TOBACCO

 
                                                              TOBACCO

 
Introduction


Tobacco means a leaf product containing 1% - 3% of alkaloid nicotine (C10 H12 N2) which produces narcotic effect when smoked, snuffed or chewed.

And Tabacum is the plant which produces tobacco for the world commerce. And Rustica is also used for making tobacco in different parts of the Europe.

Tobacco grows best in warm even climate, tropical or sub-tropical region ( java, Sumatra, Jamaica, Cuba, India etc) on well drained, carefully fertilized soil which reduces weekly moisture form rain or irrigation.



HISTORY


There are pre-historic evidences that man learnt to smoke before they could write- various cave paintings and clay tablets show it.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus, during his voyage to America had witnessed West Indians smoking tobacco in a hollow forked stick. He brought the tobacco seeds to Europe where the farmers grew them for medicinal purpose to relax the body.

In 1560, a French diplomat, Jean Nicot (form whose name comes the name nicotine) introduced its use to France.

John Rolfe, an American colonist, commercialized it in Virginia from where the famous Virginia tobacco comes. America exported Tobacco to England who made it popular in Europe. It however became popular in America by 1850 only.


VARIETIES OF TOACCO


The main type of tobacco for cigarette and pipe smoking is the Virginian tobacco. The other types of tobacco include Egyptian tobacco grown in Nile delta and Asia Minor and the Turkish tobacco grown in Turkey, Balkan and Syria. Best quality of tobacco for cigar comes from Veuluabazo district of Cuba where the tobacco is more aromatic than anywhere else in the world.


Processing of tobacco for cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco


After harvesting the leaves are left for drying and then fermented in conditioning chambers with regulated heat and moisture. After fermentation the leaves become pliable and attain flavour. The leaves are then removed from the mid ribs and sorted out according to quality / perfection.

The leaves for pipe tobacco and cigarettes are shredded through machine. The shredding is finer for cigarettes compared to pipe tobacco.

For cigars the tobacco leaves are sorted out in a different way. The best quality or the perfect leaves are used for the outside wrapper. The slightly imperfect leaves are used for the binder. Whereas the broken or imperfect leaves are used for the filler. This is because there are three parts to a cigar. The filler, which is the main part of the cigar. The filler is held by the binder, which is again held by the wrapper. The wrapper is a smooth blemish less leaf. It is then taken for maturing.


                                                            CIGAR

It is the sommeliers responsibility to sell cigars to the guest. The cigar is made of three elements. The cigar ash gives some indication about the quality of the cigar. The first grade cigar produces a greyish ash which lasts for a considerable time before dropping down.


SIZE & COLOUR OF CIGAR

Cigars come in various sizes, three of the most important and popular being

CORONA- 5 ½ inches

PETIT CORONA- 5 inches

TRES PETIT CORONA- 4 1/4 inches

Cigar terms which classify the wrapper leaf according to colour are-


CCC: Claro- light coloured cigar

CC: Colorado Claro-medium coloured cigar

C: Colorado- Dark coloured Cigar

CM- Colorado Maduro- Very dark coloured cigar

M- Maduro- Extremely dark coloured cigar

 

These colours are all shades of brown and do not indicate the strength of a cigar. Cigar ash gives some indication of quality. A first grade cigar produces a firm greyish ash which lasts for a considerable time before falling.

STORAGE


A fine cigar should be kept at between 15°C and 18°C (60°F- 65°F) and between 55%- 60% humidity, with a little variation as possible.

A cigar is stored in cigar cases which are lined with cedar wood. These cigar cases are stored in humidor. Humidor or specially made boxes they all either made with or lined with cedar wood. This is done because the aroma of cedar blends well with cigar and as cedar wood is porous it allows the cigar to breathe. A free circulation of air around these boxes is essential. Cigars are usually sold in boxes of 25, 50 and 100.

SERVICE OF CIGAR
 

Always carry a cigar cutter to cut the cigar as that ensures cool free drawing of smoke. If the guest requires you to cut the cigar take care that you don’t cut too deep so that you disturb the decorate band which held the cigar. For lighting the cigars avoid match boxes, use lighters instead because for the end of the cigar to be lit, it has to be warmed first.
 
 

 

The common shapes of cigars:
 
 

CIGARS Brands: ROMEO JULIEATA H.UPMAN JULIEATA PARTAGAS CABANAS

 

Cigarette

A cigarette is a small cylinder of finely cut tobacco leaves rolled in thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well. Most modern manufactured cigarettes are filtered and include reconstituted tobacco and other additives

 
 
Popular types

 1) Electronic cigarette is an electronic inhaler that vaporizes a liquid solution into an aerosol mist, simulating the act of tobacco smoking. Electronic cigarettes are no longer marketed as smoking cessation aids or tobacco replacement in most countries. There may be similarities between conventional and some electronic cigarettes in the physical design and the nicotine release, which may approximate the same amount of nicotine as a conventional cigarette. There are also many electronic cigarettes which do not resemble conventional cigarettes at all. The amount of nicotine contained can also be chosen by the user, with many people choosing no nicotine at all.

2) Fire safe cigarettes (abbreviated "FSC": also known as Lower Ignition Propensity [LIP], Reduced Fire Risk [RFR], self-extinguishing, fire-safe or Reduced Ignition Propensity [RIP] cigarettes) are cigarettes that are designed to extinguish more quickly than standard cigarettes if ignored, with the intention of preventing accidental fires. In the United States, "FSC" above the barcode signifies that the cigarettes sold are Fire Standards Compliant (FSC).
 
 

Fire safe cigarettes are produced by adding two bands of the FSC chemical to the cigarette paper during manufacture in order to slow the burn rate at the bands. Because this process decreases the burn rate and does not prevent unattended cigarettes from igniting nearby materials or tinder, the term "fire-safe" has been called a misnomer which could lead smokers to believe that these cigarettes are less likely to cause fires than standard cigarettes.

 
3) Herbal cigarettes are cigarettes that do not contain any tobacco and which are composed of a mixture of various other herbs and/or other plant material. Such cigarettes are not to be confused with so-called non-additive and/ or natural tobacco cigarette variety. Like herbal smokeless tobacco, they are often used as a substitute for standard tobacco products (primarily cigarettes), and many times are promoted as a tobacco cessation aid. Herbal cigarettes are also used in acting scenes by performers who are non-smokers, or—as is becoming increasingly common—where anti-smoking legislation prohibits the use of tobacco in public spaces.

 

4) Lights, or "Low-tar," are considered to have a "lighter," less pronounced flavour than regular cigarettes. These cigarette brands may also contain lower levels of tar, nicotine, or other chemicals inhaled by the smoker. The filter design is one of the main differences between light and regular cigarettes, although not all cigarettes contain perforated holes in the filter anymore. In some light cigarettes, the filter is perforated with small holes that theoretically diffuse the tobacco smoke with clean air. In regular cigarettes, the filter does not include these perforations. In ultra-light cigarettes, the filter’s perforations are larger, and in theory, these larger holes produce an even smaller smoke to air ratio.
 
 

5) Menthol cigarette is a cigarette flavoured with the compound menthol, a substance which triggers the cold-sensitive nerves in the skin without actually providing a drop in temperature. Menthol cigarettes have also been shown to inhibit nicotine metabolism, causing "systemic enhancement in exposure to nicotine".

 
6) Kretek is cigarettes made with a blend of tobacco, cloves and other flavours. The word "kretek" itself is an onomatopoetic term for the crackling sound of burning cloves. Haji Jamahri, a resident of Kudus, Java, created kreteks in the early 1880s as a means to deliver the eugenol of cloves to the lungs, as it was thought to help asthma. Jamahri believed the eugenol cured his chest pains and he started to market his invention to the village, but he died of lung cancer before he could mass market it. M. Nitisemito took his place and began to commercialize the new cigarettes. Today, kretek manufacturers directly employ over 180,000 people in Indonesia and an additional 10 million indirectly.

 

 

Pipe Tobacco

 

A smoking pipe is a pipe that is specifically made to smoke tobacco. Typically, it will consist of a chamber (the bowl) for the combustion of material and a thin stem (shank) ending in a mouthpiece (the bit). Pipes can range from the very simple machine-made briar pipe to highly-prized handmade and artful implements created by renowned pipe makers which are often very expensive collector's items. "Estate pipes" are previously owned pipes that are sold to new owners. The bowls of tobacco pipes are commonly made of briar, meerschaum, corncob or clay.
 

Less common are cherry wood, olivewood, maple, mesquite, oak, and bog-wood. Generally a dense-grained wood is ideal. Pipe bowls of all these materials are sometimes carved with a great deal of artistry. Unusual, but still noteworthy pipe bowl materials include gourds, as in the famous Calabash pipe, and pyrolytic graphite. Metal and glass are uncommon materials for tobacco pipes, but are common for pipes intended for other substances, such as cannabis.

The stem needs a long channel of constant position and diameter running through it for a proper draw, although filter pipes have varying diameters and can be successfully smoked even without filters or adapters. Because it is melded rather than carved, clay may make up the entire pipe or just the bowl, but most other materials have stems made separately and detachable. Stems and bits of tobacco pipes are usually made of mouldable materials like vulcanite, Bakelite, and soft plastic. Less common are stems made of reeds, bamboo, or hollowed out pieces of wood. Expensive pipes once had stems made of amber, though this is rare now.

Tobaccos for smoking in pipes are often carefully treated and blended to achieve flavour nuances not available in other tobacco products. Many of these are blends using staple ingredients of variously cured Burley and Virginia tobaccos which are enhanced by spice tobaccos, among them many Oriental or Balkan varietals, Latakia (a fire-cured spice tobacco of Syrian origin), Perique (uniquely grown in St. James Parish, Louisiana) which is also an old method of fermentation, or blends of Virginia and Burley tobaccos of African, Indian, or South American origins.

 

 

CIGARETTES Brands: 555 Dunhill Benson & Hedges Marlboro Rothman’s

 

PIPE TOBACCO Brands: Captain black Flying Dutchman Van Gogh Solani