Agricultural Process
It was in Cuba where the art of smoking was known for the first time and it is also where nature has achieved the perfect and unique combination of soil and climate, which together with the careful selection of Cuban black tobacco varieties and skills and love that tobacco workers feel about the work they do, make it indisputably recognized as the land of the best tobacco in the world.
Two types of tobacco are grown on Cuban soils:
Black Tobacco: it is intended for the production of Premium tobaccos (totally hand-twisted), handmade tobaccos for national consumption, machine-made tobaccos and for black or strong cigarettes as they are also known.
Blond Tobacco (Virginia or Burley): with which the blends for blond cigarettes, also known as soft, are produced.
Cuban black tobacco has two different forms of cultivation that produce the different types of leaves required:
The cloak leaves are grown in covered tobacco fields, which are totally protected from the sun thanks to the fabric that covers them. The cover cloth filters the sunlight and retains heat allowing the leaves to grow longer and finer. These are the ideal conditions for cape sheets.
The leaves for tripa and capote (sun tobacco) are grown outdoors. Thus, they take full advantage of the Cuban sun, which in all its splendor allows them to create a variety of flavors which are combined to establish the different mixtures.
After harvesting, the leaves are transferred to the farmers' tobacco houses to be cured in a natural or controlled way.