How Habanos are Rolled?
October/14/2024
Preparing the Wrapper. Time has done its work and the leaf is finally ready to play its role in the process of making a Habano.
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Time has done its work and the leaf is finally ready to play its role in the process of making a Habano.
The wrapper leaves are now aged and ready for final sorting and classification. It is at this point that they must be destemmed.
The wetting gives them the optimal condition required for the destemming and sorting and so they can fulfill their final objective of wrapping the cigar.
The bundles of 40 or 50 leaves (depending on their classification) are subjected to a fine spray of pure water. The excess drops are shaken off to avoid any kind of stain, and the leaves are hung on racks so that the moisture is absorbed evenly.
Then, qualified hands carry out the destemming and the reglagado (final classification of the layer).
A precise movement completely eliminates the central vein of the leaf, separating it into two halves ready for the reglagado in approximately 20 exquisitely defined sizes and shades.
2. Preparing the casing/ Fillers.
The leaves intended for the filler and the wrapper are carefully removed from their bales for examination.
If necessary, they are subjected to an airing process to remove excess moisture.
They are then placed in wooden barrels where they are stored until they are deemed ready to be used.
3. La “liga” ( The tobacco mixed)
The task of selecting the blends for each brand, according to their own recipes, begins long before the bales arrive at the factory.
As soon as the factory’s future production schedule by brand and size is known, the Master Blender draws up the list of all the tobacco leaves he needs to make them.
In the central warehouse, a selection is made from a huge stock of bales containing all types of leaves, each classified according to its age (limero, seco, volado and binder), its size, its age and, most importantly, its area and zone of origin.
4. Rolling.
All Habanos, with a few exceptions, are made in the same way as they have historically been made by the Torcedores and Torcedoras, whose experienced hands cannot be matched by any machine.
As tools they only use: a wooden board, two cutters (the key and a small cap), a guillotine, a knob of natural, tasteless and colorless vegetable gum, the ring gauge (to check the length and diameter of the cigar) and, most importantly, the skill of their hands.
There are four categories of Torcedores, and only the highest category is allowed to make the largest and most complex Habanos.
It takes many years to reach the top of this traditional art, where only one thing has changed over time: today the great majority of Torcedores are women, that is, Torcedoras.
Other Methods – Totally by Hand – Short Filler
The trimmings from the long filler cigar bundles are combined with other types of tobacco chosen and cut into pieces to create the blends of the short filler Habanos.
The Torcedor rolls the filler into the binder leaf, with the help of a flexible cloth that is attached to his bench to form a firm bundle. The wrapper is then manually placed in the traditional way.
These cigars are also totally handmade.
Preparing the Wrapper. Time has done its work and the leaf is finally ready to play its role in the process of making a Habano.
