Cigar Words & Terms A to C

GLOSSARY OF COMMON CIGAR WORDS, TERMS, AND IDIOMS

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A

ABERTURA: The opening, grading, and stacking of leaves, in the casas de escogida, or sorting houses. The job is always done by a woman.

ABONO: Spanish name for fertilizer. There are many different types and combinations of fertilizer used in the growing process.

AFICIONADO: Cigar smoker afflicted with delusions of grandeur.

AHUEVADO: A cigar that bulges in the middle, is egg-shaped, and a blunder.

AIR CURING: The process of hanging freshly picked tobacco leaves in open air, covered, barns to dry in the breeze. Freshly picked leaves are hung in pairs in Curing Barns/Casas de Tabaco for approximately 50 days. During air curing, leaves lose their Chlorophyll and 85% of their humidity.

AIRING: After the leaves are moistened and made pliable for stripping and sorting, they are first aired out to allow much of the moisture to evaporate.

ALMACÉN: The Cuban name for the warehouse where tobacco is stored, while awaiting a manufacturer’s request for delivery.

ALMACENAJE: The storage room where tercios remain, for a few months to several years.

ALTA REGALIA: Another name for cigars which are totally made by hand, thus referred to as ‘premium’ cigars.

AMARILLO: A yellow-hued wrapper leaf grown under shade.

AMARRADOR: The wooden board that holds cigars in place, while forming a bundle.

AMATISTA: A glass jar containing either 25 or 50 cigars, sealed, and sold as factory fresh. The name is derived from the fact that the container is amethyst colored.

AMS: American Market Selection, a seldom-used term created by the major importer of Cuban cigars in the 1950s to designate claro-colored wrappers.

ANCHO: The central, wider portion of the wrapper leaves.

AÑEJAMIENTO: The final curing process, at low humidity levels, which allows tobacco to slowly develop, while being stored in warehouses.

AÑEJAMIENTO: Maturing process which allows the leaf to develop to its optimal state.

ANILLA: A paper ring featuring the brand, rolled around the cigar. Some boxes have cigars without rings.

ANILLA: The cigar band.

ANILLADO: The factory section where the cigar bands are attached.

ANILLADOR: The Cuban title for the worker who bands cigars; traditionally this was a woman.

ANILLO DE COMBUSTION: The area at the end of the ash and the rest of the cigar. The Anillo should be even in a properly produced cigar, although improper storage can cause ‘running’.

ANILLO: The name for the lithographed piece of paper for the band placed on the cigar, identifying the Band.

APAGON: A reference to a bad cigar, which should be ‘extinguished’.

APARTADOR: The worker responsible for sorting the tobacco leaves into their color classifications.

APARTADURA: One of the procedures in the classification of tobacco leaf, specifically, their separation in to various categories.

APILONAR: The worker who is responsible for piling tobacco leaves, in the fields has this name.

APORCAR: The physical removal of soil around the seedlings, in their furrows, early in the growing stage.

APORQUE: Also known as ‘aporcadura’, the Aporque refers to the planting process when soil is placed, or ‘churned’, around a seedling in the furrow.

APOSENTO: That part of the curing barn where the drying bars are stacked.

APOSENTOS: The sections, or divisions, of the tobacco curing barn in which the drying bars (cuje) are stacked, top to bottom. The space between the each section is called a ‘falsos’, which refers to the attic areas.

APUYARSE: This term is the Cuban derivative of the Spanish word for ‘drooping’, and refers to a defective plant.

ARDER A LA VELA: A Cuban idiom which refers to the combustibility of tobacco, meaning the product is ‘ready’ or prepared.

ARDER: The combustibility factor of a cigar, when lit.

ARDIDO: Moldy tobacco, produced during the fermentation process.

ARIQUE: A small piece of cord (yagua) used to tie tobacco.

AROMA: A set of olfactory sensations generated while smoking cigars. The aroma or "bouquet" of a cigar should not be confused with its quality or strength. A cigar can be strong and not much aroma, or it may be smooth and very rich in aroma.

ARPILLERA: The name for the burlap or sackcloth, used in baling tobacco, also known as coarse jute.

ARREBATAR: A faulty process where there is excessive heating of the tobacco leaves, causing them to dry quickly, losing their flavor, fragrance, and are of reduced in quality.

ARRUGADO: One method for preparing the binder for production, where the tobacco is folded in creases.

ASC: An Internet cigar forum, where participants discuss a wide variety of cigar related information. One can be a ‘lurker’, that is, passive, reading the postings, or be an active participant. The subjects are provocative, at times.

ASPECTO EXTERIOR: Outer aspect of the cigar which is produced to be alluring to the smoker.

AXILLARY SUCKERS: These are the shoots which sprout under the leaves at the point where they join the stem. If not removed, they consume the plant’s nutrients, preventing growth of the leaves. 

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B

BABOSA: A slug which eats through the tobacco leaf.

BACHES: Irregular swellings in the cigars, which occur when the tobacco improperly rolled.

BAJAR EL SURCO: The beginning of plowing of the planting furrows.

BAND: A ring of paper wrapped around the closed head of most cigars. Legend says that cigar bands were invented by Catherine the Great, or by Spanish nobles to keep their gloves from being stained. Others credit this invention to a Dutch advertising and promotion genius named Gustave Bock, who stated that the band helped keep the cigar wrapper together. Cigar bands are often printed with the name of the brand, country of origin, and/or indication that the cigar is hand-rolled. They also often have colorful graphics, which have made them popular collectors' items. In many folk tales, a cigar band served as a wedding band in impromptu ceremonies. For the record, it is equally appropriate to leave the band on while smoking a cigar or to remove it, as long as the cigar's wrapper leaf is not torn when the band is removed.

BANDA VOLCANO: A fast burning tobacco that is used as a binder.

BANDA: One-half leaf of a wrapper or binder leaf into which the roller places the filler.

BANDERA: When the color of the wrapper leaf is not uniform in color, it is rejected, and ‘flagged’.

BARBACOA: The area in a factory where the filler leaf is dried and blended bunches of leaves are prepared. Also referred to as the galetas, or drying room.

BARREDERA(S): The horizontal lumbar bars upon which the ends of the tobacco poles are placed, also known as drying bars, in the curing barn.

BARREDURA: Tobacco waste product, called sweepings.

BARREL: The main body or shank of the cigar.

BARRELING: This is the resting stage, for the tobacco, in the stripping barn. The stripped leaves are placed in ‘barriles’ made of cedar, in the fermentation room. There are 250 pressed, stripped, and stacked, leaves in each barrel. The barrel has a vent-hole at its center, to allow air to circulate and penetrate the leaves. All barrels have several holes, or openings, for this procedure to work. The leaves are kept in the barrel for up to 60 days.

BARRIL: The term refers to two areas; the first is the worktable where the midrib is stripped, the other, where the filler leaf is kept at the manufacturer’s facility.

BATIDO: Separation of the vein of the leaf, by mechanical procedure.

BELICOSO: Traditionally a short, pyramid-shaped cigar, 5 or 5 1/2 inches in length with a shorter, more rounded taper at the head and a ring gauge generally of 50 or less. Today, belicoso is frequently used to describe coronas or corona gordas with a tapered head.

BENEFICIO: A Cuban idiom, taken from the Spanish word for ‘benefit’, used in cigar production. It consists of dampening certain parts of the leaf with a lye or bitumen. The strength of this infusion is in direct proportion to the quality of the tobacco: the darker the tobacco, the, greater strength of the infusion; light tobaccos receive little or no benefit from this process.

BESANA: In the field, furrows are divided into two, for ease of planting, thus a ‘half-furrow’.

BETUN: A mixture of water and tobacco residues used to wet down the tobacco before fermentation; this mixture is a lye. Some manufacturers mix the veins with honey and “aguardiente”, a sugar cane distillate, to make their own betun. Once dampened, the leaves are left to air for 24 hours, and then taken to the stripping department where the midrib is removed.

BINDER: The portion of a tobacco leaf used to hold together the blend of filler leaves called the bunch; with the wrapper and filler, it is one of three main components in a cigar.

BLANDURA: The suppleness of the leaf as it is tied in bunches after drying.

BLEND: The mixture of different types of tobacco in a cigar, including up to five types of filler leaves, a binder leaf and an outer wrapper.

BLOOM (PLUME): A naturally occurring phenomenon on in the cigar aging process, also called plume, caused by the oils that exude from the tobacco. It appears as a fine white powder and can be brushed off; not to be confused with mold, which is bluish and stains the wrapper.

BLUE MOLD: Peronospara tabacina is a fast moving, airborne fungus that can ruin a tobacco field in just a few days. It flourishes in cool, cloudy weather with light rain and riddles tobacco leaves with small round blemishes.

BN: From the French "Boîte Nature", it refers to a flat, rectangle, cedar, cigar box, with or without a clasp, plain or varnished.

BOFETON: A lithographed sheet, or flap, of paper, glued to the inner back of the cigar box to cover the cigars.

BOITE NATURE: Cedar cigar box.

BOITE SEMI-NATURE: A plain wooden cigar box, without and decoration added.

BONCHE: The name for the filler, which is then placed within the binder, to form the ‘guts’ of the cigar around which is placed the wrapper leaf.

BONCHERO: Worker who, in the small factories, is in charge of the preparation of filler tobacco.

BOOK STYLE (BOOKING): A rolling format used when the roller lays the filler leaves atop one another, then rolls them up like a scroll. Book style, or booking, is common in Honduras. The alternate style is based on the old Cuban method called entubar.

BOOK-MATCH ROLLING: A rolling format which involves sandwiching the filler tobaccos together; much like a taco. This technique is simpler than entubado rolling and creates a less balanced and consistent cigar structure.

BOQUILLA: Another term for the end of the cigar which one lights.

BOTÓN: That part of the plant which is removed in order to allow full development, also referred to as the buds.

BOUQUET: The smell, or "nose," of a fine cigar. Badly stored cigars lose their bouquet.

BOX MARKINGS: There are numerous terms one might find on the underside of a cigar box, or to describe the production process of a particular vitola. These are: Hecho a Mano - Made by hand. These cigars are machine bunched and then finished by hand. Totalmente a Mano - Totally made by hand. These cigars are made completely by hand from start to finish without exception. Envuelto a Mano - Wrapped by hand; typically, used on boxes of machine-made cigars, which were only packaged by hand. Hecho en Cuba - Made in Cuba. This only describes only the origin of manufacture and not the method of construction.

BOX: The container used to package cigars. There are several traditional styles: A "cabinet selection" refers to wood boxes with a sliding top, designed to hold 25 or 50 cigars. An "8-9-8" refers to a round-sided box specifically designed to accommodate three rows of cigars, eight on top, nine in the middle, eight on the bottom. A "flat top", or "13-topper", is the flat rectangular box most popular today, with 13 cigars on top and 12 on the bottom, divided by a spacer. The divider is a thin cedar sheet.

BOX-PRESSED: The slightly square in appearance taken on by cigars packed tightly in a box, also referred to as ‘presionado’.

BREVA: A size of cigar which is generally composed of stronger tobacco.

BRITÁNICA: A cigar which is ‘swollen" in one part, always referred to when improperly rolled.

BULK: A large pile of tobacco leaves in which fermentation occurs.

BULLET CUTTER: A cigar punch, used to a small hole in the cap of a cigar.

BULL'S-EYE PIERCER: A device for opening the closed head of a cigar before smoking. It creates a circular opening like a target's bull's eye.

BUNCH: Up to four different types of filler tobacco that are blended to create the body of the cigar. The bunch is held together by the binder.

BUNDLE: A packaging method, designed with economy in mind, which uses a cellophane over-wrap. It usually contains 25 or 50 cigars, traditionally without bands. Bundles, oftentimes seconds of premium brands, are usually less expensive than boxed cigars.

BURRO DE FERMENTACIÓN: The sheaves of leaves, beginning the second step in the fermentation process, under conditions of controlled temperature and humidity.

BURRO/ DAR EL BURRO: The pile of tobacco leaves being fermented. They can be as tall as a person and are carefully monitored. If the temperature gets over 110°F the burro is taken apart, unraveled, and re-piled, to slow the fermentation process; also know as ‘bulk’. This operation may be repeated, until specified characteristics of the fermented tobacco are obtained.

BURRO: The place where freshly harvested leaves are placed, at the outset of the ageing/drying/fermentation processes. The sheaves of leaves are sprinkled or dampened with bitumen as they are placed on the stack. The leaves remain in the burro while they develop specific characteristics, such as scent and color; this is part of the curing process.

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C

CABALLERIAS: The wrapper plant fields.

CABECEAR: An arrangement of tobacco leaves in a manner such that their midribs abut each other leaf.

CABEZA: Another name for that part of the cigar placed in one’s mouth.

CABINET SELECTION: Cigars packed in a wooden box rather than the standard cardboard or paper-covered cigar boxes. These are preferable when buying cigars for aging.

CABINET: A large cedar box, or container, into which bundles of cigars are placed, in media ruedas. The process which takes place in the cabinet is referred to as ‘marrying’, or the time the tobacco characteristics blend with each other bundle. The bundles of cigars placed in the cabinet are of the same blend. Each cabined can hold up to 18,000 cigars.

CABO: The cigar butt.

CACHAZUDO: The name for the cutworm Feltia annexa/malefida. The worm hides in the upper soil levels, during the daylight hours, coming out at night, to do its damage, by eating the stems of your, succulent plants. The cutworm often cuts off higher leaves and eats them on the ground.

CACHIMBA: This term has a double meaning: first, it is descriptive of a Cuban tobacco pipe and, second, it is the shape of some specially made cigars, i.e. like a pipe.

CAJA DE ANILLAR: The wooden mold, with variously sized openings, into which rolled cigars are placed, to maintain proper ring gauge.

CAJA DE GALERA: The box into which the roller’s allotment of blended tobacco is stored, which is covered with a damp cloth.

CAJA DE LIGA: Blend boxes where slightly moistened leaf is placed.

CAJA DE TERCIO: A hard wooden frame used for baling tobacco.

CAJÓN: The wooden box into which cigars are placed for retail sales.

CALIBRE FINO: Cigars with a ring gauge of no more than a 40.

CALIBRE GRUESO: Cigars with a ring gauge of 45.

CALIBRE MEDIO: Cigars with a ring gauge between 40 and 45.

CALIBRE: Ring gauge.

CALIDAD: The quality of unprocessed leaves, depending upon the liquid tumescence of such leaves. The quality is determined by the amount of rain in a particular growing season.

CAMADA: The name for the various piles of leaves, in the curing room.

CAMELLON: This is the ridge of a furrow, in the fields.

CANASTA: The shallow, wide, wicker baskets which are used to transport the tobacco leaves.

CANDELA: A bright green, shade wrapper, achieved by a heat-curing process that fixes the chlorophyll content of the wrapper while it's still in the barn; also referred to as double claro.

CANDELILLA: The tobacco leaf borer, actually the caterpillar of a small moth. It generally eats the lowest of the tobacco leaves, is rare, and does not cause much harm.

CANOE(ING): The uneven, one-sided burn, of a cigar. This is caused by sub- standard rolling, improperly placed filler, or poorly fermented raw materials.

CAÑÓN: The body of the cigar before the cap is placed on it.

CANTERO: The name given to that parcel of land where the seeds are planted. The sections are precisely divided, according to century old rules.

CAPA: The outer leaf in which the cigar is rolled.

CAPADURA: The second harvest of the year.

CAPATAZ: The overseer in charge of the organization and supervision of the work factory work and workers.

CAPEROS: Tobacco leaf used for the wrapper.

CAPOTE: Binder leaf; also a reference to a section of Criollo plant used for Fillers and Binders.

CARMELITA: This is another descriptive word for "Colorado".

CARMELITA: Previously called Colorado, this is the Spanish description of the wrapper shade.

CAROTENE: A naturally occurring compound found in aged cigars, an orange photosynthetic pigment important for photosynthesis. It is responsible for the orange hues in the tobacco leaf. It does not actively contribute in photosynthesis but instead it transmits the energy it absorbs to chlorophyll.

CASA DE TABACO: The Cuban term for a tobacco hut, designed with open sides facing East and West, providing optimal air circulation, and heat, for uniform drying of tobacco leaves. Tobacco is placed high up in the Casa de Tabaco after picking and priming, to dry out and release its Chlorophyll. It is here that the leaves change color, from green to yellow, to brown.

CASAS DE ESCOGIDA: This is a department at the manufacturer’s factory, where finished cigars are classified by color. The wrappers are also classified by escogedores (selectors) or rezagadores (literally, second selectors, not to be confused with ‘regazos’, which refers to unacceptable rolled cigars, smoked by factory workers), according to their size and color.

CASILLA(S): Compartments where tobacco is placed, in sheaves, and maintained until it is ready for processing.

CASING: Another name for the moja, or spraying of the leaves to re-moisturize them after drying or curing so that the tobacco becomes pliable and easy to work.

CASQUILLO: Circular fragment of wrapper leaf which is used at the top of the cigar to make its cap, also referred to as "triple cap" by many. The term is also used for the cylindrical instrument used to cut the cap of a cigar. The term is also used to denote a smoking cap, recently produced by Cuaba.

CATADOR: Professional smoker or taster in a factory (fábrica) who tests a random selection of each roller’s output for texture and aroma.

CEDRO: Cedar, specifically, "odorata Cedrela", a tree of the family of the meliáceas which provides a soft, porous, wood. The wood is generally impervious to attack by insects, because of the bitterness of the wood’s chemical composition. Its pleasant scent adds to the aroma of tobacco.

CELOFAN: This term refers to both the cellophane cigar wrapper and the cigar box covering.

CENTÉSIMOS: This refers to ten-packs, generally of cigarettes.

CENTRO FINO: Leaves with a "2" strength, from the lower half of the plant.

CENTRO FINO: The fifth part, or division, of the tobacco plant.

CENTRO GORDO: Slightly superior to the centro fino leaves, with a "3" strength.

CENTRO GORDO: The thick center leaves on the tobacco plant.

CENTRO LIGERO: The leaves which produce the strongest flavored tobacco, which is between 2 to 3 strength.

CENTRO LIGERO: The third level of leaf, from the base of the plant.

CENTROS: The tobacco leaves between the crown and the center of the plant. They are the best leaves.

CEPO: Instrument used to measure the proper ring gauge of a finished cigar. This is usually a piece of wood with the appropriate size whole cut into it; the cigar is passed through to confirm it is the proper diameter. It is, basically, a calibration tool.

CERVANTES: The production name for a Lonsdale cigar. Its size is 6 ½ x 42, and was designed for Lord Lonsdale.

CESTERO: The person who oversees the transportation of freshly cut leaves to the casa de tabaco.

CHAVETA(S): A small semicircular sharp-edged instrument, used by the tabaquero for cutting the wrapper leaf and rolling the cigar. It is their only tool; today’s chavetas are usually hand made out of old saw blades.

CHEESE CLOTH: The netting used as an awning to shade tobacco, in the fields. It is mainly used for protection of wrapper leaves. It is also called ‘Coberto’, from the Spanish word for ‘cover’. See, Tapado, below.

CHEROOT: A rustic looking cigar, often medium to long in length and with a narrow ring size; their wrapper tend to be rough and veiny.

CHICHONES: See, Baches.

CHINCHAL: The name given to a small cigar shop or factory which sells cigars and cigarettes.

CHISEL: Another name for a Figurado cigar, with a round foot and a flattened head.

CHIVICHANAS: These are stunted, or poorly developed leaves, generally at the bottom third of the plant.

CHROMOLITHOGRAPHY: The method of using more than one color and stone (up to 25), in Lithography.

CHUPONES: Buds which are pruned from the plant to avoid nutritional losses, also referred to as ‘mamones’.

CHURCHILL: The name given to a cigar whose size is of 7 x 47, and officially classified as a "Julietta"; the cigar was named after Sir Winston Churchill.

CIGAR COLOR: There are seven classifications for cigar color, though there are more than 60varying shades that need to be matched when packaging cigars for a single box. The general rule is, the lighter the color, the milder it tastes, and the darker the color the sweeter, and more full- bodied, the taste: Double Claro: A light-green color with hint of sweetness. Claro: Light tan, the leaves that go into these cigars are grown in the shade. Colorado Claro or Candela: Light brown in color with tobacco leaves grown in partial sunlight. Colorado: Wrapper leaves are brown with a reddish tint. Colorado Maduro: Shade-grown and medium-brown in color. The wrapper is rich with a unique aroma. Maduro: Wrappers are matured for a longer period of time yielding a dark brown color with rich flavors and aromas Oscuro: Not only matured for longer, but left on the plant for a longer period of time, these leaves are almost black in color and are increasingly rare.

CIGAR SHAPE: Cigars can be divided on two categories: those with straight sides, Parejos, and those with irregular shapes, Figurados. Parejos are the most common cigars, those that the majority of smokers is most familiar. In this category you can find most of Cigar Sizes usual on the market;Coronas, Churchills, Robustos, Double Coronas, Panatelas, Londsdales. Figurados, the ones with irregular shapes, can be recognized by the following types: Pyramid have a pointed closed end and widens to an open foot: Torpedo also with a pointed head, has a more closed foot: Perfectohas both heads closed: Culebra has three panatelas twisted together: Diademas is a big cigar, at least eight inches long, with one or both heads closed, like perfecto.

CIGAR SIZE: Cigar sizes are presented In inches for the length followed by a number - the ring number. This means that a cigar is ring of 44 is 44/64 of an inch. There are cigars with rings smaller than 26 and larger than 64, but they are not generally made for mass production.

CIGAR STORAGE: To keep your cigars in perfect conditions, they must be in very similar conditions of the semi-tropical environment, this means that you should keep them at around 18ºC (65ºF), and with a humidity level near 70%. Cigar storage is very important to avoid that cigars will lose their properties, losing aroma and becoming dry. If you are a regular smoker, a humidor will keep your cigars in perfect conditions. Humidors are fitted with a hygrometer to control humidity and keep your cigars under recommended humidity conditions.

CIGAR: A cylinder of tobacco leaves rolled together; beginning in the center with filler tobaccos, bound with a binder tobacco leaf, and sheathed with a wrapper tobacco leaf. A Premium Cigar is made from only long leaf tobacco and is make exclusively by hand.

CIGARILLO: Shredded cigar tobacco bound together with a small Wrapper leaf (approx. the size of a cigarette), and made by machine.

CLARISIMO: The lightest color of tobacco leaves.

CLARO: One of the seven classifications of wrapper according to color and maturity; pale green to light tan or pale brown; some call it cinnamon colored wrapper or milky coffee.

CLASE: The names given to each division of leaves, for processing in the factory.

CLASIFICACIÓN: The separating of leaves, ready for rolling, into different groups, such as color, size, texture, quality, etc.

classified as corona and semi corona, making seven categories.

CLEAR HAVANA: Beginning in the late nineteenth century, a cigar made in the Key West or Tampa area, from all Cuban tobacco.

CMC: Carboxi-metilcelulosa, a chemical derivative of cellulose, in white dust format that, when mixed with water, forms gluey adhesive, used by the torcedor in the preparation of cigars. Specifically, it is used to bind the cap to the body of a cigar.

COBERTO: The straw, or cheesecloth, which is laid over newly sown see, during germination, to provide maximum protection.

COFFIN: The name for an individual wood box, for cigars.

COGER LA TRIPA: Removal of the midribs.

COGOLLERO: The tobacco budworm, Heliothis vierscens, green in color, and very harmful to tobacco. This pest attacks the plant throughout its growth period, nibbling through the leaf, making it useless for wrapper. Not satisfied with the leaves, this worm damages the sprouts and flower of the tobacco plant.

COHIBA: Cuban native (Taino) Indian word for cigar; applied in the late 1960’s to Castro’s personal diplomatic brand, which went on sale to the public after about a decade. Historians also say the term was used for the smoking material used by priests in various rites. The Antillean Indians inhaled smoke from a plant they called ‘cohiba’ during spiritual rites.

COHOYO DE PALMA: The small wrapping cord, made from the leaves of the dried Royal Palm.

COJIBA: Esteban Pichardo wrote, in 1836, about Cuban tobacco, which he referred to as ‘cojiba’.

COLILLA: This term refers to the butt of the cigar.

COLOR [WRAPPER LEAF]: General Cuban classifications of Wrapper colors from lightest to darkest: Clarisimo, Double Claro, Claro, Colorado Claro, Colorado, Colorado Maduro, Maduro, and Oscuro.

COLORADO CLARO: A cinnamon-chestnut color of a cigar.

COLORADO MADURO: A dark brown-chestnut color of a cigar.

COLORADO: A medium-brown to brownish-red shade of wrapper tobacco. Colorado cigars are usually aromatic and are associated with well- matured cigars. Some say the color is akin to chestnut or tree-brown.

COMBUSTIBILIDAD: The burning characteristics of particular tobacco or of a cigar.

CONCHA: The Cuban idiom for a very short cigar. The term is rarely used, since it is also a vulgar term for a part of the female anatomy.

CONDENSATION IRRIGATION: Unique moisture produced [in the form of dew] in valleys during early morning hours and at night.

CONDICIÓN: Another name for the fermentation process.

CONTROLADOR: The person who is responsible for checking the final product, prior to packing or distribution.

CONUTO: The name for a cigar cylinder, made of aluminum, although it might be made of wood. If it is made of wood, it is also called a coffin.

COROJO: Cuban tobacco plant grown under cheesecloth netting, to redirect harsh sunlight and tobacco pests, used for cigar wrappers, and developed in the 20th century. It was developed in El Corojo Vega, hence its name. The plant has six categories of leaf, from top to bottom: corona,centro gordo, centro fino, centro ligero, uno y medio, and libre del pie; top leaves may be

CORONA GRANDE: This is a renaming, by the ‘galeria’, for sizes 6 x 42, or a little longer. The cigars in this category were once called ‘coronas’, ‘gran coronas’, and ‘lonsdales’.

CORONA: The top leaves of the Corojo plant. Also a term used in the cigar world to describe the approximate cigar size of 5 ½ x 44 to 5 3/8 x 46.

CORONAS: The upper most leaves of the plant.

CORTADOR: This is an instrument for cutting the cap of a cigar, a reduced replica of the torcedor’s length-calibrating instrument.

CORTAPUROS: This is a small guillotine to cut the head of the cigar.

CORTAPUROS: A small guillotine cigar cutter.

CORTAR AL BRAZO: A method of removing tobacco leaves.

CORTAR AL SUELO: A procedure for the means by which cut leaves are placed and removed, after the cortar al brazo.

CORTAR CON PALO: Pairing leaves together for processing.

CORTE: To cut.

COSECHA: The general term for the harvest time. There are several harvests, depending on the time of year, and which leaves of the plant are being removed.

COSECHERO: The name for a disease of the tobacco leaf.

COSTEROS: Wood panels used in forming cigar boxes.

COSTILLAS: The network of fine veins, in the leaf, which branch out from the midrib. The finer the veins, the better the leaf is, for use as wrapper. The best leaves are those with the veins funning in a horizontal pattern.

CREDO: Originally a specific manufacturer of PG based humidification devices, for humidors, the term credo is now often used for any humidification devices which chemically regulated the humidor's environment.

CRIOLLO: The name of the Cuban tobacco plant, grown under direct sunlight, used for fillers and Binder. It produces 6 to 7 pairs of leaves: Ligero, Seco, Volado, (all fillers) and Capotes (Binders). It is also the Cuban idiom for the harsh cigars smoked by ‘locals’.

CROMO: The lithograph which adorns the outside of a cigar box.

CRUDO: A tobacco disease whereby the weevil sucks the bitter ‘juice’ of the growing tobacco leaves. It also refers to the raw tobacco which has not been dried.

CUABA: A newer brand, introduced by Habanos, S.A., on November 19, 1996. They are a throwback to the cigar shapes of the 19th century. A cuaba is also a Cuban shrub, whose main characteristic is its ease of combustion, used to make torches and bonfires.

CUADRADO: The term for box-pressed cigars. In the 1930’s, in Cuba, the rage was for ‘square’ cigars.

CUADRAGÉSIMOS: The term is for a cigar locker containing 40 boxes of cigars, 25 in each box.

CUBAN EMBARGO: A U.S. law signed in October 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, prohibiting trade with Cuba in retaliation for Cuban nationalization of American businesses.

CUBAN SEED: Usually refers to plants grown in non-Cuban countries with seeds from Cuba.

CUBATABACO: This is the name of the Cuban organization responsible for tobacco agriculture, processing, and production.

CUBIERTA: The colored lithograph which covers the outer side of the cigar box lid.

CUJE(S): A cuje is a straight pole just over four feet long. Though straight, the pole must have a greater thickness at each end.

CUJEROS: The workers whose responsibility is to locate and cut the cujes. They go to the mangrove swamps for their bounty. After cutting the poles, the wood is place is salt water for 50 days. They are then peeled of their bark and knots, in order not to transfer any odors to the tobacco leaves which will be hung on them. If the poles are not smooth, the tobacco leaf might be harmed.

CULATA: The name for a portion of the tobacco barns.

CULEBRA: Spanish word for "Snake" which describes the braiding of three loosely filled, thin cigars which are held together by string. The practice of braiding cigars together came out of Cuba when factory owners needed a way to control the rollers’ cigar smoking. Culebras were distributed as the day’s ration of cigars. As the rollers smoked the Culebras, the squirmy look of the cigar signaled the factory managers that the rollers were not smoking the premium inventory.

CURACIÓN: The curing process, where the chemical, and organic properties of tobacco leaves, undergo changes.

CURADOR: The person in charge of the first drying and fermentation process.

CURING: See, Curacion, above.

CURLEY HEAD: A method of finishing the head of a cigar by giving the tobacco there a quick twist aka "coleta".

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