Traveling to Cuba and buying cigars

[ha_banos]

Just stumbled across this blog post http://annaeverywhere.com/visit-cuba-ethically/

The above article says about buying cigars in Cuba?
"It turned out that every tobacco farmer is forced to give the government 90% of their produce. They pay an absolutely ridiculously low money for the amount of work involved. The governmental factory then adds chemicals to the tobacco, seals the cigars with a glue and fancy stickers, packs them in a nice box, and sells them at an insane markup in government-run shops. We paid less than 1/3 of the price the cigars normally costs and they were seriously the same, minus the fancy sticker."

I guess the ethical writer has no experience of cigars and fell for the local farmers own marketing? Chemicals...?

So I've no experience myself. I know little of the custom rollers from lcdh shops and hotels. I think is where most custom rolls come from.

What about farm cigars as mentioned in the article?

Do many locals smoke cigars? What to they smoke? I've read a little about peso cigars. Quinteros and Jose L Piedra have been mentioned as similar.

I need to learn Spanish and go to Cuba [emoji16]



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[Hookmaker]

My little experience and one 3 week visit has taught me that The locals including the farmers do smoke quite a lot of cigars. But they are bandless who knows what cigars. The farmers can keep 10% of their harvests, and I think that would go a long way locally. We rolled at a farm in Vinales, and I then bought a tourist bundle of 10 cigars for 7 CUC. They’re crap, but can be smoked. Alex’s cigars are 4 CUC a stick and they’re awesome, but way way beyond the local guys budget.

[PeeJay]

I traded with [MENTION=13434515]Krist[/MENTION] for a couple of farm rolls he picked up in Vinales. Construction looks perfect but they've been sitting in a humidor for two years because they smelled like a farmyard at the time and he said the one he smoked was strong. Next summer probably.

[Simon Bolivar]

I had some farm rolled's that I brought on site in Pinar del Rio & they were perfect & a similar profile to Monte's. I had one rolled at the Robina fina - perfect & 24 bought from Villa de Conde & their construction was fine, did improve over a couple of yrs but to large a RG for me.

[TJCoro]

There?s a storm a comin?

...did improve over a couple of yrs but to large a RG for me.

Haha! No such thing as ?too large a RG? according to the lovely, se?orita Catalina*

But what the hell does she know! I?m with Se?or Simon on this one.

Juggler Boy


Not me! The bigger the better, I always say. Hello boys! Names, Jay, Ray Jay, and I?ll be back!