October.

Balmy autumn day.

The Cuban takeover is finally over.

Buying a cigar orchard is not a simple matter, even if one is willing to buy and the other is willing to sell, it is very troublesome to go through various procedures. Moreover, the officials of the local government must take advantage of the benefits at all levels, and this kind of behavior of taking advantage of their posts will not be uncommon in any country. Fortunately, what he bought was not a famous estate, just a very ordinary small estate. The cigars produced are not well-known, and they can only enter various ordinary supermarkets through low-end channels every year, and the production is limited, so it is impossible to form any famous brands.

Most of the cigars produced by the original owners of the manor have gone through their own channels, and a small number of them are sold to the outside world, and they are completely unfamous. There are good and bad in this way, the disadvantage is that it really doesn't make much money, cigars are also considered tobacco, the tobacco industry looks at the world, it is a first-class gold absorber, a cigar estate is well run, but it is no worse than a large factory. However, there are also advantages, at least the local government does not care too much about the transfer of such a small manor that is not well-known, and it will be much less difficult in the first place. And tax and other issues will be relatively easy, of course, Zhou Fang is far from caring about these, from the beginning of negotiations to the later acquisition, leveling the local government, etc., these are all in charge of the person, he just needs to sit and wait for the result.

The result is gratifying, a small and medium-sized estate with an area of about 20 hectares, 20 hectares sounds very powerful, in fact, if you look at it from a distance, and then compare those estates of more than 50 hectares, you can see how small your own estate is. Fortunately, although the sparrow is small, although it is a small manor, there are many supporting facilities that large manors do not have. Basically...... Let's put it this way, this small manor, from planting to production, can be taken down by yourself.

The original staff in the manor all stayed, and the salary was raised, which immediately made them grateful to the new owner.

There is a small villa in the manor, three floors, with an indoor area of about 1,200 square meters, which is not small. The décor is a local Cuban style, which has a unique atmosphere.

Zhou Fangyuan lived in the small villa for a few days, and then went home, well, returned to China.

The climate in Cuba is a little too hot, although it has not yet entered the tropics, but it is also very close to the tropics, and in China, at least it is the location south of the Yangtze River. Zhou Fangyuan is a very pure northerner, and he really can't accept the climate in the south, as for the hotter tropical ...... Hehe.

On the plane back home, he also looked at the official brochure on cigars.

It was printed by the local government of Cuba.

The above introduces the past and present life of cigars, and is not directly open to the public, that is, if you are an ordinary tourist, then you are right to come and play, but many things about other people's countries, people will not tell you casually. But for the bosses who come to invest, the treatment is even more different, and the Cuban government certainly hopes to get more recognition, so a booklet like this, to put it bluntly, is actually printed for these bosses to see, so that they can more identify with the status of Cuban cigars in the world, and are willing to contribute some of their own strength to the development of the entire cigar industry.

In fact, it's quite, if there is money to be made, there is no need for them to say, these investors will do the same. On the contrary, what is the use of what you are talking about?

But the contents of the brochure are quite interesting.

The earliest origins of Cuba are not known even to the Cuban government itself, because they are too far back. When the first cigar leaf growers appeared, Cuba probably didn't have its own writing, but if the plant really goes back in time, every minute goes back to prehistoric times. In fact, looking at the world, there are not many people who can record the long history in an orderly and neat manner, so that future generations can use it to study the country. The history of most countries is short, or there is a fault in the middle, and many of the original history books have disappeared, etc. In short, there is no clear statement in Cuba itself, only that the use of cigar leaves has been used in this land for at least thousands of years.

Well, that's definitely true, it's just not accurate.

If you have to use an accurate statement, it is also in the booklet, that is, about 500 years ago, when the development of Europe had reached a hegemonic position, whether it was sea or land, it was the seat of the big brother. So Columbus began to discover the New World, and the Europeans at that time were very proud and proud of their country, but when Columbus's fleet arrived in Cuba, they found that many local Indians had a smoking wooden stick in their mouths, and the clouds were very mysterious. The Europeans, who thought they were well-informed, were stunned, and later learned that the Indians were sucking on the leaves of grass that had been lit. It can resist hunger, but also relieve fatigue and restore strength, and is very popular in sailors' circles.

At that time, after Columbus tried to take a bite, he was immediately choked, and his stamina was still a little fierce.

At that time, cigars were actually relatively primitive, and the fermentation and production procedures were relatively simple, because the life of the Indians was still mainly based on farming and hunting, which required strength and spirit, but after all, the materials were still not so sufficient, so the main role of cigars was to recover their physical strength and continue to work. But after Columbus's fleet stayed on the Indian island for a period of time, the water and physical objects he brought were about to bottom out, and he still needed to carry out a lot of diplomatic activities with the Indians every day, coupled with the hot and humid weather, and gradually began to have a little uncomfortable reaction, and then the Indians' cigars waited for Columbus to take another sip, it seemed that they were not so choked and suddenly felt a different experience, so Columbus began to like this unsightly but cool thing.

It didn't take long for this magical experience to become popular in Europe.

In 1542, the Spaniards built their first cigar factory in Cuba, and tobacco became a major commodity between the two sides of the Atlantic. Tobacco is a plant in the Solanaceae family, and eggplant, potato, and pepper are all sisters of the same family. As a reckless hero of the Solanaceae family, tobacco can be grown between 45 degrees north latitude and 30 degrees south latitude on the earth.

Cigars and tobacco are not the same, and before cigars became popular, tobacco was still the mainstream of tobacco in this world. There are more than 120 tobacco-producing countries in the world, probably as long as it is not too cold and not a desert, China is still the largest producer. In fact, cigars and tobacco have similar ingredients. The commonality of the best tobacco growing regions in the world is the same geographical latitude, and the sunshine and climatic conditions of a particular latitude have a decisive role in the quality of tobacco leaves. In the forties of the twentieth century, the introduction of Virginia tobacco "Da Jin Yuan" in Yunnan Province was successful, also due to the natural ecology.

Since John Rolfer planted the first acre of commercial tobacco in Virginia in 1612, Virginia, with abundant sunshine and rainfall, suitable temperature and wind, and rich trace element soil, has gradually become the world's top tobacco hometown, where the ecological conditions suitable for tobacco growth have become the standard for tobacco planting environments around the world. Measured by the five elements of "light, temperature, gas, heat and water", the ecological conditions of high-quality tobacco producing areas in the world today are extremely close.

In an environment where the world is speeding up the pace of anti-smoking, most men are fond of tobacco. They can choose one of three things: cigarettes, cigars, and pipes to satisfy their nicotine needs. Compared with the other two, cigars are also the least harmful to the human body, and at the same time, as a noble and luxurious display of their identity, cigars have gradually been accepted and loved by people in high society. Cuba is the cigar capital of the world. Cuban cigars have a lot of flavor. The country's climate has resulted in rich, aroma-rich tobacco leaves. Cuban tobacco leaves tend to be spicy, peppery and have a strong taste. Tobacco seeds in many countries come from Cuba. Of course, after leaving Cuba, their taste will change somewhat due to factors such as climate and soil.

Cigar tobacco is a dark color of dry tobacco that can only be grown in the tropics. It is produced by only a few countries, and Cuba is the largest producer, close to 40 per cent of the world's total. Most of Cuba has a tropical rainforest climate, where both sunlight and precipitation are suitable for tobacco growth. A relative humidity of 70% is the best place to store cigars, and the island itself is a natural moisturizing pot for cigars. Cuba's red clay is also standard for top-quality tobaccos. Cuban red soil, also known as red soil, is generally found in tropical rainforests with high temperatures and rainfall. Because of the abundant rain, many compounds in the soil are washed away, and only nails such as iron oxide (aluminum) remain, and the soil turns red.

The red soil is suitable for growing tropical cash crops, and Yunnan Province, known as the Chinese Red Clay Plateau, is also a well-known tobacco kingdom. In the westernmost province of Cuba, there is a region called Vuelta Abajo, which produces the best tobacco leaves in the world, and the cigars produced here are the Rolls-Royce of cigars, which is actually next door to the cigar estate in Zhoufangyuan, oh, a neighboring province. It's not far away, in fact, if you want to go over and see Zhou Fangyuan, it's completely okay, but it's a long time coming, and he really doesn't like the hot environment here, so he can't wait to return to China, anyway, there will be a chance to see it in the future.

In addition to the selected tobacco leaves, each cigar goes through hundreds of manual processes and is hand-rolled by the cigarette maker. Blessed with a natural environment and more than five centuries of refined artisanal tobacco technology, Cuba, where Europeans discovered tobacco, is still home to the finest tobacco leaves and brand-name cigars. As a result, Cuban cigars are expensive and have always been the norm for high society, as well as a killer tool to show off their wealth and make authority.

Cuban cigars became a form of great hospitality for Europeans. In order to have a cigarette after a meal, the dignitaries invented the earliest gas chamber of mankind - the smoking room. Afraid of getting the smell of smoke, he also invented smoking clothes, which are still the style of the fashion industry. Most ordinary people who can't afford cigars make cheaper and faster cigarillos out of shredded tobacco wrapped in paper. Mass production in the wave of the Industrial Revolution led to the birth of cigarettes, which swept the world upside down. This is the story of a Cuban magic leaf of grass traveling around the world, and it is also the content printed on the booklet, constantly emphasizing the importance of Cuban cigars in the world, to put it bluntly, not to make these estate owners more attentive, if all the estates, large and small, can produce world-famous cigar brands, although this is just a luxury, but if the dream scene can really appear, Cuba's social status will be different.

It's funny to say, but the fact is that for such a small country with few resources, the position of a pillar industry in the world is almost equal to the international status of the country.

Zhou Fangyuan returned to China this time, bringing a lot of previous inventory of the manor, when the former owner of the manor left, he had already taken away most of the ripe cigars, but he didn't do things well, and specially left Zhou Fangyuan almost two large boxes of cigars, and these occasional readings were brought back by Zhou Fangyuan.

It's not famous, but it's not a problem to spread it among friends and family.

Although Zhou Fangyuan doesn't know much about the internationally renowned cigar brands, he still knows a few.

Cuba is where tobacco was discovered by Europeans, and it still produces the best tobacco leaves and the most famous cigars today.

Cohiba is Cuba's most popular cigar and is consistently at the top of the CIGARTTP rankings.

Cohiba was born in Havana in 1966 as a gift from the government to presidents and diplomatic envoys, and after 1982, the brand of cigars became commercialized and made available to authorized people. To make a high-quality cigar, you must first choose a good variety and grow it in the right place. The tobacco leaves are picked, dried, fermented, leveled, stored, and then selected to make cigars, which takes about three years and more than 80 processes.

The outer layer of the tobacco used to roll the cigar is not the same as the inner layer, so the outer tobacco leaf should be selected with thin leaves, large oil content and shiny, so that the cigar will have a beautiful appearance and burn well. The inner layer of the cigar is divided into Ligero, seco, and volado, which are respectively the part that produces the sense of intoxication, creates aroma and fuels, and Ligero is the soul of the cigar, and 50% of the taste of the cigar depends on it.

Different parts of tobacco often come from different origins.

Although Cohiba is the best cigar in Cuba, Castro's cigar is not Cohiba, but it is also made in the same factory, but the tobacco leaves are personally selected by Mr. Arilino Larry, fermented separately and stored in a separate place, and the cigar rolls work under special protection, which can be called "cigar of cigars", and the taste is very mellow. The six most famous cigar varieties of Cohiba are Lanceros, Espléndido, Corona Especial, Robusto Exquisito, Panetela.

In addition, Albero, Davidoff, Dannemann, Hupmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, Montecristo, Punch, etc., are also well-known international brands, but most of them are not in Cuba, some will buy tobacco leaves from Cuba, and then go to other places for processing, and some simply use tobacco leaves from other countries, after all, cigar smoke is not a Cuban specialty.

In China, the Great Wall, Lion, Maoda, etc., are all well-known brands, among which the Great Wall has the longest history, and the Lion brand is not far behind.

Zhou Fangyuan's plane landed, and he asked his assistant to move the cigars down as soon as possible, and he wanted to think carefully about how to distribute the cigars he brought back this time.