Geneticist's Tutorial on Evaluating Cigar Tobacco



	Facts About Tobacco LEAF EVALUATION

	What makes a cigar memorable? This is the first in a series of in-depth tutorials covering the "seed-to-smoke" stages of tobacco cultivation and cigar manufacturing. The series focuses on the key factor in the quality of a cigar: the tobacco's pedigree. This installment addresses the objectives and methods of evaluating (grading) tobacco leaf ... crucial to the replenishment of genetically desirable seed stock, necessary to perpetuate future generations. Our guide is genetic engineer John Vogel , a 40-year industry veteran. He now manages the entire tobacco farming and cigar-making operation at ™ (Highland Cigars)

	To quote Vogel, "All of a cigar's potential ... for rich flavor and subtle aroma, for beauty and lustrous feel, for even burning ... is written in genetic code. This reproductive blueprint sleeps within each fine-sand sized tobacco seed." A skilled genetic engineer can explore and tailor the seed's unique characteristics, to optimize the tobacco's properties and performance. Equally important, he can preserve a seed's genetic integrity through successive generations, thereby ensuring the consistency of the cigar. The efforts of the most knowledgeable farmers, leaf processors, and cigar makers cannot improve an inferior tobacco strain.

We sat at Vogel's conference table, the vista a backdrop, as workers carried in dozens of "hands" of leaf. Each hand consisted of about 25 shriveled leaves, their stems bound together with palm-frond strands. Their exotic sweet bouquet filled the room. They had just come from the curing barn, where they had hung and dried for about 6 weeks. There, they had purged themselves of undesirable chemical compounds, and had turned from bright green to yellow to rich brown.

Vogel explained, "We'll now evaluate about 200 samples, we harvested from two separate plots of the same strain of tobacco plants. The samples from one plot represent the present ... the crop we are taking them from is intended for commercial production. They were 'primed' (harvested) in the same manner as in a regular growing cycle. We cut the 15-18 leaves on each plant in a series of 5 to 7 primings. We start with the the seco (dry) bottom leaves; up through the medio (middle) section, and finally the corona (crown) leaves., cutting every few days.

"The second plot represents the future," continues Vogel. "Our major advantage in the marketplace is our ability to maintain the genetic purity of our proprietary Ancestral seeds, and consequently, our tobacco. We are in the unique position of having a seed bank of pure Cuban seeds from as far back as 60 years. Cuban seed development was at its pinnacle then, unmatched in post-Castro Cuba. We look for the best plants from this second group, to be used for the all-important replenishment of our seed stock. We harvest the entire plant and examine the roots and stalks to determine their health: their growing vigor, evidenced by plant height, fullness, and leaf size. We check for lack of damage by pests, diseases, mold, stress or other weakness.

"Next, we cut individual leaves from the plant to evaluate and grade ... which we are doing here today. We also collect the seeds, will be our future generations of tobacco. We are most careful to identify which plant the seeds and leaf samples come from."

The work began. We were to grade each leaf, pulled at random from each hand. Vogel and I both began examining these samples for their physical properties. Vogel explained that we were looking for wrapper-quality leaf. Lower-grade tobacco would suffice for binder and filler, as their cosmetic flaws were hidden within the cigars. He showed me how to gently hand-stretch each leaf, to text its elasticity. This is important to the cigar roller, to ensure the leaves will not tear while he is stretching and spirally wrapping them on the bound filler. A silky feel on the top surface was desirable, to give the smoker tactile satisfaction. Though pest- and disease-caused raised blemishes were unsuitable for wrapper, "tooth," a dusting of naturally-occurring sand-sized grains on the top surface of the leaf, was desirable. Fine veins were a plus, but their spacing needed to be uniform. Otherwise, rollers, who accustom themselves to a given vein spacing from leaf to leaf, could end up with an errant vein at the head, where it is uncomfortable in the mouth. Even if small, "wire veins" ... veins that had a sharp-edged wiry feel ... penalized a sample, as they feel unpleasant in the mouth. A uniformly even color is important ... spots, blotches, or other color irregularities indicate pests, disease or stress. Olive-green areas on a leaf also indicate inadequately cured leaf ... residual organic impurities are harsh on the throat and can cause queasiness or dizziness. Large leaves are especially prized, as they are necessary when rolling double coronas and larger.

Though uncertain at first, after a couple of dozen samplings of leaves, I could get a good overall feel for the curled-up leaves' quality by simply running them through my hand ... feeling their suppleness and delicacy. With each leaf, we assigned a rating of "1" (the best), through "2" (acceptable), to "3" (unsuited for wrapper). He entered each on a chart ... the statistical side of leaf valuation, like all genetic study, involves mountains of meticulous record-keeping.

Finally, after a couple of hours of physical evaluation, we moved on to the burn test. Vogel handed me each leaf, which I would hold over a small alcohol torch, burning a hole in the space between veins. As the leaf burned through, forming a quarter-sized hole with glowing margin, I would sample the aroma. It was a delicate operation ... a nose held too close to the leaf would be overwhelmed by acrid tendrils of smoke. It worked best by holding the smoldering leaf a foot or more away and fanning more diffused smoke toward my face. Even at that, my sense of smell was tiring from sample after sample. I have always had difficulty with this when smoking ... aroma, it seems to me, is best determined by bystanders. Vogel, is as critically intent on cigars' aroma as on their flavor, often waving his specimens in the air and getting whiffs of their aroma. He advised me to try exhaling tiny samples of smoke through my nostrils ... this did help discern aroma nuances. And so, after four hours of intense concentration, this cub tabaquero clocked out and jumped the bus for home.

Successive articles will explore the planting and cultivation of tobacco, pests and plant diseases, the role soil nutrients play in tobacco quality, leaf processing, cigar manufacturing, quality control issues, and more. Come along, when we continue to seek the answer to, "What makes a cigar memorable?"

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Facts About Tobacco LEAF EVALUATION

Facts About Tobacco
LEAF EVALUATION