How to Properly Ferment Tobacco
One of the most fundamental and crucial processes in tobacco processing is fermentation. Tobacco that is simply dried after harvest and then directly processed into cigars would have hardly any flavor. During the fermentation of tobacco, it undergoes a fermentation process, allowing it to continue biological maturation. In this process, sugar, starch, and tannic acid are broken down. Additionally, the nicotine content is reduced, and the proteins in the leaves are largely broken down. The reason: protein compounds are so dominant that they would completely overshadow all developing flavors in the tobacco.
No flavor, but lots of nicotine? That’s certainly not what you, as an aficionado, would expect from a good cigar. Fermentation ensures that a cigar's full flavor can unfold.
What Happens During Fermentation?
As it dries, the tobacco naturally loses a significant amount of water. For the fermentation process to begin, the right climatic conditions must first be created. The principle is quite similar to a compost pile in a home garden: moisture, heat, and pressure are needed. For fermentation to occur as desired, a humidity level of about 80% and a temperature of 50 to 60 °C are required. Higher temperatures would harm the quality of the tobacco and could even cause it to burn. Therefore, the temperature inside the piles is regularly monitored. Depending on the characteristics of the tobacco leaves and the desired result, fermentation takes between 30 and 50 days.
Natural fermentation only occurs when large quantities of tobacco are piled up. Simply stacking a few dried tobacco leaves in a home cellar won’t achieve this effect. Thus, fermentation requires not only a significant amount of tobacco but also one of the most valuable commodities in the cigar world: time—a great deal of time. Fermentation is not a one-time process on the tobacco's journey to becoming a finished cigar.
Tobacco Fermentation – Step by Step
Step 1 – The First Fermentation
To ferment tobacco, it is brought to so-called “curing barns.” Even transport is a process that requires utmost care, as the tobacco leaves are still very delicate and must be protected from breakage and excessive moisture. The “burros” (batches of tobacco) are stacked in the barn—a batch comprises about one ton of tobacco. This gives you an idea of the scale we’re dealing with. The pressure created by this massive amount and the residual moisture in the tobacco provide the necessary conditions for the fermentation process to begin. The entire process takes about a month. The leaves are then subjected to another treatment before the second fermentation process begins: the ribs of the wrapper and binder leaves are removed, and the leaves are sprayed with water again.
Step 2 – Repeated Fermentation
The second fermentation takes place in the factory. The tobacco leaves are first sorted into wrappers and binders. This not only facilitates the subsequent manufacturing process but also ensures that the differently thick leaves are fermented for varying durations. During the second fermentation, the piles are repeatedly mixed. The duration of this process is not fixed; the tobacco must be continuously observed and assessed.
Determining the “right” endpoint requires great knowledge and years of experience. If fermentation is left too long, the tobacco begins to rot, wasting all the effort. Ending fermentation too early, on the other hand, is comparatively less problematic, as fermentation can always be restarted.
Step 3 – Tobacco Storage
Before the tobacco leaves are delivered to manufacturers' factories, they are stored again. During this maturation storage, humidity is kept constant, allowing more and more flavors to develop over time, making a cigar’s taste so unique. While the fermentation of tobacco takes several months overall, maturation storage spans an entirely different timeframe. It can take years before the tobacco is delivered to factories.
Some manufacturers even rely on triple fermentation for their premium cigars. For instance, the raw tobaccos used in the production of the legendary cigars from Cohiba are all triple-fermented. Similarly, the Cain Sun Grown and use triple-fermented wrapper leaves.
