Dear all,
after seeing the whole factory yesterday, I'm getting serious today and won't be avoiding work any longer.
Hauke accompanies me to the Galera, where they've been rolling since 7am. He briefly shows me the cigar lounge, which towers over the Galera and offers a wonderful view of the hustle and bustle.
We go to the cigar rollers together and I watch for a moment - but then I have second thoughts. Bunching straight away? That's too fast for me and I chicken out. I'd rather try it out slowly and get a taste of the preparation phase before the actual rolling.
I just want to touch the tobacco and get a feel for it again.
Carlito, the supervisor in this area, guides me through all the pre-rolling departments: I get stuck in where I can do the smallest amount of damage, but can still feel and smell the tobacco: I help to unfold the individual leaves, which stick together during the storage process, so that the buncher has no trouble getting hold of the individual leaves.
The “unfolding department” gives me a warm welcome and Leydi, my neighbor at the table, instructs me. First we unfold Criollo Seco, then Piloto Cubano ligero. This is followed by Besuki tobacco, which I find quite fascinating, it feels like silk paper, the leaves are huge. Then we unfold Cubano grande. The whole department listens to music, the atmosphere is fun and every now and then someone sings along. After a while, this work becomes a meditation and the singing and the cheerful laughter around me lulls me to sleep - and I just feel at ease and, although I am far away from home, I feel welcomed in a very special way.
Leydi is quite fast and I'm quite slow, but after a while I catch up a bit.
I'm learning a new word, which I'm sure I heard at my last internship but didn't realize: the tobacco leaves we unfold are called frog legs - because that's exactly what they look like. Funny - I never noticed that before. The frog legs are created because the central vein of the tobacco leaf is removed up to a certain point - only when it is thin enough does it no longer harm the blend in terms of processing (draw resistance!).
Once the leaves are unfolded, they are placed in a drying room, only then are they really ready to be processed in the bunch.
After the lunch break, I help to weigh the tobacco: we have to weigh exactly how many kilos (in this case three) are delivered to the buncher. He then transforms the bundle into the bunches: the bundle contains the exact "recipe" - and ultimately exactly what we passionados taste when we smoke. Now I'm learning an other new word: libro - book! The folded and counted binders or wrappers (always 52!) are rolled up slightly and are then called libro. Carlito knows his way around and is able to describe the characteristics of each type of tobacco to me. He often caresses the leaves tenderly and I realize how much he loves his work.
The introduction today was just the right thing to get me back into the swing of things - and tomorrow I'll finally dare to make the bunches!
Until then, best wishes from the hotel terrace, where every day I watch the sun go down just after 6 pm.
Comments