Cigar is a pure natural tobacco product made from raw tobacco leaves after air drying, fermentation and aging.

The history of cigars

Native Americans on the Yucatan Peninsula in present-day Mexico may be the first people to grow tobacco. Only then did South America and North America begin to grow tobacco. The earliest people who planted or smoked tobacco can't be traced back, but it is certain that Europeans didn't know about the existence of tobacco until 1492 when Columbus sailed to discover the new continent.

At that time, two sailors of Columbus found that Cuban Indians rolled up dry and twisted tobacco leaves with palm leaves or banana leaves, which was the original cigar.

The habit of smoking soon spread to Spain and Portugal, and soon spread to France and Italy. /kloc-In the middle of the 6th century, Europeans were quite familiar with tobacco.

The origin of cigar name

Cigars are not written in English or spelled as cigars. It is not a noun. But a verb. Cigars are originally from Mayan, and the original is Sikar. Which is smoking.

When Columbus discovered the New World, the oncoming thick smoke overflowed, which was amazing. He asked through an interpreter, "What is that?" But the translation is misinterpreted as: "What are you doing?" Answer Sikar. So the original text of cigars has been passed down to this day, from verbs to nouns at that time.

After cigars entered Europe from the American continent, the Mayans were called Cigarro in Latin, which is the closest language to modern English spelling.

The origin of Chinese naming of cigars

1In the autumn of 924, Xu Zhimo, who had just finished the divorce formalities with his first wife, Zhang Youyi, returned to Shanghai. At the weekend, Nobel Prize in Literature winner Tagore was invited to a private club. Tagore is a loyal cigar lover. When they were smoking, Tagore asked Xu Zhimo, "Do cigars have a name in China?" Xu Zhimo replied: "Cigars burn as white as snow, and the tobacco of cigars is rolled up like eggplant. Just call it a cigar! " After his Chinese translation, the form and meaning of his original name have been raised to a higher level.

The basic knowledge of cigars

Cigar structure:

A cigar consists of three parts: the innermost part is the eggplant core, that is, the filling leaf (Tripa), then the eggplant cover, that is, the Capa, which is used to protect the capo.

Classification of cigar tobacco leaves:

Koroho plants: Plants planted in the shade, with thin and large leaves and fine veins, each plant has eight to nine pairs of leaves, which are divided into seven layers.

Criollo plant: a plant planted by sunlight, with thick tobacco leaves, thick veins and high oil content, used as a combined leaf and a filling leaf. Each plant has six to seven pairs of tobacco leaves, which are divided into three layers.

Shade planting: A planting method in which plants are covered with linen tents to avoid direct sunlight.

Sunward planting method: Plant directly in the sun, so that the plants have plenty of sunshine.

Classification of cigars

Hand-rolled cigar: The whole cigar, including the eggplant heart, the eggplant cover and the eggplant coat, is completely hand-rolled.

Semi-machine-rolled cigars: The rolled leaves and filler are made into cigarette cores by machine, and then the rolled leaves are wrapped by hand.

Machine-rolled cigars: The whole cigar is rolled by a machine from the inside out.

Taste cigars

As we all know, smoking is to inhale smoke into the lungs and then spit it out, while smoking cigars is completely different from smoking. The correct way to eat is to smoke a cigar, fully enjoy the unique fragrance of the cigar, and then gently spit out the smoke. It should be noted that cigar ash helps to cool the cigar, so don't bounce off the ash easily. Finally, when you finish tasting a mellow cigar, don't put it out like a cigarette. You just put it next to the ashtray, and it will go out automatically in a few seconds.

Choose cigars

Generally speaking, before choosing cigars, it is necessary to check whether the eggplant skin is intact, whether it exudes a healthy luster, whether it is too dry and fragile, which leads to the rough and pungent taste of cigars and whether it exudes a strong aroma. (If not, it may indicate improper storage. A good cigar should be neither too hard nor too soft. If the vertical and horizontal lines of eggplant coat are too prominent, it means that there is something wrong with the quality control of the tobacco factory, so don't buy it.

The blending of tomato juice is the main factor affecting cigar flavor. According to experience, the darker the cigar is, the stronger it is, and the sweeter it may taste, because the dark eggplant skin has higher sugar content. Well-preserved cigars will continue to mature and ferment in cedar boxes. In the process of ripening, the acidity of cigars will be less and less, and rich cigars, especially those that are thick and fat, will ripen better.

However, mild cigars, especially those with light eggplant skin, will lose their fragrance once they are stored for a long time. Therefore, you usually smoke light cigars first and enjoy dark cigars. Cooked eggplant clothes look greasy at first, but they will become smoother and darker when they mature.

We suggest that people who have just tasted cigars should first choose small cigars such as Minuto or Carolina, and then smoke cigars with mild and bulky taste, such as H.Upmann exported from Havana. Most people prefer mild mini cigars after a light meal in the morning or at noon.

The color of eggplant clothes

The darker the cigar leaves, the sweeter and richer the taste, and the higher the oil content and sugar content of eggplant clothes. The color of eggplant clothes is sometimes concentrated, which can be roughly divided into seven grades:

Blue-brown is also called American market choice, abbreviated as AMS or Candela. Only when the leaves are harvested and dried quickly before they are ripe will the leaves be this color. They are light, almost tasteless and contain a small amount of oil.

Dubelle Claro

Like light coffee, light brown is the standard color of light cigars, such as Havana H.Upmann and eggplant-coated cigars made of Connecticut leaves.

Claro

Brown, medium brown, made in Dominica, with Cameroonian eggplant skin.

Colorado Claro

Dark reddish brown, fragrant, fully fermented and mature color.

Colorado

The dark brown taste is medium and strong, and it smells more intense and fragrant than Maduro.

Maduro Colorado

Coffee-like dark brown Havana Bolivar is very suitable for veteran cigars and is also regarded as the traditional color of Cuban cigars.

Deep-colored and strong-flavored

Black is very strong but not very fragrant.

Oskulo

Enjoy cigars

Before enjoying handmade cigars, you must cut the roof. There are all kinds of pruning tools on the market. It is important to keep the incision clean and smooth, otherwise it can't be smoked normally, which may damage the eggplant clothes. Leave 1/8 inch roof caving when cutting. Do not completely cut off the roof caving or cut to the lower end of the roof caving, otherwise it will damage the eggplant coat. When lighting cigars, you can use matches or natural gas lighters instead of gasoline lighters, because this will detract from the flavor of cigars. Matches with too high sulfur content or wax content should not be used. An orderly cigar is always more comfortable and enjoyable.

1. Hold the cigar horizontally, directly contact with the flame, and slowly rotate the cigar until the ring diameter is uniformly blackened.

2. Put the cigar in your mouth, put the flame half an inch away from the cigar, smoke the cigar slowly while rotating, and pay attention to whether the point is even, otherwise some parts will burn faster than others.

3. Blow one end lightly to determine whether the combustion is uniform.

If the ignition method is correct, the burning edge of the top cigar will be darker; The burnt part of medium-quality cigars is thicker. If you want to taste the essence of cigars, you must smoke slowly. Don't keep smoking cigars, because overheating will affect the flavor of cigars. Of course, it is impossible to inhale smoke into the lungs. Strong alkaline smoke and low nicotine substances can make you cough reflexively. If your cigar goes out, don't be nervous, it's common. You can pat a cigar to let the residual ash fall, and then hang it down to release stale smoke. Light the new cigars again in the order they are ordered, so that even if they are smoked every few hours, the taste and fragrance will still be satisfactory. However, it can't be put on hold for too long, otherwise it will become stale. Cigars are different from cigarettes They don't need to knock on the door to remove the dust. Cigar ash will fall naturally due to gravity. The better the cigar structure, the longer and more stable the ash column. But when the cigar starts to burn or choke (usually only a few inches left), it should be replaced with a new cigar. You don't need to light a cigar like a cigarette. Just put it in an ashtray and it will go out automatically soon.

There are two things you'd better not do: first, turn a cigar in your ear. This behavior is called "listening to cigars" in the cigar trade, which is very despicable. Second, you don't need to heat your cigarette before enjoying it.