Cigars are a natural product, often compared to wine,
and the quality of a cigar is directly related to the type
and quality of leaves used in its construction, just as the quality of wine... depends on the type and quality of
grapes used.

Costa Rica being a unique country in all the world, creates
a magnificent cigar with it's "signature brand" cigar tobacco.


Tobacco seedbeds... have to
be in flat fields, so that the seeds aren't washed away.

After being planted, the seeds are covered with cloth
or straw, to shade them from the sun.

This covering is gradually removed, as they begin to germinate, and after around 35 days they are transplanted usually in the second half of October...into the tobacco
fields proper.

The tobacco plant is considered in three
parts: the top or corona, the middle and
the bottom.

As the tobacco leaves develop, beautiful, flower buds
appear. These have to be removed by hand, to prevent
them from stunting leaf and plant growth. (They make beautiful, wild bouquets!)

The quality of  "wrapper" leaf, is crucial in any cigar.
Plants called Corojos, specifically designated to provide wrapper leaves, for the very best cigars, are always
grown under gauze sheets, held up by tall wooden
poles.

They prevent the tobacco leaves from becoming too
thick in a protective response to sunlight. The technique, called tapado (covering), also helps them to remain smooth and "velvety" to the touch.

When harvesting time arrives, the delicate tobacco leaves
are removed by hand, using a single movement. Those selected as wrappers, are put in bundles of five, a
manojo, or hand.

Six Harvesting Phases

But for the The Association of Tabacaleros, in Santiago
de Puriscal, (Our Co-op, consisting of 200, of the most  knowledgeable and futuristic Tobacco Growers, in Central  America), it is a labor of love and perfection.

"Wrapper" tobacco leaves grown under cover, are
classified by color as:  ligero (light), seco (dry), viso
(glossy), amarillo (yellow), medio tiempo (half texture),
and quebrado (broken), while those grown under the sun,
are divided into: volado, seco, ligero and medio tiempo.

The "ligero" tobacco leaves from the top of the plant,
have a very strong flavor, the "seco" from the middle,
are much lighter, and the "volado" tobacco leaves
from the bottom, are used to add bulk and for their
burning qualities.

The art of making an excellent cigar is to blend these,
along with our unique Costa Rican "wrapper" leaf, in such proportions, as to give the resulting cigar a mild,
medium, or full flavor, and to ensure that it burns well.

The tobacco leaves, are also classified by size: (large, average, small) and by physical condition, (broken leaves
are used for cigarillos).

If all of our tobacco leaves are good, each "wrapper" plant,
can wrap 32 cigars.  The condition and quality of our Costa Rican "wrapper" leaf is crucial to the attractive, "golden
amber" appearance... of our Costa Rican Cigars, as well as
its enticing aroma and smooth flavor.

The Costa Rican wrapper... is soft, smooth and "velvety"
and has an "even" burn, it is a cigar that you will
smoke till the end.

The bundles of tobacco leaves are then taken to a tobacco barn on the vega or plantation, to be cured. The barn faces west, so that the sun heats one end in the morning, and
the other, in the late afternoon.

The temperature in the tobacco barns is carefully controlled,
if necessary, by opening and closing the doors at both ends, (usually kept shut), to take into account the changes of temperature or rainfall.


Once the tobacco leaves reach the barn, they are strung up on poles or cujes,
using needle and thread.

The poles, each holding around 100 leaves, are hoisted up horizontally and the leaves are left to dry for between 45
and 60 days, depending on the weather.

During this time, the green chlorophyll in the tobacco
leaves, turns to a "golden amber" brown carotene, giving them, their characteristic color. The poles are then taken down, the threads cut, and the tobacco leaves stacked into bundles, according to type.

Fermentation

The bundles of tobacco leaves, are then taken to the fermentation houses and placed in piles about three feet
high, covered with jute.

Enough moisture remains in the tobacco leaves, to spark
the first fermentation, a process like composting. Heat develops, but the temperature must be watched carefully,
so that it does not exceed 92 F during the 35 to 40 days,
that the piles are left intact in the fermentation process.
The tobacco leaves develop a uniform color.

The tobacco leaf piles are then broken up and the tobacco leaves are cooled. The next stop in their journey, is at the "escogida", or "sorting" house, where they will be graded according to color, size, and texture and where the cigar tobacco fillers, will have part of their stems "de-veined",
to ensure that our "long filler" is smooth and tightly
wrapped.

In preparation for handling, they are moistened, either
under a spray of pure "mineral" water for our wrappers or
a mixture of mineral water and the juices from our tobacco stems for fillers. Flattened onto boards (planchas), our
tobacco leaves return to the fermentation area.

In dark rooms, they are built into stacks, called "burros",
up to 6 feet high. The second, more powerful fermentation begins within the damp tobacco leaves. A perforated
wooden casing has been buried in the burro, into which a sword-like thermometer is thrust.

If it does, the bulk is broken down and the tobacco
leaves are cooled before it is rebuilt. (Because of
the fermentation process, cigar tobacco is much lower
in acidity, tar and nicotine, than cigarette tobacco,
making it much more palatable).

It is now time for the tobacco leaves to be sent to the factories or warehouses, square bales wrapped with palm
bark, which helps to keep the cigar tobacco, at a constant humidity, and to ensure that it slowly matures, until it is needed, sometimes for as long as four years.