Kinds of tobacco

[Ryan]

Sure, here it is.

[Colt45]

Here in rural Ontario, this is apple growing country. Must be 20 different varieties.

It makes sense that in Cuba Depending on the weather, soil type, topography, even family heritage, the kind of tobacco must vary.

When we buy a cigar, do we know what is in it?

If we compare this to coffee, I am talking about Kenyan AAA vs Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Or a better scenario, robusta vs arabica. These two are very important since the quality, price and grading is different. To mix them could actually constitute fraud.

There must be a reason and it must be boldness, performance and conditions under which the plant grows. ......

It's always been my understanding that farmers are given seeds of a particular strain - across the board, at least for commercial production (not including experimental plots). I've never read / heard that different strains are used depending on region for the commercial production of "premium" cigars. This, obviously, does not mean it isn't so.

Along the same lines, I've never been under the impression that Cuban tobacco is like wine grapes - various varietals used dependent on terroir.

Again, these are just my impressions as it pertains to the "modern era" of Cuban tobacco production - I couldn't possibly know firsthand...

[canadianbeaver]

Thank you everyone for adding such fantastic info to this thread.

[canadianbeaver]

Just came in the mail from here. Look what this says in the lid of these LGC no 4's. I do not speak Spanish, but this is mentioned in the text portion of the book above, not on the listings.

[Ryan]

The Vuelta Abajo is the name of a district in the province of Pinar del rio, not a tobacco strain. Most tobacco for Habanos cigars comes from there. The Semi-Vuelta is the name of the region to the south east of it.

The page of the book in the picture is about Pele de Oro tobacco specifically and how its characteristics did not allow it to be grown commercially in the Vuelta Abajo. Interestingly, it says Pele de Oro is the principal commercial tobacco crop grown in Remedio and Vuelta Arriba. Vuelta Arriba is where Jose el Piedra tobacco comes from.

4 years ago I asked someone in Cuba about Pele de Oro tobacco and how I had heard it was legendary. This person knew a lot about tobacco, he laughed and said there's nothing special about Pele d'Oro, it's just a tobacco that grows well in Remedios. Confirming I suppose what the book says.

[canadianbeaver]

Aren't Jose el Piedra very low end cigars? I am sure they are very nice, but we mostly talk about much higher quality stuff here. So basically to wrap up, pardon the pun, the province is what matters, not the name of the seed that goes in the ground.

[Ryan]

Jose El Piedra are cheaper cigars certainly. Although that the tobacco used to make them comes from Vuelta Arriba and, as that book says, Pele de Oro was/is grown principally in that region, it doesn't necessarily mean that Jose El Piedra are made using Pele de Oro. I don't know.

I've never met anyone who could tell me, and I've asked lots of people I thought might know, what tobacco, Corojo, Criollo etc, is in a cigar. So, unscientifically, I do think region where the tobacco is grown is more important to the flavor of a cigar rather than the specific strain of tobacco.

One thing I do know is that when I have asked people involved in the production of tobacco/cigars in Cuba what makes one tobacco strain better than another, the answer usually involves crop yield or weight per acre/hectare.

They often seem surprised when they realise that when I say 'a good harvest' that I might be talking about the quality/potential flavour of the tobacco rather than the size of the harvest. They are paid by weight, not flavour. The saying I've heard goes 'peso es pesos' or 'weight is money'.

[1LegLance]

On one of my trips to cuba it happen to be spring harvest time and I spent a while in Vinales in Pinar del Rio and talked to a number of farmers.

It was interesting to hear them talk about how the seed was supplied to them and at that time (2004ish) they were NOT allowed to let any plants go to seed,...remember they top off the blooms during growing.

The gov wants to control the production and so the seeds get planted and then the seedlings get transfered to the fields later when they are ready.

Very interesting how the taste of cuban cigars has changed due to the seed varieties in use....Crojo, Crillio, Habano 2000 and whatever is in use now.

Fun topic but nothing like what most of us would think is they way things are done.

[godpheonix]

very interesting topic on tobacco. great stuff!

[ptrthgr8]

This is a very interesting topic to me. I've recently gotten into pipe smoking and one thing I've not run into at all is mention of Cuban pipe tobacco, other than blends that have "Cuban" in the name (might not mean anything at all). Is there even such a thing as Cuban pipe tobacco? As a complete pipe newbie I'm still trying to learn about the different types of tobacco used for the various blends. Based upon what I've learned so far and what I've seen in this thread, I'm thinking there's a difference between the types of tobaccos used for cigars vs. pipes. Does Cuba simply not grow tobacco that's good for pipe blends?

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[Smallclub]

This is a very interesting topic to me. I've recently gotten into pipe smoking and one thing I've not run into at all is mention of Cuban pipe tobacco, other than blends that have "Cuban" in the name (might not mean anything at all). Is there even such a thing as Cuban pipe tobacco? As a complete pipe newbie I'm still trying to learn about the different types of tobacco used for the various blends. Based upon what I've learned so far and what I've seen in this thread, I'm thinking there's a difference between the types of tobaccos used for cigars vs. pipes. Does Cuba simply not grow tobacco that's good for pipe blends?

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

Well, I'll make it direct and simple: forget about cuban tobacco for your pipe.

You're about to discover a gigantic array of different flavors (thanks to latakia, perique, kentucky, cavendish, etc), why would you bother with cheap picadura (the cuban pipe tobacco) that doesn't hold a candle to a $2 JL Piedra?

If you have some plugged habanos, you can chop them, or cut them in slices, and smoke them in your pipe. The result will be better than the cuban Partagas or Hoyo picadura.

[ptrthgr8]

Well, I'll make it simple: forget about cuban tobacco for your pipe.

You're about to discover a gigantic array of different flavors (thanks to latakia, perique, kentucky, cavendish, etc), why would you bother with cheap picadura (the cuban pipe tobacco) that doesn't hold a candle to a $2 JL Piedra?

If you have some plugged habanos, you can chop them, or cut them in slices, and smoke them in your pipe. The result will be better than the cuban Partagas or Hoyo picadura.

Okay - so the picadura is just the left over scraps that are swept up and tossed into a tin and called pipe tobacco, right? So that means Cuba isn't know for actually growing real pipe tobacco then? Only cigar tobacco? Is that just because of environmental factors or is it a matter or priority? (I.e. they could grow pipe tobacco, but why bother if they're busy with cigars?)

~ Greg ~

[Smallclub]

Cuba grows only "black tobacco", and no other. The tobacco from certain regions is reserved for cigarettes and picadura. But it's always "black tobacco", not virginia or burley or connecticut…

[ptrthgr8]

Aha. Thanks for the clarification!