How Cigars are Rolled

We do a lot of cigar rolling events and it never ceases to amaze me how everyone loves to watch how a cigar is made. I thought this article and video would be nice for people that are not able to go to an event. First I'll go through the process.

First the tobacco leaves are harvested and processed then delivered to the factory. The factory stores the leaves till they're ready for production. Once they're ready to be rolled they are taken to the rollers. Here the rollers select from different leaves to get the blend he wants. He bunches these by hand carefully making sure that the leaves don't fold over and stay straight, if they fold over they can block the air passage obstructing the draw. The roller must also stack the leaves so they will burn evenly. This inner tobacco is called the filler and is the main element that makes up the taste and strength of the cigar. Once the roller has the leaves bunched correctly he wraps them in an outer leaf called a binder to hold everything together and places it in a mold. A mold will hold around 10 cigars. The mold is then put in a press and the cigars are pressed into shape. After sitting in the press the cigars are ready to be rolled. The roller now removes the cigars to put the final wrapper on. Putting the wrapper on is a true art. A wrapper leaf is selected and trimmed to size. Then the roller stretches the leaf and proceeds to roll the cigar over the wrapper till it completely covers the cigar. This is where the experience comes in. The wrapper is extremely delicate and will tear if to much pressure is applied. The roller then twists the end tight. He then cuts a small circular cap from the extra leaf and glues it in place with a natural plant glue to give the cigar a nice finished presentation. Last he cuts the other end straight and voila you have a finished stogie.

Now this is a lot to take in if you don't actually see it done, so I've included a video with our cigar roller Miguel actually rolling a cigar. Miguel started working in cigar factories when he was just a kid in Cuba. He worked as a roller in the Partagas Factory in Cuba before finally moving over here. Now if you'd like to try any of these cigars you can go to our website at http://miamitobaccotraders.com and look for the house cigars.