Popular Post El Presidente Posted September 19, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted September 19, 2015 Growing hope by Punch Joe Two weeks ago a group of US congressmen paid a visit to Hirochi Robaina at his farm in San Luis. Not a word in the news. They were impressed with the farm and the warm welcome. Funny that I was there a week earlier and the road was in pretty bad conditions after years of lack of attention but two days before, the Government repaired the road to some extent making easier the access to the plantation. Same thing they have been doing lately in a few main streets in Havana because the visit of The Pope next Saturday. You get the idea. The main concern today for committed growers is anything but the need for a cold winter. For the coming season we are expecting more cold fronts, when temperature plummets at night and the next morning we would have a warm day where day/night variations are high (meaning chilly nights and sunny days) and has an significant effect in the quality (the bigger this variation, the better the quality of leaves) What I heard is that the 2014-2015 harvest is not exactly a good one. This was a very dry year in most regions with no cold temperatures and there´s a shared feeling that we didn´t produced the best tobacco due to these adverse climate conditions. Some rely on the stock but I don´t know if it´s enough. One friend recently asked me: ¨How can you judge the outcome of my harvest if I can only sell the tobacco leaves but not allowed to process and bale it? When leaves find their way to the Sorting and Stripping houses for improvement, it´s hard tracking down your own production¨. He was right and that needs to be changed but at the same time there´s another fact it´s worth-considering: A minimal percent of the harvest is allowed for the growers to keep for themselves so they can roll their own cigars. These farm cigars with leaves which have been processed, sorted and stored at the farm for some years is the most accurate sign for judging the crop and the region. They use binders, fillers and wrappers grown in the farm to produce a Puro. The Robaina family has been doing this for a while. There, you can witness the thinnest, oily and no veins wrapper that could trigger salivation. They have same facilities for leaf processing at a lesser scale but with equal purpose, we are not talking of thousands and thousands cigars. I tried cigars which were made using leaves from the 2004 harvest. Later on, they offered me to try the 2008´s. What I found is that the difference may lie in the aging, even though the tobacco strains planted in those years were different but it carries the spirit and the core of the tobaccos grown there. The 2004 was earthier and mellow compared to the 2008 ones. Things turned out to be more interesting when they told me they started piling up some good material to roll a few quantities every year so multiple combinations are possible. That´s nothing new to the cigar industry. Prior to 1959, factory owners would only buy tobacco from the same plantations year after year. If the Cuban cigar industry is really concerned about the consistency and the unparalleled inner quality of our product, they should take a closer look at the leaf selection and the aging process the way the growers do with their own to produce some good farm cigars. My last question was: - What about making a cigar with 5 YO dark wrapper, 10 YO ligero and seco leaves and 2 YO volado? Can you do it for me? And his reply sounded like the Obama´s presidential campaign slogan: - Yes, we can. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordAnubis Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Awesome post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Very cool, and oh, to smoke that cigar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anacostiakat Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Excellent! Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rob Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Great stuff, Hermano. Good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintsmokealot Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Great read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk05 Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Great as usual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt45 Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLC Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Very enjoyable read. I had the chance to visit the farm and spend some time with Hirochi a few years ago. The puro's from them are some of the best cigars I've ever had. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skarolla Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Sure. I'll take one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archosaur Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Excellent as usual Punch Joe. I love the idea of anything single estate. Hope to try a farm roll someday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagerodshop Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Man, I would love to get to Cuba soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Presidente Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 Growing hope by Punch Joe Prior to 1959, factory owners would only buy tobacco from the same plantations year after year. Privateer retailers such as JJFox were once able to go to the factories direct and develop their own cigars. I would love to do so on a commercial basis direct with the finca owners. One day 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond5737 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Hey Punch: Do you think you could best realize your dream with the larger Finca owners or would it be the smaller owners that may be able to grow a more diversified strand of tobacco for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busdriver Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Great post. Thanks! The Robiana farm is a wonderful place to visit, very fond memories for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigarbigboy Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 great post. this shows the variability one year to the next. moral is, if you like a year, buy more, cause they could be different the next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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