What does Cuba do with cigar trimmings after they roll?

[Vitola Corleone]

When the torceadores roll cigars, they make lots of little cuts to make the irregular wrapper into a regular shape, cut the cigar to the proper vitola, etc. What happens with those trimmings? They don't seem suitable for premium long filler cigars. Do they chop them up for short fillers? Is that how we get things like the LFC elegidos? They can't be throwing it away. 

[NSXCIGAR]

1 hour ago, Vitola Corleone said:

Do they chop them up for short fillers? Is that how we get things like the LFC elegidos?

Vuelta Abajo scrap goes into the short fillers (LFDC, Quintero, RG) and  Puritos/Clubs/Minis (ICT products). 

Scrap second-tier leaf (Vuelta Arriba, Semi Vuelta) goes into JLP, Troya and ultimately Cuban Peso cigars. And fakes. 

Very little if anything is wasted.

 

 

[Vitola Corleone]

12 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Vuelta Abajo scrap goes into the short fillers (LFDC, Quintero, RG) and  Puritos/Clubs/Minis (ICT products). 

Scrap second-tier leaf (Vuelta Arriba, Semi Vuelta) goes into JLP, Troya and ultimately Cuban Peso cigars. And fakes. 

Very little if anything is wasted.

Interesting, thanks. Is there a known connection between scraps from premium marcas and particular short fillers? Does any specific short filler get the Partagas trimmings, or the Montecristo trimmings etc? Or do they put it all in a big pile? 

[NSXCIGAR]

6 minutes ago, Vitola Corleone said:

Interesting, thanks. Is there a known connection between scraps from premium marcas and particular short fillers? Does any specific short filler get the Partagas trimmings, or the Montecristo trimmings etc? Or do they put it all in a big pile? 

I would assume all the premium brand scrap stays within marca. Plenty of ICT products to utilize it. I've always been pleasantly surprised how true to the marca's DNA the ICTs are. 

[Edicion]

Great topic, been wondering as well. 

[JohnS]

6 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

I've always been pleasantly surprised how true to the marca's DNA the ICTs are. 

Likewise, I agree. 👍

[Fuzz]

All the trimming go into HSA's new product... The Taste of Havana Tea.

[Santiago]

Some of it might even go into their national cigarettes.  I don't smoke cigarettes, but bought a pack from one of the tiny state shops in Havana a few years ago.  It cost 5 CUP if I remember correctly, no filters on them.  I imagine it's pure tobacco (lowest Cuban quality, certainly) since at that price it would be cost prohibitive to add the additives found in industrial capitalist cigarettes! 

[mprach024]

I was going to make a joke about Quai Dorsay but that’s too easy