How Broadleaf Tobacco is Primed

• Posted on 5 March 2018
• By El Cigar Shop
• Posted in Broadleaf Tobacco, Maduro Cigars
• 1

Ever wondered how broadleaf tobacco is primed? Read our latest article on the process and pleasures of broadleaf tobacco and Maduro cigars.

Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco is prized tobacco for cigars. It is delicious tobacco that is deep in flavor but still somewhat mild to the palate, standing in stark contrast to Oscuro Maduro tobacco.

It is used in fantastic Maduro cigars which are treasured, deep, nutty, and leathery. They are even a bit earthy in their flavor and smooth in their texture.

It is in some of my personal favorite cigars, in fact, many of which are Maduro cigars. These make use of Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco to provide deep flavor without adding a lot of spice.  Many of the best Maduro cigars will utilize Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco in order to do just that, in fact.

But how does one prime broadleaf tobacco?

Well, to begin with, Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco spends AT LEAST a few weeks more than a month in the field. This is done because the leaves need to collect more nutrients that contribute to them becoming the ‘broad’ leaves that they are named to be.

When a broadleaf tobacco plant is ready and prepared for priming, the ‘broad leaves’ will be quite large. How large? Well, somewhere near as long as an infant elephant’s ear, and possibly close to as wide. It’s hard to understand just how big these leaves can get.

They’re usually positioned quite low on the tobacco plant from which they are cut, as well. This makes it all the more surprising that they manage to get enough nutrients from the sun to grow as immense as they end up being.

These leaves are not only larger, but they’re quite full of flavor. After all, they’re closer to the main sources of nutrition for the plant, and they’re big enough that they can draw in additional sunlight for chlorophyll.

Of course, there are two different ways that broadleaf tobaccos can grow.  

You can have what is normally called a ‘wet crop.’

This means a lot of rain (shocking, I know) came around during the growing season for the crop. This makes for bigger leaves than usual. It also means that they will be lighter in color, less flavorful, and with fewer oils.

This loss of flavor is because when leaves are that big, the flavors (even the actual parts of the plant itself) are much more spread out. This causes them to be much less pronounced.

When the leaves are smaller, though, that flavor is concentrated. Oils are more pronounced, providing larger plumes of pleasant smoke, and perhaps best of all, greater flavor.

Now, there is also something to be said of the process that the tobacco goes through after it is picked. Piling the tobacco into a pilon, for example, can help to ensure that it will cook in the flavors and a darker color.

From a humble plant comes the tobacco that will be used to make beautiful and flavorful cigars. All that it needs is to be properly taken care of, given enough water to survive, and most importantly, to be properly wrapped by someone who knows how to roll a decent cigar. This means not too soft, not too firm. When a cigar is rolled just right, smoking through it is not a chore, making it much more enjoyable.

If you’re looking for great cigars that are deep in flavor, you simply must try a Maduro cigar at some point. They’re the darker, more flavorful cousin of most other cigars, and they have a flavor profile that cannot be simply described, but rather must be experienced.

So next time you’re in your local cigar shop’s humidor or online shopping via your favorite online cigar shop or outlet, make sure to try out a Maduro cigar or two.  It can’t hurt, and it will allow you to expand your cigar horizons a little bit, at least.

Check out the Maduro cigars we have available in our online cigar store here: El Cigar Shop.

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