Anatomy of a Havana (Habano) Cigar

A Habanos cigar starts its life as a miniscule tobacco seed which will be one of the tightly controlled Tobaco Negro Cubano varieties.  The land is prepared from June to August, during the wet season, and the seedlings are grown during September and October before being planted out in very loose soil when they reach 15cm. Three weeks later, the soil is banked up to promote strong root growth, and when the plant reaches its desired height, the top bud is removed to concentrate growth on the leaves.  Most tobacco plants are grown in the sun for the flavour, but the leaves for the wrapper are grown under muslin.  The leaves from the upper parts of the plant give the darker fuller flavour while the lower leaves are of lighter colour and flavour.  The leaves are picked by hand from the bottom upwards with only two or three being picked at a time with a few days gap before any more are picked.

The leaves are now air cured for about 50 days in the farmer’s barn by hanging in pairs from poles, and these poles are progressively raised as more leaves arrive for curing.  From the farm, the cured leaves are taken to the sorting house where they undergo a first fermentation which reduces impurities, smoothes the flavour and evens out the colour.
The leaves are now sorted according to size, colour and texture, and at this stage some will be rejected.  The sorted leaves are now moistened so that the central vein can be removed, and the leaves once again sorted/classified/rejected.  The filler and binder leaves now go for a second fermentation where they are stacked in piles for between 45 and 90 days.  During this time, the stack may be rebuilt a few times.

After the second fermentation, the leaves are aired on racks for a few days before being packed into Hessian bales carrying a label bearing information on the leaves inside.  The leaves are now aged in these bales for between nine months and two years or longer.

The master blender from the cigar factory selects the required bales from the warehouse for the production run of whichever cigar is to be made before they are taken to the factory for the Torcedor to assemble the cigar.
The Torcedor lays the binder on a wooden block (tabla) before gathering the filler leaves which are folded and aligned to ensure the smoke has a straight passage, and the filler leaves are rolled into the binder to create a bunch of the required diameter for that particular cigar, and after cutting one end with a guillotine, the part made cigar is put into a wooden press for 30 minutes to set the shape.  The wrapper is now prepared and cut to the required shape and size.  The bunch is now laid on the wrapper and rolled into it while maintaining a perfect tension.

Finally, a cap made from spare wrapper is wound round the head to secure the wrapper, and a finishing disc applied over the cap, and the cigar is cut to length.  The cigars are now taken to a conditioning room where they are stored in cedar lined cabinets at optimum temperature/humidity before final sorting and packing.