Tobaccos from India

[SmokeStack]

I have been surfing the web and I came across many websites based in India that sold the following tobaccos:

Red Chopadia
Black Chopadia
Calcuttia Rustica
Natu

Is anyone familiar with these tobaccos?

 

[FmGrowit]

Istambullin make reference to the Indian grown Tombac in this thread.

Chapadia

 

[SmokeStack]

Don, I have read the thread. Istanbullin is very knowledgeable with middle eastern tobaccos. However, I smoked Persian tombac grown in India and exported to the Middle East. I also tried the Chopadia that I purchased from you. I found that there was a big difference in taste/flavor between the two. They both were very good but different. The Persian tombac was more earthy or musty; whereas, the Chopadia was sweeter and more fragrant - almost floral. Also, the Chopadia had more of a nicotine punch to it. I am guessing the word tombac may represent a broad class of tobaccos and Red or Black Chopadia are just different varieties of tombac. I could be completely wrong (as I frequently am).

But what about Natu? I have seen this tobacco mentioned at times, but I have never knew what it was like? Is it also a form of tombac or is it a different bird altogether?

 

[deluxestogie]

Natu or country tobacco (N. tabaccum [sic]) is an aromatic type of sun-cured tobacco, produced only in Andhra Pradesh, where it is grown in both black and light soils. It is used for making cheaper brands of cigarettes, and country cheroots. Natu tobacco is also used in pipes, as snuff, or chewed plain.

http://books.google.com/books?id=k3...Aw#v=onepage&q="country tobacco" natu&f=false

Bob

 

[FmGrowit]

From http://www.exportersindia.com/yaseenenterprises/products.htm?slno=148302

This range of Sun Cured Natu Tobacco is primarily used for cigarette blending and for hookah tobacco paste making. This range of Sun Cured Natu Tobacco undergoes stringent quality control measures to make the range free from all drawbacks.

Used For

• Cheroots
• Snuff pipe tobacco
• Cigarette blending
• Hookah paste making

Types Of Sun Cured Natu Tobacco Includes

• Sun Cured Country Eluru Natu Tobacco
• Sun Cured Country Kurnool and Telengana (Natu)

Physical Properties

• The leaf is initially air-cured (shade-cured) for 2 months followed by pit curing for 4 to 5 days and then bulked till the leaf develops brown colour and has a pungent odour.

 

[deluxestogie]

Pit curing? Wow. I wonder what that is.

Bob

 

[Ashauler]

Quick google yields :http://agriinfo.in/default.aspx?page=topic&superid=1&topicid=1108

 

[deluxestogie]

Thanks, Ashauler. I just found that info and another that seems to clarify the subject.

Pit Curing:

1. Pit curing is old and crude method of tobacco curing and is followed only for chewing and hookah tobacco.
2. The farmer is interested in taste and aroma of tobacco and not in burning quality.
3. The curing is done in pits of 90 x 90 x 90 cm sizes.
4. The pits are tied all around with jawar kadbi or straw.
5. The tobacco plants are kept in layers in the pit and top layer is covered by straw and gunny cloth.
6. The top is covered by soil well above ground level so, water will not seep into it.
7. The leaves are kept for one to two weeks.
8. If pit is over heated some water is sprinkled over it to cool down the temperature of pit.
9. The leaves are then taken out and twisted into ropes or made into bundles.

http://agriinfo.in/default.aspx?page=topic&superid=1&topicid=1108

Pit-curing

• The pits, prepared in the ground, are used for curing the tobacco leaves however, the method is not very common. Pit curing is mainly adopted in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
• The tobacco grown in Jullundhar and Firozepur districts of Punjab is pit cured.
• In this method the pits are lined with tree leaves or dried straw in order to prevent mixing of leaves with soil. Then the wilted plants are arranged in layers into small heaps.
• In Firozepur a layer of Aak (Calotropis sp.) leaves are placed between the layers of tobacco leaves for increasing the pungency of cured leaves.
• The top of the heap is covered with a layer of straw and then with soil which should be about 10 to 15 cm above the ground level so that rain water does not percolate into the pit.
• It takes 6-8 days for curing after which they are twisted into ropes or made into bundles.
• The pits must be opened at right time as any delay in opening causes overheating and the leaves will get spoiled.
• Sometimes leaves are placed in the first pit for 24 hour and then transferred to the second pit 48 hours and then back again to the first for another 24-48 hours. Thus a quick fermentation takes place and the leaves attain a dark brown colour and fruity smell.

http://www.ikisan.com/crop specific/eng/links/ap_tobaccoCuring.shtml

This seems to differ from the 19th century method discussed by ?Killebrew, in which a bed of coals was placed at the bottom of the pit.

Bob

 

[johnlee1933]

Quick google yields :http://agriinfo.in/default.aspx?page=topic&superid=1&topicid=1108

I just read this and then did the C to F comversions. The temps seem extremely high. Maybe a decimal point is missing in each temp number? -- John

 

[leverhead]

The temps seem extremely high. Maybe a decimal point is missing in each temp number? -- John

I think you're right, they'd end up with charcoal.

 

[Ashauler]

I just read this and then did the C to F comversions. The temps seem extremely high. Maybe a decimal point is missing in each temp number? -- John

Yes, a decimal in front of the zero in those numbers would yield temps closer to the flue curing temps, however, they do not appear to go high enough. I am no flue curing expert though.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Very interesting! Thank you! Will have to try this with the va359 I will grow next year. By wilted I assume fresh green primings a few hours old then into the pit for a week? I like crude, the cruder the better

 

[SmokeStack]

Yes, a decimal in front of the zero in those numbers would yield temps closer to the flue curing temps, however, they do not appear to go high enough. I am no flue curing expert though.

I think the extra zero comes from the degree symbol which is a superscript zero so 490C is really 49 degrees Celsius or 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[Randy]

I was examing a map of the weather climates of the world..and comparing the regions of the world with there tobacco growing regions:US;Turkey;Indisonsa;Carrbien;Cent america etc.. but noticed that "Spain" has abt same climate as say Cen.Amer,Carbiean,Turkey..but I never hear of tobacco grown in Spain esp southern Spain just wondering why this is??

Randy

 

[deluxestogie]

I don't know the current law in Spain. What I do know is that many of the European countries that were former colonial powers strictly prohibited growing of tobacco within their national borders for several hundred years, in order to solidify the robust revenues of taxed tobacco imported from their respective colonies. For most of post-Columbian times, Spain's colony of Cuba was their primary source of tobacco.

Bob

 

[Randy]

Kinda makes you wonder if Teddy had got his way abt Cuba how my local cigar might taste different LOL thk deluxe for info

Randy