (CM) : Extra strong
- Colorado Claro (CC): Medium
- Colorado (C) : Strong
- Claro (CCC) : Mild
Shapes of cigars:
- Bellied or torpedo shaped in which both ends may be pierced or cut.
- Round or flat ended in which either end may be cut or pierced.
Quality of cigars:
- A cigar should be smooth, firm and even to touch. The open or cut end should be evenly cut with a cigar cutter.
- A good quality cigar will produce a firm greyish ash which will hold for a long time before falling off.
Classification of cigars by size:
A normal cigar or corona is 14.5 cm in length and 4.2 cm in band or girth.
Length of cigars | ||
La Senorita…10.5 cm Corona Major …13 cm Hussar ……… 15 cm | Corona Minor……14 cm Royal Corona… 14 cm Lonsdale … 16.5 cm | Petite Corona 12.5 cm Grand Corona 14.5 cm Monarch 18 cm |
Service of cigars:
- Cigars should be offered in cedarwood boxes.
- They should be stored in a humidor so that they do not lose their aroma and become dry or crumbly.
- A cigar cutter and a box of cigar smoker’s matches which are longer and burn slower than the normal matches should be presented to the guest.
- The band of the cigar should be removed before smoking.
- If the cigar is not cut, a clean ‘V’ cut should be made from the rounded end with a cigar cutter to allow the smoke to be drawn easily through the flue.
- A cigar should not be pierced as it blocks the flow of air and smoke gets a tar smell.
- A cigar should be lit by a match only, as fumes of the cigarette lighter may affect its taste.
Some popular brands of cigars:
Havana Brands:
Romeo-y-Julieta, Bock-y-Cia, La Corona, Upman, Henry Clay, Bolivar, Cabana.
Jamaican Brands:
La Tropicana, La Invicita, Harry’s Jamaica.
Other Brands:
Churchills, Pantellos, Margaritas, Lonsdales.
Storing Tobacco:
- The ideal temperature for storing cigars and cigarettes is between 18°C and 32°C.
- A cedarwood case is preferred to any other kind of box, as its porous nature allows cigars to breathe.
