| Curing Tobacco: a NecessityLike many plants, green | | | | tobacco and dark cigarettes.Flue CuringThe flue-curing |
| tobacco is 90 percent water. After being harvested, | | | | consists of heating the air in a very well closed barn. |
| and before going to the barn, the tobacco has faded a | | | | An outside fire blows hot air (very hot!) into metal pipes |
| little and the water content is about 80%. It is still too | | | | running into the barn. There is no direct contact |
| much water for fermentation and the curing is | | | | between the fire and the tobacco, the hot pipes just |
| necessary to lower this rate to about 25%. To get 100 | | | | heat the inside air. This process is used for curing |
| lb. of "dry" tobacco, the curing has to eliminate about | | | | Virginia tobacco for cigarettes and Connecticut type |
| 40 gallons of water. A full barn of tobacco will need | | | | wrappers. The goal is to fix the color on yellow to get |
| millions of cu. ft. of air to drain off this water! Whatever | | | | bright tobaccos.Air or Fire Curing?Indonesian tobaccos |
| the curing process is, the barn has to be | | | | are often classified as fire-cured, even if they are |
| ventilated!Change the NatureIf you let green tobacco | | | | air-cured. As the growers have to help the curing with |
| dry naturally, the color will turn yellow first, then brown. | | | | fire, the tobaccos are so classified for customs |
| To modify this natural transformation, and to get a | | | | purpose, having the advantage of a preferred duty |
| different result, a special process has to be | | | | tariff. It is a way to help the exports of developing |
| applied.Curing ProcessOnce harvested, the tobacco | | | | countries.Sun CuringOriental tobaccos are sun-cured. |
| must be cured without delay in order to start the | | | | No barn, nothing but the sun! The tobacco goes out |
| stabilization of the material. Without curing, the tobacco | | | | very yellow and keeps all its sugar content. It is |
| would dry and turn to dust as any vegetable. There | | | | generally a very short tobacco. Leaves are 2 or 3 |
| are four main processes : Flue Curing, Fire Curing, Air | | | | inches large. The taste is sweet. This tobacco is used |
| Curing and Sun Curing. The last one does not need a | | | | for blond cigarette, pipe and short filler cigars. The main |
| curing barn. Cigar tobaccos are generally air-cured, but | | | | producers are Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria. All the |
| some light wrappers are flue-cured.Air CuringCigar | | | | countries around these three are also growing oriental |
| tobaccos are mainly air-cured (or dark air-cured). They | | | | tobacco.Hanging tobacco leavesFor curing, tobacco |
| dry in a closed barn with a natural circulation of air. This | | | | leaves have to be hung in the barn. The old manner |
| process is longer than any other but it is the most | | | | was to thread leaves with a needle on a thin string, |
| natural. However, if the air is very humid (in some | | | | one by one. Now there are sewing machines. Leaves |
| countries, or during the night), the barn is heated with | | | | are put two by two in a rail and are sewn |
| smokeless fires (made with gas or coal) in order to | | | | automatically when pressing the petiole against the rail. |
| avoid rotting and to accelerate the process a bit.Fire | | | | The string is attached to a slat that is put on supports |
| CuringDuring fire-curing, the barn is really a | | | | in the barn. The barn is filled up from top to bottom, |
| smokehouse! Wood fires are kept burning in the barn. | | | | section by section.John Payne is the Publisher of Web |
| Smoke is everywhere. The tobacco turns black and | | | | Marketing Ezine, and the Founder of Enviro-Friendly |
| shiny. It is impregnated with a nice smoke smell. This | | | | Products.Patrice Hirschfeld has spent a lifetime in |
| process is used in Kentucky and others places that try | | | | Tobacco, and is the Proprietor of the Online Cigar |
| to match the product (Malawi, Italy). Fire-cured | | | | Store- Voila Cigars. John provides Marketing |
| tobaccos are mainly used in roll-your-own , pipe | | | | Consultancy to Voila Cigars. |