“We are prepared to meet the challenges that the different tastes demand because we have a range of soils specially selected to grow the different seeds that make up our blends,” Peralta explains. “Tabadom allows me to do so many experiments with different seeds. This allowed us to create a range of specific seeds with great potential to satisfy the most demanding palates of our cigar aficionados. We also have special regions for every single variety of tobacco that enhances our ability to meet consumers’ taste needs. Every tobacco variety has different sensory characteristics, and its cultivation can differ in many aspects. For me, the Yamasa region provides the best environmental conditions for tobacco growing as it has a lot of mineral components, in particular a very high content in iron, which gives a cigar a long aftertaste on the palate.”
Each day presents different challenges for Peralta. Days in which he might be planning to manage tobacco harvesting might be interrupted by rain, or some other surprises might pop up, but after so many years, the golden leaf itself holds few surprises. He has learned the ➤ language that tobacco speaks and can interpret its needs with ease.
“After all these many years working with tobacco—blending different varieties, types, and sorts of tobacco and having managed to enhance the most desirable sensory characteristics—it does not surprise me anymore,” he says.
This story first appeared in the May/June 2019 issue of Tobacco Business magazine. Members of the tobacco industry are eligible for a complimentary subscription to our magazine. Click here for details.
– By Stephen A. Ross, senior editor of Tobacco Business Magazine.
