Kafie 1901 Connecticut

The Kafie family emigrated from England to Honduras around the year 1901, which is also reflected in the brand name. In the 1970s, the family moved to the United States with their three young children and built a new life there. The founder and current owner of Kafie Cigars, Dr. Gaby Kafie, worked for about ten years as a physician before taking the leap into the cigar industry in 2013, in his early forties. There’s that old joke that says it’s easy to make a small fortune in the cigar business—you just start with a large one, invest it in cigars, and eventually you’ll be left with a small fortune.

Dr. Gaby Kafie: From Physician to Cigar Maker with Honduran Roots

I don’t know exactly how things turned out for Dr. Kafie, but I have great respect for the fact that he had the courage to leave a secure medical career to pursue his passion and produce cigars in the land of his ancestors. Initially, the Honduran cigars were rolled by the Reyes family. At the beginning of 2017, he opened his own factory in Danlí, Honduras, where about 20 employees processed tobacco and rolled cigars. The annual capacity was around 150,000 cigars, rolled by about ten pairs of workers.

From Danlí to Santiago: Kafie Cigars at La Aurora in the Dominican Republic

In November 2021, production was completely moved to Tabacalera La Aurora in Santiago, Dominican Republic. This decision was made due to severe storms, challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, and general safety concerns in Honduras. Since La Aurora cigars and their production standards are beyond question, it was definitely a wise move to entrust the making of the cigars to the oldest cigar factory in the Dominican Republic. The first Dominican-made Kafie 1901 cigars hit the market in spring 2022. Since then, Gaby Kafie has focused on creating exciting blends and distributing his cigars internationally. Since May 2025, Don Stefano Zigarrenmanufaktur GmbH from Heuchelheim, Hesse, has been the exclusive importer for Germany.

Kafie 1901 Connecticut: Mild Cigars with Ecuadorian Shade Wrapper

The cigars from the Connecticut line presented here feature a light Shade wrapper from Ecuador. The binder is Dominican, and the filler tobaccos are a well-balanced blend from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. This three-country blend gives the mild Connecticut cigars their particularly smooth character. In addition to the cigars presented here, there were originally three other varieties under the Kafie Cigars brand. Also produced at Tabacalera G. Kafie y Cia were the San Jeronimo cigars, the oldest registered cigar brand from Honduras. The family acquired it in the late 1930s. Currently, only the Kafie 1901 Connecticut cigars presented here and the slightly stronger Kafie 1901 Maduro are being offered.