How It's Done

KAUAI TOBACCO FARM

1. Nursery
The start of our cigar journey begins with a tobacco seed smaller than a grain of pepper. The seeds are carefully placed in float trays packed with rich soil, before entering our nursery.

2. Planting
After spending six weeks growing in our nursery, the tobacco, which is now a few inches tall, is ready to be planted into the ground.

3. Field
Some people say you can feel the tobacco plant growing if you hold onto it. In fact, during the six week vegetative period the plant can grow from just a few inches to 6 feet tall. 

5. Suckering
Between the fourth and sixth week of vegetative growth the tobacco plant will start to flower. These flowers will be removed by hand (suckering) in order to focus the plant’s energy to the tobacco leaves. 

5. Harvest
The harvest begins around the 12th week. A skilled crew will pick 3 tobacco leaves per week starting from the bottom of the plant. Over a period of 6 weeks a total of eighteen leaves will be picked from each plant.

6. Stringing Tobacco
Once harvested the leaves are strung by hand onto a stick using a needle and ribbon. Different colored ribbons are used each week to identify the various primings. Each set of leaves is distinguished by size, color, thickness, texture, and strength.

7. Hanging Tobacco
The sticks of tobacco, each carrying 50 tobacco leaves, are carefully placed onto racks in our curing barn where they will undergo complex changes over the next 6 to 8 weeks of curing.

8. Loosening Tobacco
Now it is time for us in Hawaii to say goodbye to our tobacco. We remove the loose tobacco from the sticks and ship the entire harvest to our friends in Esteli, Nicaragua.

NICARAGUA CIGAR MAKING

9. Arrival in Esteli, Nicaragua
When the tobacco arrives at the factory it is carefully unpacked by a seasoned group of tobacco classifiers who will use the colored ribbon to tie bundles of 25 leaves into manos (hands).

10. Fermentation
An experienced crew will carefully construct the manos of tobacco into pilones (fermentation piles). A fermentation expert will constantly monitor and chart the rising temperatures of these pilones. Only he will determine when the bulk of tobacco needs to be deconstructed, and rebuilt. The tobacco fermentation takes a minimum of one year to complete, and over 1,500 hours of labor!

11. Classification and Aging
Women, who have a keen attention for detail, will sort the fermented tobacco leaf into as many as 26 different grades. Tobacco is then baled and aged until it is ready for cigar making.

12. Making a Fine Cigar
Once aged, the tobacco is hand made into cigars by rollers that work in pairs. A bonchero (buncher) will construct the size, and shape of the cigar using specific leaf created for a specific blend of tobacco. Each bunched cigar is then pressed in a mold, and draw tested by a machine for quality. The torcedor (roller) will apply the flawless wrapper leaf to the pressed cigar and complete its long journey. A team can hand make approximately 200 cigars in one day!

13. Packaging
Branding and quality packaging are a big part of the process. A quality cigar box will not only protect the cigar, but will help it age properly. 14. Final Inspection
Before any cigar leaves the factory, the final product must be inspected for any imperfections. These high standards separate a premium hand made cigar from those mass produced from machines.

14. Final Inspection
Before any cigar leaves the factory, the final product must be inspected for any imperfections. These high standards separate a premium hand made cigar from those mass produced from machines.

15. Back to Hawaii
The finished products are boxed and shipped back to the island of Kauai, where the journey began. The finished cigars will age for a minimum of six months before being sold.