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Tobacco is a plant whose leaves are used for the production of cigarettes and cigars. It is a fastidious plant that requires a proper soil and a moderate climate.
It is an annual plant, i.e. it has only one crop a year. It is grown in countries with a tropical or semitropical temperatures such as India, Cuba, Java, Jamaica and Philippines. The leading producers of tobacco are China, India, Brazil, Russia and the USA.
Methods of curing tobacco
There are two methods of curing tobacco as:
- Fermentative method:
In this method, the tobacco leaves are hung in the shed and heat treatment is given at 78°C for 4 to 5 day and is left for fermenting between 3 to 4 weeks, till it turns dark brown, glossy and pliable.
- Non-fermentative method:
In this method, the leaves are dried in the sun for 4 to5 days. Some moisture in the air is essential. After curing in the sun, the leaves are subjected to a higher temperature for a short period of time to retain the light yellow color.
Types of Tobacco leaves
The various types of tobacco leave.
- Virginia tobacco
- Latakia tobacco
- Perique tobacco
- Pipe tobacco
- Turkish tobacco
- Egyptian tobacco
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. To make a cigarette, machine rolls the tobacco in a small tissue paper, gums the paper ends and cut the rolls in required sizes. It is then dried for 24 hours before packaging mechanically.
Parts of cigarette
There are basically three parts of cigarettes as follows:
- Wrapper (special tissue paper)
- Filler (inner core of the cigarette)
- Filter (optional)
Famous brands of cigarette
- American: Camel, Pallmall, Chesterfield, Kent
- English: Thon Player’s Special, 555 Dunhill, Benson & Hedges
- Mentholated: Cool, Salam
- Double Filtered: Philip Moris
- Nepal: Surya, Shikhar, Khukuri, Yak, etc.
The Cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco. It refers to a cylindrical roll of tobacco for smoking, which is made from refined and perfumed the best quality of tobacco leaves.
Cigars are produced with the help of wooden mold (Tropedor) in which the cigar could be kept into any desired style. The cigar is bigger than a cigarette in a cylindrical shape. It should be firm, smooth and even to touch. The best quality of tobacco leaves for cigars are grown in Cuba, Java, Jamaica and West Indies. The best hand-made cigars come from Havana of Cuba. Cigars are formed by using three types of tobacco leaves, i.e. a cigar is composed of three parts
- Filler: These are broken or crushed leaves which form the center of the cigar. It is used inside the body of the cigar because of its sweet flavor and burns evenly. It occupies 85% of the cigar.
- Binder: These are small leaves which are bound to the filler and a special type of glue is used to bind these leaves in a cigar. This holds the filled tobacco leaves together and consists 10% of the cigar. The filler and the binder are together called the bunch.
- Wrappers: It is used for outer covering or wrapping of cigar representing 5% of the cigar. It has high-quality big leaves that are smooth, thin and uniform in color.
Classification of cigar
Cigars come in various sizes and color. A normal cigar is 14cm in length and 4cm in girth. Cigars are classified as follow:
- On the basis of Size and Shape
- On the basis of Color