Made cigar, «life» which is so short, - result of long and tedious work.
Tobacco collected from plantations undergoes first production cycle which is drying. This could be done by two means: heat drying (quick, but tobacco loses its qualities) and self drying. Self dried tobacco has a better quality keeps its aroma and softness. Self dried tobacco leaves have red-brownish color, whereas heat dried tobacco is pale yellow in color. Tobacco self drying is a long process which requires a lot of attention. It may take one to four weeks to dry a tobacco leaf. First 3-4 days it is necessary to make sure that tobacco is not exposed to direct sun rays. If this happens tobacco will be over dried, will lose its taste and become unusable for further processing. During the whole period of drying soaking should be avoided as well, because wet tobacco loses its qualities. When the leaf plate is dried along with the leaf veins and cutting, drying is considered to be done. Tobacco leaves should not lose their elasticity, because this needed for further curling. Humidity level of those leaves is around 16-20%.

Christopher Columbus has brought smoking of twisted leaves to Europe. In Oct. 1492 Europeans who reached South America have noticed that local people use to burn leaves of corn wrapped around «cohiba», some other plant leaves to get aromatic smoke to inhale in some ritual processes. Famous cigar brand was named after it in Cuba.

Handmade cigars of course considered the most valued cigars. (totalmente a mano - «handmade»). According to the formula master blends specific kinds of tobaccos (usually 2-4 kinds) in order to achieve needed aroma and taste. Then he rolls them inside the connecting leaf, places the bar under the press and finally wraps it with a cover leaf. This tedious procedure provides with the best air circulation inside the cigar, which is so valued among the cigar smokers. Handmade cigar has the best appearance as well. Despite the fact that every single cigar is unique, due to hand labor and uniqueness of the leaves, the weight difference of these high quality cigars is no more than one gram.

Cigar consists of three components: cover leaf (capa), covers the cigar; connecting leaf (capote) and cigar core — filler  (tripa). Filler has three different tobacco kinds, usually there are three of them: ligero (top leaves of the plant which get the most amount of sun, gives cigar a strength), seco (specifies the aroma) è volado (lower leaves of a tobacco plant which provide a smooth burning).

Cigar is a union of thoroughly selected components which gives a pleasure from smoking. It is important to remember that quality of a cigar depends on its components. First thing that smoker pays attention to is — a cover leaf. It’s up to its appearance, if the smoker decides to choose the cigar. The role of a cover leaf is not big and proportioned to its weight, 7% of cigar’s weight. But still, cover leaf is as important as clothing for a person. Cigar consists of three parts: head, body and a foot. Head — is the edge of a cigar which is being cut before smoking, If cigar is burned from the head you will feel how the taste of it worsens.

Machine made cigars differ from handmade and semi handmade cigars that the first ones are ready for use when they are sold: their heads are cut or precut. Handmade cigars heads are always closed and should be cut before the use. Cigar should be lit from the foot; it’s always open and freshly cut.