Flor de Selva: Bestseller
Flor de Selva: All items
Flor de Selva – Exceptional Honduran Cigars
The cigars by Flor de Selva stand out for two reasons: a remarkable story and a female founder – still a rarity in the cigar industry. Maya, whose full name is Maria-Pia Selva, comes from France. In 1995, she founded her own company, Flor de Selva, in Honduras. But how does a woman – and a French one at that – come up with the idea of starting a tobacco business in Honduras and trying to establish Honduran cigars in the European market? The answer lies in Maya's roots: it was her Honduran grandfather who sparked her love for cigars – a passion still uncommon for women. He smoked exclusively Honduran cigar brands. That’s how Maya got the idea to unite her two home countries, France and Honduras.
Maya Selva and Cigarworld – A Success Story
Her idea didn’t remain just an idea. Maya traveled to Honduras to explore the local cigar scene. But once there, she quickly realized that the regional cigars didn’t meet her standards of enjoyment.
The cigars simply didn’t satisfy the level of refinement she was looking for. But instead of returning to France disappointed, Maya saw an opportunity in her initial frustration: she decided to become part of the cigar-making industry herself. She gave herself a year to learn the cigar trade from the ground up in Honduras. A key turning point was her connection with Nestor Plasencia, owner of one of Central America’s largest and most renowned cigar factories. This friendship led to a fruitful collaboration that became the final step toward founding her own brand.
Flor de Selva Cigars – The Crown Jewel of Honduras
The first “fruits” of her hard work were harvested in 1995: for the first time, a box of Honduran Flor de Selva cigars was shipped to France. This marked the beginning of her still-young success story in the cigar industry. Today, Maya’s company employs over 200 people in factories in Honduras and Nicaragua, producing more than one million hand-rolled cigars annually.
Many Brands Under One Roof
Flor de Selva now stands for premium tobacco and exceptional craftsmanship. With her own custom blends and the full-bodied, aromatic flavor, Maya’s first Flor de Selva cigars were a hit in Europe. To date, Flor de Selva has released a total of 13 different formats, all of which have become bestsellers and earned multiple awards. Highly recommended: the “Tempo” cigar by Flor de Selva, which features a bolder, fuller flavor profile with delicate roasted notes that subtly express its origin. From the same house come the Cumpay cigars and our absolute bestseller from Honduras, Villa Zamorano.
The series is often confused with Flor de Copan, but aside from the country of origin, they have nothing in common. In Germany, Maya Selva’s brand is distributed by Kohlhase & Kopp, who also handle well-known names like De Olifant, Santa Damiana, Dunhill, and Rocky Patel. Today, the Flor de Selva cigar line includes not only a wide range of formats (from Panetela to Churchill) but also Maduro variants.
