The different tobaccos

Organic tobacco, NET, ... ok that's fine, but if we talked a little about the different tobaccos to see clearly?

On and goes?

Please note that this page is by no means exhaustive. We wanted to share our knowledge with you, which we have combined with additional information from tobacco reference sites to help you find your way around the world of NETs.

Virginia:

Virginia is by far the best known and most widely used tobacco in the world. It accounts for 70% of global tobacco production. As its name suggests, it comes from the former British colony of Virginia, in the United States but its cultivation has now spread throughout the world, particularly in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe. It is also one of the rare tobaccos still grown in France today. Its leaves have a size ranging from 20 to 50 cm. They are traditionally harvested one by one, once they have reached maturity, then quickly dried in hot air in large ovens, "flue-curing", which gives them their color varying from lemon yellow to orange and a high sugar content.

Virginia is used as a base, or “filler” tobacco in most pipe and cigarette tobacco blends, but it can also be used pure. It has a light, delicate and sweet flavor, often fragrant and tart, giving a pleasant mouthfeel.

Burley:

Burley is a light tobacco. It is the second most cultivated variety of tobacco in the world, mainly in Brazil, Mexico, in some American states such as Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as in some African countries. In the field, its leaves are comparable in size to those of Virginia, but are finer and of a lighter green color. Burley plants are generally harvested whole, before being dried in the open air in large ventilated barns, the "air-curing".

It is a brown tobacco, very low in sugar but fairly high in nicotine. It is therefore rarely used pure but added to mixtures in order to make them more full-bodied. It is highly valued by cigarette and pipe smokers for its very low bitterness and its ability to capture and deliver a rich palette of flavors including hay, hazelnut and chocolate.

Cavendish:

Cavendish is not really a variety of tobacco, but rather a method of curing, fermenting, and cutting to bring out the natural sweetness of tobacco. It can be produced from any variety of tobacco, but is usually made from or a blend of Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, and Burley. The tobacco leaves are piled up and then pressed until they form a "cake" a few centimeters thick. This cake is then heated over fire or steam to allow the leaves to ferment. The result is a very soft and sweet tobacco, often flavored (honey, bourbon, rum, vanilla, chocolate, cherry, ...).

Kentucky:

Kentucky originates from the US state of the same name, but can be found elsewhere in the United States, Mexico, Malawi, Tanzania, Italy, Poland, and Indonesia. Its large leaves up to 60 cm are fire-cured and have a dark brown, almost black color and a rich flavor. It contains more nicotine than Burley. It is a fairly strong tobacco that gives particular strength and an original, spicy and smoky taste to the tobacco blends to which it is added.

Latakia:

Although bearing the same name from a small Syrian port, Latakia actually combines two very different varieties, one from Cyprus and Turkey, the other from Syria. The leaves of the Syrian variety are dark brown and have a higher nicotine content than the darker, almost black leaves of the Cypriot and Turkish variety. Both are however dried over a wood fire (fire curing). Their slight smoky taste, as well as their earthy and leathery flavor, are very popular in “English” and “Balkan” type pipe tobacco blends.

Oriental tobaccos:

Oriental tobaccos are grown throughout the eastern Mediterranean basin. There are many varieties, such as the famous , Basma, izmir, katerini, yenidje, whose leaves are often quite small (10 to 15 cm), oval and pale yellow to beige in color. Grown in arid conditions and then dried in the sun (sun curing), they acquire a mild, spicy and more or less sweet flavor. Although many of the earliest brands of cigarettes were once made mainly or entirely from oriental tobaccos, today these are mainly used for flavoring purposes in cigarette and pipe blends, including "English" or " American". Oriental tobaccos are a vast subject as there is so much variety. You can find more information and details about the Orientals on the following link: https://www.fumeursdepipe.net/artorientaux.htm

Maryland:

This tobacco is produced for the most part in the State of Maryland, in the United States. It is ocher to brown in color and has a fairly neutral flavor. It is also used to produce Cavendish. In the vape, it brings a creamy side.

Finally:

Perique is grown and produced in Louisiana, USA. This almost black tobacco, with an oily appearance, is obtained after leaving young immature leaves to ferment for a year under pressure in oak barrels. Once chewed or prized, it is now considered the "truffle of pipe tobacco" and its fruity and delicate flavor is appreciated by pipe smokers in many blends, especially those based on pure Virginia, to bring them spiciness, strength and freshness.

Cigar tobaccos:

Just like oriental tobaccos, the varieties of cigar tobaccos are very numerous and varied. The characteristics of each variety also differ depending on the region, climate, type of soil, position of the leaves on the plant and their methods of drying and fermentation.

Each cigar is made up of three parts. The central part, the heart of the cigar, is called the "tripe», or «filler", and is composed of three types of leaves taken from different parts of the plant and folded together: the " flown » coming from the lowest part of the plant and ensuring the good combustion of the cigar, the « dry coming from the middle part and giving the aroma of the cigar, and the " light coming from the top and ensuring the strength of the cigar. The second part is called the binder », or « tie upr” and consists of a sheet or two half-sheets wrapped around the filler to hold it. The last part is called the cape », or « wrapper ". It is the leaf that coats the cigar and which, even if it has very little influence on the taste of the cigar, gives it its aesthetics.

The varieties of tobacco used to make cigars are grown mainly in Central America (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras), Cameroon, Indonesia, Brazil, Ecuador and the United States. The main varieties are:

Pilot

Most of today's premium cigars are made from this variety that originated in Cuba, but has also been grown in the Dominican Republic for about 50 years. This variety with flexible and robust leaves produces a tobacco with a full and full-bodied flavor, with notes of spices.

Smell

This variety indigenous to the Dominican Republic produces thinner and less resistant leaves than Piloto, but highly sought after for their aromatic complexity and good combustion.

Corojo

Now grown in Honduras and western Kentucky, this variety originated in Cuba where its leaves have long been used to make quality wrappers with spicy flavors. Its high susceptibility to disease, however, led the Cubans to abandon it and develop hybrids, such as Habano 2000.

Creole

The Criollo, whose name means "indigenous seed", is a very old variety originating from Cuba where its leaves were used as filler. Today, this variety is cultivated in many countries, for tobaccos very different from the Cuban Criollo. Nicaraguan Criollo grown in Jalapa, for example, will have a fairly sweet flavor, while Criollo grown near Esteli will have a more pronounced earthy and nutty flavor, while Honduran Criollo will be creamier and smoother.

Habano & Habano 2000

Habano and Habano 2000 are strains born in Cuba. The Habano produces wrappers that are dark, spicy and rich in aromas. It has also been grown in Nicaragua since the 1990s.

Habano 2000, also grown in Ecuador, Honduras and Nicaragua, is a cross between the famous but highly disease-susceptible Corojo and a milder, more resistant variety of cigarette tobacco called Bell 61-10.

Broadleaf

Broadleaf is a variety of small tobacco plants whose leaves were often used as a filler or binder in cigar making but have become increasingly popular as a wrapper due to their qualities and fragrance. The most famous come from Connecticut, in the United States.

Connecticut Shade

Connecticut Shade is a cross between varieties from Sumatra and Cuba that are grown along the Connecticut River in the shade of tents to protect them from direct sunlight. This results in lighter, thinner and stretchier leaves, perfect for wrapping some of the finest cigars in the world.

Sumatra

Despite its name and its Indonesian origin, the most famous Sumatra is the Ecuadorian Sumatra. This oily sheet with a black color and subtle aromas of cedar, raisins, coffee and black pepper is considered one of the best wrappers in the world.

Let's talk a bit about mixtures.

Balkan mixture ( BM )

The Balkan Mixture is often considered an EM (English mix) because of its good dose of Latakia but, in addition to the EM, it has different interpretations and recipes. The constant is a strong presence of Orientals, accompanied by Virginia and Latakia and often other varieties.

English mixture (EM)

The English Mixture has different interpretations and recipes, between classic and modern. The constant is a strong presence of Latakia, accompanied by Virginia, Oriental and often other varieties. English Mixture is often used in pipe tobacco.

American blend (AB)

The American Blend is mainly composed of Virginia, accompanied by Burley and Oriental; each of them, depending on the balance, gives different peculiarities to the final composition. The American Blend is a typical blend of American blondes.