There are five tobacco regions in Cuba: Oriente, Remedios, Partidos, Semi-Vuelta and Vuelta Abajo. Just two, Partidos and Vuelta Abajo grow tobacco fine enough for Havana's "Grandes Marques". Only Vuelta Abajo, with its unique soil and climate, produces all the leaves needed to blend a cigar.

Five types of leaf go into making a Havana cigar. The Tripa (filler) contains a blend of three - Ligero, Seco and Volado. The Capote (binder) secures them, while the Capa (wrapper) dresses a cigar and dictates its appearance.
There are two seed varieties, each of which produce distinctly different tobacco plants, known as Corojo and Criollo. The Corojo produces just one type of leaf, the Capa. It costs more to produce than all the other tobacco leaves in a Havana. Capa leaves are also classified by colour (see 'Choosing Your Havana' for further explanation): eg Claro (light brown), Colorado Claro (mid brown), Colorado (dark brown) and Maduro (very dark brown). The Criollo produces the remaining four types of leaves and is the perfected strain of the only true Cuban tobacco seed.

Tobacco plants need careful nurturing to produce perfect leaves. The land must be ploughed many times to produce a fine seedbed to accommodate the demands of the delicate roots of the tobacco plants: they need finely tilled soil to thrive. Then the Tobacco Research Stations supply the Cuban tobacco farmers (vegueros) with seeds. When the seedlings reach a height of 15-20cm, they are ready to be planted out in the fields. During it's short life, (45 to 50 days), each tobacco plant is visited over 150 times by the veguero for weeding, pest control and to have the buds and side-shoots removed to ensure that all the growing energy is concentrated on producing larger leaves.

The Corojo plants are grown under muslin cloth to protect them from the direct sunlight and obtain a smooth, silken and even texture. By contrast, the Criollo plants need as much sun as possible to gain the intensity and depth of flavour required to make a Havana cigar. Each tobacco leaf must be hand picked - it is important that the types of leaf from each plant are not mixed. The time-consuming, complicated process of harvesting takes over 40 days to complete.

Once harvested, the leaves are air cured. They are paired up and then hung in barns to oxidise and be made ready for their first fermentation. For the fermentation, the leaves are packed into bundles (called gavillas) and taken to the Fermentation House. They are placed in piles (pilones) over three feet high. These are constantly monitored for temperature fluctuations, and adjustments are made to ensure consistency.

Next the leaves are dampened to prepare them for handling. Then they are classified by size, colour, texture and type of leaf. They are then repacked into larger bundles (burros). This creates a powerful fermentation for up to sixty days. It causes a chemical change which enhances the flavour and aroma and eliminates impurities. Then, after resting the leaves, they are packed into bales (tercios). This ensures that they mature properly, which refines their flavour and aroma. When required, they are moved to the cigar factory (eg in the city of Havana) for their final transformation into fine cigars.
At the cigar factory, each type of leaf is treated differently. The outer wrappers are carefully moistened, a task that is performed in the cool early morning hours, then they are hung overnight to ensure even dampness. In the morning the strippers (despalilladoras) remove the stems. Next, the graders (rezagadoras) sort them into piles according to size, colour and texture

The fillers and binders do not need to be moistened, and are aged for different lengths of time to meet their requirements - from twelve months to two years. A Master Blender monitors each leaf type and when they are ready they are transferred to the blending department, where each brand use their secret recipe to produce their own selection of cigars. The blended leaves are then issued to the rollers (torcedores) to make into cigars. The torcedores use a wooden board, a sharp blade (chaveta), a guillotine, natural vegetable gum and their skilled hands, to produce about 120 cigars per day.

The cigars are then transferred to the conditioning room (escaparate) where they are stored for at least three weeks in perfect conditions. The cigars are then sorted by the colour grader (escogedor). There are 65 different shades. The best face of the Havana is chosen as they are placed in boxes.

Lastly, they are passed to the bander (anilladora), who must not change the escogedor's grading. Each box of cigars receives a Government Warranty Seal as it's final embellishment, which identifies it as a true Havana.