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Most of us enjoy the finer things in life and cigars just happen to be one of those items. Cigar quality can be compared to the quality of fine wines. Both cigar tobacco and wine grapes come from the earth and require specific regions to grow in. The land that the seedlings are planted on effects the end quality of the plants. Cigar tobacco requires perfect growing, harvesting and aging conditions to be noted as “Top Grade Tobacco”. At this time, some of the most popular regions in the world to grow tobacco are; Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Costa Rica and Cuba. Although most tobacco is grown outside of the United States, a lot of people don’t realize that good quality tobacco is also grown in Pennsylvania.


Tobacco fields are prepped just like any other crop field and seeds are planted in early spring. Tobacco seeds are very tiny and should be planted on flat fields so the seeds will stay put and not get washed away during rainfall. After the seeds are planted, some growers like to cover them with cloth, straw or palm to shade the seeds from the sun. When the seeds begin to germinate, the cover is removed and the seedlings are allowed to grow long enough to produce strong roots to withstand being transplanted into the larger tobacco fields. As the plants grow, they are monitored on a regular basis for quality, defects and insect damage. Tobacco leaves are normally watered by rain and dew gathered on the leaves in the morning. It is not uncommon to have the farmers water the plants with mineral treated water if rainfall is low. Tobacco roots grow quickly and very often grow close to the surface. Due to this reason growers have to be careful with the plants when cultivating around them. Disturbing the soil any more than necessary could damage the plants roots.

As the plant begins growing leaves, flower buds will begin to appear and need to be removed by hand to prevent them from stunting the growth of the tobacco leaves. Quality of cigars is directly related to the quality of the tobacco leaves and therefore growers will take additional measures to protect their crops. One way is to hoist large wooden poles and cover the plants with large tarps, gauze or cloth. By giving them partial shade the plants are less likely to get damaged from natural elements. The cover also prevents the tobacco leaves from becoming too thick which is a natural response to sunlight and helps them remain silky to the touch.

It normally takes about 6 months for the transplanted tobacco seedlings to be ready for harvesting. During this time, the plants are checked on often making it a labor intensive process. When it is time to harvest the plants, most growers remove the leaves by hand because they are very delicate and could tear if not handled properly. As the leaves are being removed, they will be sorted by size and physical condition because only the best leaves will be used as wrappers. Any tobacco leaves that are not good enough to be wrappers will be used as the filler. Once the leaves that will be used as wrappers have been stacked into bundles, they are then taken to a tobacco barn to be cured. The tobacco is hung or strung on poles to dry them. Aging normally takes anywhere from a month and a half to two months and could vary slightly depending on weather conditions.

Growers understand the curing process is very important and just like having optimum growing conditions is important, so is the aging process. Most cure barns are positioned so that the sun will face one side of the building and then over the day make it’s way to the other side providing even heat. Although somewhat difficult, growers control temperature by opening and closing doors and vents in the aging barns to account for weather changes. If the barn becomes too hot, the leaves will begin to break down. During the fermenting process, the tobacco leaves will turn from a healthy green to a golden brown color. Once the leaves have finished fermenting they are taken down and the leaves are stacked into bundles according to color.

Once the leaves have been bundled together, they are sent to cigar factories and warehouses for processing. Although the wrappers are ready to be rolled, they are more than often placed in bales to be aged for longer periods of time. By slowly maturing the wrappers in a constant humidified environment, the cigar wrappers will become more flavorful.



Written By: CigarGypsy.com