Tobacco Curing
Native American Know-How
Tobacco leaves, before landing on the rolling table and becoming a cigar, must undergo a complex treatment process called fermentation. The need to ferment tobacco was already understood five hundred years ago.
Drying
Smoking a cigar, twisted from green leaves, is only harm and no pleasure: first of all tobacco must be freed from various substances that become toxic when burned to make it suitable, or "friendly" for the smoker. In Spanish the process of drying tobacco leaves is called [em]curado[/em], and in English - curing, i.e., "treatment". Very serious chemical changes occur in the composition of the tobacco leaf during the time of this process.
Fermentation
To set the new state of the tobacco leaf, another procedure called fermentation is necessary.
Aging
The extra moisture and ammonia are further removed from fermented leaves. To achieve that, the tobacco is aging in palm-tree leaves (for obtaining additional aromas) at 18-19 degrees Celsius in special accommodations at the factories.