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Tobacco and Its Grades: the General Notes
Tobacco is a species of plants of a family of nightshades. The word
comes from the name of an island Tobago. Spanish sailors, who arrived
in the Central America in 1492, said, that the natives used the
word "tobacco" to name large stranded leaves, which they used for
the ritual smoking. Subsequently, the Spaniards and Portuguese brought
the leaves and seeds of tobacco to Europe, and then the Europeans
also started growing tobacco.
Nowadays there are about 60 species and more than 1000 kinds of
the plant "tobacco" in the world. But only two of them are cultivated:
Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana rustica. The first is used in the
manufacturing of pipe tobacco, cigarettes and cigars. The second
is used for the production of the tobacco for hookah and of cigarette
tobacco of a low quality. The present-day production of tobacco
exceeds 7 mln. tons per year.
Tobacco is grown in the countries with warm and temperate climate,
not too damp or too hot. The soil must be fertile and slightly sour.
The optimal air temperature is about 25-30 degrees. If the temperature
is lower than 15 degrees, it will be difficult for the tobacco to
survive. If the temperature is about 3 degrees and even lower, the
tobacco will perish. Therefore, the best regions for growing of
tobacco are the tropics and subtropics.
 Among all countries,
the greatest producers of tobacco are China (not for export), USA,
India and Brazil. The manufacturers divide the pipe tobacco into
two categories:
1. English and Scottish Cavendish, which are released in the process
of ripening in the pressed tiles. This happens because of sugar,
which is generated naturally in the tobacco Virginia and some other
Turkish and Greek tobaccos.
2. The American tobaccos with different flavor additives. They consist
of Danish and Dutch mixtures, which were ripe in the pressed tiles,
and then they were mixed with free tobacco leaves.
One of the main species of tobacco is Virginia. It makes up about
2/3 of the world production of tobacco. This is a light tobacco
of a steam treatment. It is the basis for the majority of the cigarette
and pipe tobaccos. Burley is also one of the light tobaccos, but
it is dried up naturally. Firstly it was grown in the USA. Nowadays
it is spread all over the world. It absorbs different aromatizers
very well, that's why it is valued rather highly in the pipe blends.
Besides, it never has a bitter taste. There's also grade "Maryland"
in this category.
In the Asiatic and Mediterranean countries 'oriental' or 'eastern'
tobaccos are grown. Many of them excel by the special sweetish,
spicy or resinous taste and aroma. Some specialists consider famous
Latakia to be one of the eastern tobaccos, too. Though, it differs
from the other grades by the way of treatment - after drying in
the sunlight, it is smoked on the open flame of a special wood.
This gives a smoky taste to Latakia.
The dark tobaccos of the air drying are placed at the heart of all
categories. Here are also Kentucky of the flame drying (on the flame
of the oak, hickory or maple wood), and the unique grade Perique,
which is grown only in the one place of the world - Sent-James,
Louisiana, USA. This tobacco is treated according to a secret recipe
and ripened in barrels with plum juice and fruit pulp. As a result,
we've got tobacco, which is added in small doses and gives a delicate
fruit aroma to a mixture.
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