Tobacco Capital

Since the New World to Europe was imported tobacco, and some ways to smoking, more than five centuries. All these years the tradition of tobacco cultivated and improved, transformed, finally, in a separate culture. This means that if all the existing arguments against, we must acknowledge that mankind is largely not inclined to abandon the pleasure of fragrant smoke a pipe tobacco, cling to a mouthpiece or a hookah, observing all the necessary ritual, a very special way to ignite a cigar. Despite all the apparent variety of ways of smoking, based on any of them is the use of a variety of herbaceous plants, like tobacco. The only difference is in the way of its preparation. For cigars, for example, used a single sheet of the best sorts of tobacco, previously dried in a special way, for cigarettes - the crushed leaves of the same plants for hookah - generally is hardly the one and only of its kind, a Cigarette - a special kind of tobacco - tobacco, which , oddly enough, is also a plant.
Cigars and cigarillos
The prototype of cigars can be considered virgin rolled tobacco leaves used by American Indians. This process was first observed by Christopher Columbus, along with his companions, faced with the Indian tribes. For these "savages" unhurried smoking then unknown to Europeans of leaves was akin to celebration, during which they not only relaxing, but also, the clean-up the nervous system, took the most serious decisions. And it happened, apparently, because, according to one Indian legend, the Great Spirit Manitou, has taken pity on the unenviable fate of people living on scarce land, sent to him a woman-savior. Where it touches the ground with his right hand, grew potatoes, where the left - corn. And since the way it has been long and hard, and she had many occasions to meet with the birth and death, joy and sorrow, love and hate, she was tired of the road and only seen, often sat on the ground to rest and reflect. And there, where it rested, grew tobacco - a plant that helps to understand the essence of being.
So the cigar - this is not just one way of smoking, this whole philosophy. I understand that many of those who were their fans, among them - Sigmund Freud, Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Alexander Scriabin and many other equally well-known personalities. Somerset Maugham wrote in his memoirs: "When I was young and very poor, I smoked cigars, only if they treated me. I promised myself: if ever I zavedutsya money, I'll enjoy a cigar every day after lunch and after dinner. This was the only word that I gave myself in my youth and then kept.
The best of the myriad types of cigars are those that are made by hand. This is usually confirmed by special inscription on the box «Totalmente a Mano». For their manufacture several whole tobacco leaves are compressed and secured along the length of the connecting sheet, and then turn into a cover, which is the main, because it defines flavor cigars. Work on the production of such products requires time-consuming, so in 20 of the last century, some zealous manufacturers have shifted to a cigar making machine.
Cigars, termed «machine-made», no demand for true connoisseurs and lovers of cigars, because otherwise, as consumer goods, they will not name. After all, for the sake of simplicity of the manufacturing process and, consequently, of cheapening the value of such cigars binding and cover sheets are not virgin, as in the present, as obtained by gluing the tobacco powder and organic compounds after the machine rolling.Therefore, when buying cigars should thoroughly examine all the inscriptions on the box.
All the components of good modern cigars made by hand, contain 100% natural leaves, which must indicate on the box in the form of inscriptions «Natural Wrapper» or in the name of the type wrapper, such as, Sumatra, Brasil, Connecticut or the other. Specify the type of wrapper is of particular importance. In his appearance could determine the quality of cigars: it is sufficient if it is elastic, not whether it cracks, undulation, which significantly impairs both its strength and taste. It is believed that the darker color of the leaves indicates the fortress. This is not quite true, but among the dark cigar is really a lot of strong varieties. And yet, always determines the filling of a fortress, not wrapper, he plays the role of first violin in taste and tone. Color of cover sheet is very diverse - from light green to anthracite-black to brown color scheme includes intermediate tones.
Duration of smoking cigars, which, according to etiquette is usually conducted at a cost of 2 / 3 of its length, depending on the method of manufacture varies. In addition, it also depends on the activity of the smoker. Yet we know that this process can last from 30 minutes to ... 2 hours.
As such a variety of tobacco products like cigarillos, it is - no more than a small cigar. On some boxes cigarillos, produced in the U.S., next to the symbol "Cigars" can stand clarify the inscription «little» or «small» (from the English. - Small). The English cigarillos indicated the presence of the words «miniatures» or «whiffs». Manufacturers of other countries have a basis weight of tobacco products: if it weighs 3 grams or less - it cigarillos, but if more than 3 - the cigar.
There is a so-called Cuban division, where a "middle ground" standard adopted by the demi-tasse, namely: length - 10 cm, diameter - 1,2 cm, is smaller diameters indicate that cigarillos. And it is taken into account in diameter, as well as a variety of cigarillos-panatel (from the English. - «Panatela» or «panetela») has a "cigar" length.
A common characteristic of classic cigarillos can be regarded as a machine mode of production, except for a few items, stuffing is always made of tobacco in their possession, and the foresight to cut off both ends, that does not require constant wear with a special device.
Unlike their larger relatives have cigarillos stuffing can be prepared from any number of types of tobacco, which allows to vary the taste of tobacco. Thus, the inner contents of Dutch cigarillos «Schimmelpenninck» represented 20 different varieties of tobacco from Brazil, Indonesia and Cameroon.
Plant
Tobacco (Nicotiana) - annual herb of the family Solanaceae. There are about 70 species of wild tobacco. For many years the cultivation of this culture was removed more than 100 varieties, but they are all created on the basis of two kinds - Virginia tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) and tobacco Agriculture (Nicotiana rustica L.). Virginia tobacco, or tobacco, this (smoking) - the fastest growing plant with a non-branching stems, which reach up to 2,5 meters, with a well-developed root system. Tobacco leaves, reaching up to 30 cm in width and length - up to 90 cm, usually oblong or elliptical shape. Flowers - pink or white, gathered in the inflorescence. The fruit of this plant is a kind of box with many small reddish-brown seeds.
There in the family Solanaceae and is this type of herbaceous plants of tobacco as tobacco, presumably descended from the crossing of two wild species of tobacco (paniculate and wavy). From tobacco make grist for smoking (tobacco smoking) and char smelling.
Tobacco Virginia, or this, bred for the sake of leaves, which are either screwed into cigars, or crushed for getting your cigarettes, cigarettes, and pipes. In addition, the tobacco leaves are processed to produce chewing its variety and pulverized by grinding tobacco to snuff.
Homeland smoking tobacco is considered North America, but now it is grown in more than 100 countries, the main of which are China, USA, India, Brazil, Turkey and Russia. This industry is annually employed more than 30 million people.
Harvesting of tobacco begins in 4-6 months after planting, when its leaves become pale and covered with spots. Cut off the stems of plants with leaves or only the leaves are drying.
Drying leaves - a process that requires compliance with certain conditions, besides they can not overheat, as this may adversely affect the quality of tobacco. After drying, the leaves are steaming process in order to avoid brittleness. They either have a room with high humidity, or processed on the ferry, or slightly moistened with water, place them cut.
Then the leaves are sorted by quality, size and color, and then bind them in bundles and sent to the tobacco fields for further processing. Before the final stage of processing them is kept in special rooms for another year or two, always maintaining a certain temperature. Leaves should not be too dry (to avoid raskroshivaniya) and pereuvlazhnyatsya (otherwise they will start to mold).
Depending on the will of these sheets are made cigar, cigarette or pipe tobacco, the leaves are processed differently.
Tubes
The tradition of smoking tobacco through a tube was brought to Europe by Spanish and Portuguese sailors, again from North America. The tubes were made of clay and Indians as well as the local similarity of cigars, originally had a ritual character.
Legislators "pipe mode" on the European continent since the end of XVI century The Dutch began. They made the best of the tube and mix for pipe tobacco. Making a good tube always demanded a sufficiently long time, doing as they are usually skilled craftsmen to individual orders, so that to afford such a pipe could quite a few. The material for the tubes is the so-called foam, or magnesium silicate - very light and porous natural mineral, resembling a sea foam, as well as clay, porcelain and even dried corn cobs treated with plaster and polished.
In posleduschie decade, the number of fans smoking pipes steadily increased. And in the first years of the XIX century began their mass production. At that time they were made mostly from basal part of the stem briar (the root of the heather). Mouthpiece has always been one of the main parts of the complex pipe structures. He was supposed to have a well-calculated size and smooth shape. The material for the most elegant and prestigious mouthpieces, often carved and served, as a rule, amber. Later he became used Latinas - a dark sort of Indian rubber, has undergone curing, which was convenient for machine processing. More recently, the most popular in the production tubing has a very hard synthetic material - acrylic on canvas.
Most of pipe tobacco contains from 10 to 30 kinds of varieties and subspecies, differing in the country growing, the year of collection, the position of leaves on the plant, aromatic additives (sugar, syrup, liqueur, fruit essences, cocoa, vanilla, etc.), as well as ways processing.
Pipe tobacco can be divided into two categories: the first - this is English and Scottish tile, which mature in the pressed forms exempt from sugar species such as Virginia, Turkish and Greek, the second - an American-style tobacco, which mixed with various flavorings. Danish and Dutch Cavendish, grown mainly in Maryland, after a soak tiles combine with free tobacco leaf.
Smoking pipes - special process that safely can be called art. True connoisseurs have in its arsenal, not just a few tubes, but also a variety of devices and accessories, as well as own weight of special pre-processing techniques, followed by cleansing, the creation of a specific attack on the inner surface of the tube, it is necessary for the priests. And hardly anyone from smoking will be able to argue with the fact that when smoking a good pipe tobacco, such as for example "Amphora" or "clan", the surrounding receive from this process, aesthetic pleasure.
Hookahs
Homeland of this device for smoking are Asian and African countries, where life as we know, has always flowed calm and measured. And because hookah smoking - a lengthy, slow and requires a respectful attitude. There is no doubt that the world owes him the appearance of a special mentality, characteristic of the Eastern traditions, though today many Europeans, apparently, trying to somehow escape from the incessant bustle of everyday life, became addicted to this ritual.
This extremely popular since the Middle Ages, in Persia, India, China, Africa and Central Asia, the device consists of a tube with tobacco, the lower end of which is omitted in the vessel with water, and hose of leather or wooden tube, introduced into the vessel above water level - through it Actually, purifying, and passes the smoke. Hookahs are made of silver and crystal, covered with intricate patterns of vegetation, were the best examples of handicraft production.
Water poured into the vessel to enhance the flavor at the request of a smoker can be mixed with juice or rose oil. Kindle hookah burning coals, putting them on top of the smoking mixture. It takes about an hour to smoke fruit tobacco, and about two - for the pure strong tobacco. The water in the vessel after some time acquires a brown color, due to filtration of harmful substances.
Hookah - an appliance is very specific, and "rules of use" they also have their own immutable laws.
Specificity of hookah tobacco, having high humidity, also entails the need to fuel this device again, a special charcoal. It should be slightly rounded in shape, each piece of coal should not exceed a size of 3 centimeters. Cook it should advance in a specially designed tank.
Of no small importance to the process of smoking a hookah and the principle of stuffing tubes - are necessary to observe the golden mean, namely: too tight, not to fill his pipe, because tobacco is simply not in a position to allow air and, therefore, inevitably be quenched, but the looseness of stuffing is not allowed - in this case simply do not have the temperature required for combustion.
In addition, under no circumstances can get a light from Uholka, glow in the hookah, an ordinary cigarette, even very good - it is "blasphemy" is able to completely spoil the taste of hookah, categorically not allowed to raise hookah at any elevation was - in all probability, Eastern tradition of lying down directly on top not too welcomes it.
And finally: absolutely unacceptable to the transfer procedure hookah during his, shall we say, a collective of smoking directly from hand to hand next sitting. If the required number of puffs taken, the pleasure obtained from them and wants to just reflect on life, then you need to put aside hookah, thereby showing that now it can take the person to whom it is now necessary to use it, giving peace of rest, adaptation.
In short, the ceremony was easy, and therefore requiring special respect.
Cigarettes
The most democratic and public view of smoking cigarettes became (from France. - A small cigar), however, according to our current notions, or rather, a cigarette, because at first they do not have a filter. Although this type of tobacco for a long time called by the term "cigarette". Cigarettes, as well as tubes with cigars, "presented to the world the same old North American Indians, long familiar with this way of smoking - they chopped tobacco wrapped in leaves of maize and palm.
European boom in cigarettes (ie cigarettes) began after the Crimean War of 1854-1856 years, when Russian soldiers, having no other way to smoke, come from tobacco wrapped in paper tube liners from gunpowder. This is very convenient habit borrowed from them by British soldiers, and then the process is irreversible. In 1857 in London, was built the first cigarette factory. Its founder, Robert Peacock Glod developed and put into the sale of some sort a kind of brand, known as "Five a penny." A few years later that the Americans picked up the baton, and the beginning of the XIX century the volume of cigarette sales has blocked all records of the cigar business.
Not only men but also women felt this occupation for quite a decent, though they usually prefer to use for smoking a long cigarette holders that made the image of smoking ladies elegance. Cigarette smoking has become so fashionable that they manufacture, day and night by dozens of factories and hundreds of small craft workshops.