Cigars are rolled packs of fermented and dried tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Since the beginning, cigars are made up of three specific components: the filler, the wrapper and the binder leaf that keeps the filler together.
Cigars are made to be enjoyed, slowly smoked, however, if you aggressively smoke, you overheat the cigar and therefore, less flavor comes out. There are different shapes of a cigar that deal with different benefits. If you are wondering how are cigars made, all answers are written below.
Basic parts of a cigar
How are cigars made? It comprises some basic components of a cigar, which are:
- The wrapper which is the layer of tobacco on the outside of a cigar. It’s very important because it provides much of the flavor of the cigar.
- Binders are the leaves that hold the tobacco filler together
- The filler is the tobacco that is used to make the cigar.
History of how cigars are made
The early cigars were rolled by native Cubans. Subsequently the Portuguese and Spanish brought the cigars to Europe. Until the eighteenth-century smoking cigars was not quite popular. First factories were established in Spain, and then other factories were built in France and Germany. Also, English soldiers who fought in Spain brought cigars to England afterward.
At that time, cigars were expensive due to high customs and only high classes used to smoke them. At the end of the nineteenth century, smoking cigars became a sign of luxury, and it was only common among men.
The manufacturing process of cigars
How are cigars made? The process includes some basic raw materials. The main raw material of a cigar is the leaf of the tobacco plant.
The manufacturing process has some steps;
- Cultivation of tobacco: The tobacco plants are seeded and kept so that the leaves grow to the needed size. Plants of the outer wrappers are protected from sunlight.
- Curing: The harvested tobacco leaves are cured to develop their distinctive flavor.
- Fermenting: This is where leaves are sorted by size and color.
- Stripping: This is where the main stem of the filler leaves must be removed.
- Hand rolling or machine rolling: the finished cigars are tested then by an examiner, which checks for any unexpected weights, sizes, shapes or any other imperfections.
- Finally, cigars are placed into boxes to be sold.
Quality control of producing cigars
During the manufacturing process, how cigars are made undergo quality tests in each step. This is to check the quality of tobacco leaves, weights, sizes and general appearance of the cigars and their packing boxes.