An interview with Cuban tobacco farmer Hector Luis Prieto

[Ryan]

Thank you for sharing! Great video!

It would be interesting to know, why would the seeds be changed two years ago, according to the video, if Corojo 99 is legendary?

My answer on this would be, and it's the answer we got at Hector's, that they decide which tobacco to use based on long range weather forecasts and the weather of the preceding months. The weather over the months before planting would affect the condition of the soil and the liklihood of the presence of fungal spores, for example.

Criollo 98 seems to be more resistant than Corojo 99. I saw a field of withered stalks on a farm in Cuba last year due to Black Shank. The farmer himself told us it was because he went with his own seed rather than what was given to him by the state body involved (I don't know if it's Tabacuba, the Tobacco Institute or some other state body that gives out the seed/seedlings). I won't name the farmer.

One of the things they try to forecast for are "weather-flecks" which can cause damage to the leaves. I had never heard of this myself but there you go. It does seem to be a thing.

Jose and Hector also discuss the crop loss from '78 to '81 due to fungus and the resultant change in strains. I'd never heard that before. There has been plenty of talk online about strain and blend change from the mid to late '90s. Anybody ever notice a difference between mid 70s and mid 80s cigars, or ever hear about this?

It is a very interesting point raised that if Criollo is grown one year and Corojo the next, what is done to keep the blend consistent?

I don't know. Maybe nothing. I intend to try to fnd out.

The two strains are supposedly very closely related. Hector does say that there was no change in aroma or flavour between the old Corojo and the current strains. He also implies that one of the current strains is better than the other. However "better" to a producer is often a different "better" as used by a consumer. To producers, of everything from crops to cars, "better" means more value for them.

So it comes back to how is the farmer paid by the state for his crop. Obviously weight comes into it but how about quality and what is quality? Colour, size, aroma, strength, texture, elasticity.. etc.

I do know that farmers are paid about 200 times more for shade-grown rather than sun grown. Thus the incentive to grow it, Hector has about 40% under shade, about 1.5 hectares and he loses about half that cloth every year to the weather.

I'm sure that weight of the tobacco plays the most significant part when it comes to paying a farmer for his crop. As Hector jokes at the end of that video, "Peso es pesos", "weight is money".

[CanuckSARTech]

Wow,

And, after the tobacco seeds had been switched, who makes the adjustments to the blends for various markas? Tabacuba? Or, does anyone?

I'm not 100% sure on this point, but I believe that's through Tabacuba as well (as they run everything from the planting and manufacture of the cigars themselves, with Habanos S.A. being the distribution/marketing arm). I believe that what you ask above is done through Tabacuba, through the different master blenders. They have their "recipes" (some have in their heads, others have it wrote down in places) to know what cigars/marcas/vitolas get what. Now, how they decide the blend changes from year to year, with the different plant varietals, I don't know. If I remember correctly from seeing a recipe sheet a while back, I think the vitola blends call for X amount of weight from different leaves (seco, volado, etc., etc.), and then whether those particular leaves are from a specific region/zone (not really farm, but growing region / sorting house). Based on that, I believe the master blenders then do tastings to verify, year to year, that the blend stays somewhat the same, accounting for the varietal changes (they may add/subtract X amount of a particular leaf, etc., to try to keep it the same).

Thank you - had to fish it out from spam - most interesting

Sir, may I ask you a couple of questions?

The reason is - all the information you supplied is available on the net

There's some great books out there on this as well. We did a thread a bit ago, listing some of them.

Cheers.

[CanuckSARTech]

...It is a very interesting point raised that if Criollo is grown one year and Corojo the next, what is done to keep the blend consistent?

I don't know. Maybe nothing. I intend to try to fnd out.

The two strains are supposedly very closely related. Hector does say that there was no change in aroma or flavour between the old Corojo and the current strains....

Andy, reference this, see my above.

Our last trip, someone finally asked this a bit. And while my understanding of Spanish is iffy (and my spoken Spanish is much MUCH worse), I think that's a part of what I mentioned above.

It's about the blenders tweaking the recipe, based on total weight volumes of certain leaves in a given vitola. We didn't actually see this in progress, or speak to one of the master blenders, but we were instead shown a recipe sheet up on a wall, and one of the supervisors spoke of it. Maybe next time, we'll have to sort out a longer discussion on the aspects of these multiple-years'-variances with one of the master blenders themselves.

[AlohaStyle]

Great interview and thanks for sharing! I love the last answer that he gets more money for having better quality tobacco. At least HSA gets something right!

[kuma]

What about GMO. Does it play a part in any of this?

[mk05]

Well, all Cuban seeds are actually supplied by Monsanto. Sooooo........

[Ryan]

Cuba is producing genetically modified tobacco but they say for the pharmaceutical industry only, not for cigar/cigarette production.

Tobacco is easily hybridised, all strains in Cuba are closely related. That's been around for centuries.

However all the hybridisation in the world won't get any mouse DNA or something that will produce human antibodies into the plant. That's GM.

[CanuckSARTech]

Well, all Cuban seeds are actually supplied by Monsanto. Sooooo........

They are? All seeds? And tobacco seeds too?

[Puros Y Vino]

Well, all Cuban seeds are actually supplied by Monsanto. Sooooo........

Do you have a source for that info?

[mk05]

That was a joke

Muahaahaha

[Puros Y Vino]

That was a joke

Muahaahaha

Whew! That would be a disaster if it was. Then again. If anyone can make a "Tomacco" it's them..

[mk05]

Well, no third arm so far, so all good. Although I'd love another arm. Triple threat.

As for Cuba, I suspect INIFAT helps TRI.

[Ryan]

Well, no third arm so far, so all good. Although I'd love another arm. Triple threat.

As for Cuba, I suspect INIFAT helps TRI.

I think I know where you're coming from and it would be easily done but given the "de facto" European ban on GM crops added to the support behind the anti-smoking ban, added to how easy it would be, with the means of plenty of anti-smoking groups here, to discover non-tobacco DNA in cigar material, would Habanos really risk a Europe-wide ban on their product? I don't know.

Europe is still Habanos's largest market with an anti-smoking lobby looking for any means possible to curtail sales of their product. I don't think they'd risk something that obvious.

Somewhat ironically, Cuban cigars sell far more on "purity" than wheat, rice or potatoes.

[Smallclub]

Do you have a source for that info?

He heard it through the Monsanto grapevine…

[sw15825]

Thanks for this video and thread. Very informative.

[Mr. Japan]

Great idea to put this interview. I will share on you tube.HL is very passionate about his work, he reminds me don Alejandro.

[vondegroot]

Well, all Cuban seeds are actually supplied by Monsanto. Sooooo........

Hahaha!