What happens to the excess?

[Montezüma]

Dear FOH

As I try a modest Cohiba Short for the first time, I began to consider how it came to be, as this is a machine-made cigar that bears a Cohiba marca. Then it came to mind a pondering I had of yesteryears, the sight of a torcedores crafting fine habanos with plenty of leaves to discard as excess. What is the fate of the excess? Do they form as short-filler? Are they discarded? Are they repurposed? Am I smoking it? Does anyone know?

As for the Short, despite its many flaws, I believe it exists to serve a very particular occasion and it does a fair job at that.

Cheers

HM

[Fugu]

4 hours ago, HenryMartin said:

Are they discarded?

In Cuba, nothing is discarded.

[ltte]

As in the rest of the world in any production...This is not Cuba specificity.

[BrightonCorgi]

I thought scraps were destined for cigarette manufacture.

[zeedubbya]

6 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I thought scraps were destined for cigarette manufacture.

I have heard this as well… when I asked a question about chewing tobacco from Cuba.

Someone I know, who knows a great deal about Cuban culture told me he’s never seen chewing tobacco or dip in Cuba? Found it interesting. Big business here in the rust belt, especially in our farming community. Not to hijack a thread, but it’s surprising to me there’s none- anyone else have same experience?  

[Ford2112]

I have always been curious about this. Wrappers have a lot of excess cut off. Where do the scraps go? Are the chicos, shorts etc just random tobacco?

[CaptainQuintero]

I think, unless things have changed, a lot of scraps went to the ICT factory to make the peso cigars like Bouza, El Credito etc. Cigarettes were made from specifically grown black tobacco, not leftovers from the cigar industry.

I don't know how the new Cohiba shorts etc are made, possibly a higher grade of scraps? The trimmings from rolling Cohiba must obviously go somewhere, but whether there's enough to make a second Cohiba product from it, and if there's the system in place to keep that separate from the rest I'm not sure. I'd tentatively doubt it. May simply be a blend that feels close enough to get away from it made from a specific cigar offcuts?

[Montezüma]

Just wanna add that according to Richard Carleton Hacker, a renowned writer on the cigar industry, scraps are transported to other factories to make Cuba's domestic market cigars. The kind that Habanos don't perceive as marketable overseas. Generally sub-par compared to household marcas.