About tobacco

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Cultivating process
Tobacco is cultivated similarly to other agricultural products and is cultivated as an annual, grown from seed in cold frames or hotbeds and then transplanted to the field. Tobacco requires a warm climate and rich, well-drained soil, and the different characteristics of the tobacco depend on regional environmental conditions and cultivation techniques.

Topping
Growing tobacco starts with a seed from the tobacco plants flower. Therefore the farmer is topping the plant to provide seeds and to get a higher yield – heavier leaves.

Sowing
The seeds are very small and they are not spread directly on the field, but put down in a seedbed. Before sowing the seeds are mixed with ashes or sand. The seedbed is often covered with a temporary roof made of plastic or grass to protect the seedlings from the sun.

Transplanting
After eight weeks, the seedlings are ready for transplanting to the cleaned fields. The plants at this stage are 15 centimeter high and have four leaves. Before removal, the seedbed is heavily watered in order not to damage the thin roots of the plants. Transplanting is either done manually or mechanically depending on where it is done in the world.

Harvesting
After 12 weeks the leaves are ready for harvesting. Picking is done bottom-up: The bottom leaves have better taste, top leaves are thicker and contains more nicotine. The harvesting is done by hand in order not to get any damages to the leaves.

Curing
Tobacco leaves are cured fermented, and aged to develop the specific aroma and taste. Curing takes around three weeks. In air-curing, the leaves are sowed together on a string and hung in well-ventilated structures such as tobacco barns. Flue-curing means that the leaves are dried by radiant heat from flues or pipes connected to a furnace. Flue-cured tobacco is mainly used for flavoured blends. Fire-curing is done by drying the leaves in smoke.
The cured tobacco is then graded, bunched, and stacked in piles called bulks or in closed containers for active fermentation and aging.

Fermenting
Fermenting is a process mostly used for cigar tobaccos. It is done to provide extra taste to the tobacco. The process reduces sugar, protein, nicotine and pH (alkaline). The tobacco is stacked in layers and the transfer process generates high temperatures in the presence of a high moisture content (compost). Humidity is between 80-90% and the room temperature is over 25°C.

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