Trek to Honduras – Cigars from seedlings to smoke!

In mid-September, several BOTL's (Brothers of The Leaf) from Houston made a pilgrimage to Honduras with the objective of learning as much as possible about the growth, production and manufacture of our favorite leaf, on a trip hosted by a Houston area B&M (Elite Cigars) and the staff of Rocky Patel Cigars. Neil Noffsinger (Road Hawg) chronicled the trip in words and photos and submits the following article for your leisure perusal.

November 1, 2007
Neil Noffsinger

Day 1 - It had been four long months of anticipation since May when I plunked down the payment for this trip and I know the other BOTL's making this trek were as excited and anxious as I was to finally get underway. The trip was hosted by Jim and Chris Kaden of Elite Cigars, along with the staff from Rocky Patel Cigars, our hosts in Honduras. Two of the attendees were buddies of mine and we met up with the other congenial members of our group when we arrived at the Houston airport. Not knowing exactly what to expect, but excited beyond belief, there was friendly chat and discussion of cigars even before we boarded the Continental flight en route to the capital city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The three hour flight takes an interesting turn (and VERY rapid descent) upon arrival and with only one very short runway, the brakes are applied and the engines reversed as soon as the wheels touched the tarmac.

After clearing Customs and Immigration, we were met by Nimish Desai, our local host. Nimish is Rocky's cousin and serves as VP of Operations and head finance person in the company. He is a great guy, extremely knowledgeable, who made it his mission to ensure we had a fantastic trip! We headed for our transportation van and within five minutes from the airport had lit up a selection of RP cigars and were digging into Pizza Hut pizzas. These were accompanied by Imperial and Salva Vida, two local brews, as we made our way out of the city to Rocky's house in the small cigar-town of Danli, about 60 miles away. The ride out of the city was smooth and the hectic city traffic gave way to rolling hills and farmlands via the Pan American Highway. Our driver, Oscar, got us to our destination safely and was a master of the uphill, blind curve passing maneuver. We drove through the gates of the property, Villa Allejandra, which was our home and base of operations for the next four days. At 2500 feet above sea level it was away from the heat and humidity of the lower elevations and a wonderful homestead.

After settling into our rooms, we all adjoined to the veranda for cigars, rum, snacks and conversation. Nimish outlined our activities and schedule for the next several days and told us some of the history of RP and Rocky's entrée into the tobacco business from his days as an attorney in Los Angeles. The view from the patio was awesome, as it overlooked the lush green landscape, banana and plantain plants and provided a perfect venue for fine cigars. There were sporadic rain showers fueled by a cooling breeze which provided a calm respite from the heat and humidity of the Houston summer! Some folks christened the kitchen table with a spirited session of Texas Hold ‘em, while the rest of us focused on cigar and rum consumption (this was to become a consistent theme for the trip). Even though the trip centered on cigars, the rum, Flor de Cana, was fantastic! It is made in Nicaragua (only 20 miles away) from local sugar cane and was the perfect accompaniment to the cigars. Dinner that evening and the other meals to follow were delicious Honduran fare perfectly prepared by the staff at the house. Rice, beans, pork, beef, chicken, plantains, etc. were all hot, fresh and excellent!

Day 2 – At the house, there were no phones, TV or alarm clocks, but the rooster and the donkey did a fine job of getting us all out of bed and back to the patio for pre-breakfast cigars. After a breakfast of home made huevos rancheros, we fortified ourselves with cigars from the RP humidor on the dining room table and headed out for a tour of the factories in and around Danli. Passing through the small town of Danli, we saw the signs for the operations of CAO and Carlos Torano and proceeded to our destination of the Placencia Tobacco factory. This is one of the Nestor Placencia properties and they are the largest producer of Cuban seed tobacco in the world. The company employs 6,000 people worldwide, with about 600 in the factory in Danli. Our tour guide for this portion of the visit was Mr. Peter Hartkamp. He is the Operations Manager of the facility and is a wealth of information. He has worked all over the world in the tobacco industry, from Cuba to Europe to the U.S. He has been employed by a number of companies and is no doubt a key figure in the Placencia operation. He began with a 20 minute overview of the tobacco process, from the plants themselves to the harvesting of the leaves. He gave us a tutorial on the three general types of leaves coming from different locations on the plant: Seco (lower leaves), Viso (middle of the plant) and Ligero (upper leaves). He also talked us through the harvesting, sorting, fermenting and aging process so we were better able to appreciate the operations when we observed them on the tour.

The factory compound contained many different buildings, with a bustle of activity at each one. We saw the sorting room, where the leaves are sorted and then separated by the size of the leaf. They are also sorted by color of the leaf. Peter explained that women are chosen for this operation because they have better concentration to focus on the minor differences in shades of color which guys just cannot seem to master (go figure). We also saw the sorting room where the leaves are checked for texture and then toured the rooms where the leaves are de-veined, an operation which looks a lot easier than it actually was. One of our guys tried his hand at it and basically mangled the leaf. These workers really are skilled at their individual tasks. We also viewed the stations where the maduro leaves are "watered" and then stepped inside the room where the leaves give off their protein, in the form of ammonia. Needless to say, after that portion of the tour, all of our sinuses were clear! We also saw the fermenting stacks, where the temperature and humidity are constantly monitored, and the sections of the leaves are rotated to different sections of the stacks to ensure consistency of the product. Lastly, we saw the rolling operation where some of the tobacco is rolled for smaller private label brands, which do not have their own rollers. We spent most of the morning at the factory and got a real feel for the amount of labor that goes into our favorite pastime.

We then boarded the van for a ride a little farther out of town to the small village of Paraiso. This is the site of Paraiso Tobacco, a facility leased by RP Cigars for their own production. Before the tour of this plant, we met in the conference room for lunch, fantastic Cuban coffee and (surprise) cigars! A lot of the operations at this site were similar to the morning tour, but the facility was much newer, more spacious, well lit and looked to be a lot more comfortable place to work. Our guide for this portion of the tour was Gustavo, a young Cuban fellow who is the production manager of the facility. He took us through the sorting and grading rooms, where there are an amazing number of hand inspections that go into the tobacco that is brought into the facility. There is again a process of sorting by size, color and texture before the final leaves are accepted for the RP line. Those that are not acceptable are sold off and/or turned into short filler cigars for other manufacturer's brands.

The rolling department was a huge room, filled with 120 "teams" of rollers. One member of the team is the "buncher" who bunches the filler and applies the binder. The next process is the draw test, where each and every cigar is draw tested to ensure the leaves are neither too loose nor too tight. There are strict parameters and any stick that fails is sent back to the "buncher" to re-process. I always thought that the claim of "100% draw tested" was just marketing hype, but it is absolutely accurate! Once past the draw test, it goes to the second member of the team, the roller, who again checks for appearance and ring consistency and then applies the wrapper and the cap. The more experienced rollers roll the torpedoes and they work so fast it is actually difficult to see the individual steps. From these stations, it is off to a series of additional inspections. We were told that from the time the seedlings are planted in the fields (on the next day's agenda) there are from 250 – 300 hands which touch our cigars before we are able to clip or punch them and fire them up! From the rollers hands, the sticks are individually checked for color, consistency of construction, texture and proper ring gauge. Sticks which do not pass any one of these numerous inspections are designated either as "Factory selects" which are sold to private label manufactures to market under their own brand, or "Factory seconds" which is what we smoked while there. They are sorted by color yet another time before they are boxed. As these are hand-made, there are obviously some minor variations in color, but RP wants to ensure that all sticks within a box are uniform and of the same shade and coloring. Our group looked at the ladies sorting the sticks and they must have keen eyes, because we could not discern differences in shading until after they were sorted, and even then the differences were negligible to the layman.

Speaking of labor intensive…it was remarkable to see that each and every cigar even has the label applied by hand! Yes, there were a number of stations where the workers individually applied the band to every stick before being boxed – incredible. We also saw boxes of the RP Battalion cigar being prepared, which will be a new edition to the RP lineup with a huge ring gauge. You will also be seeing a joint promo coming out between RP and an imported (name withheld) Pilsner beer. With every six pack during the promo period, the purchaser will get a specially labeled and tubed RP stick, as they try to entice the premium beer lover into the world of premium cigars – very creative!

Before we departed the factory, each member of our group was invited to create his own blend. Yes, there was a table full of leaves providing a varied choice of about 10 different wrappers, 6 to 8 choices of binder and 6 to 8 fillers. We wrote down our choices on a piece of paper with our names, and then Gustavo looked over the sheets to see if he thought the blend would be smokeable. Only one blend went "back to the drawing board" and then the leaves for each individual cigar were pulled and taken to the rolling tables. After bunching, draw testing and wrapping, we were each presented with our own "blend." How cool is that? Must admit that I enjoyed my blend and was very pleased with the outcome, but it is probably a good thing for the industry that I am not a professional blender; no mother ever had an ugly baby, right? We were also treated to one of the new RP Decade cigars, which is to commemorate Rocky's 10 years in the industry. This is not available to the general market yet, so on top of everything else we enjoyed this day, this was another real treat.

On the way back to the villa, we stopped in Danli to look around town and pick up a few lighters. There was a central market and a lot of small shops, but frankly we did not spend a lot of time shopping because there were more cigars back at the house that needed to be sacrificed to the gods of smoke. After another delicious dinner outside by the pool, the evening concluded with poker, conversation and cigars. Gustavo from the factory and Marissa from the villa joined us later in the evening and entertained us with guitar playing and some Spanish songs. We also got information concerning some 2008 plans for RP cigars. Be on the lookout for some cigar clothing from RP next year. Details are still being worked, but don't be surprised if you see really nice silk guayaberas offered next year by RP.

Day 3 – Once again it was a rooster crowing that woke everyone up with enough time for an RP Edge Light before breakfast. Again stocked with cigars to see us through the morning, we boarded the van with Nimish and Gustavo and for a tour of the box plant in Danli. This was an amazing place. The workers turn out approximately 2,000 boxes per day and supply many different manufacturers in addition to RP. This is also an unbelievably labor intensive process. The workers cut the raw cedar boards into smaller strips for the boxes, and then assemble and sand the box pieces by hand! The labels for the boxes are also prepared by hand. It is a screen printing type of process, with ink or gold foil, depending upon the final design. After the boxes are near completion, the labels are applied and the final assembly is completed. The hand finishing, hinge assembly with brass screws, final polish and buffing are all skills which create the work of art we all know as the cigar boxes which protect our little gems.

The next stop of the day was the ride down into the beautiful Jamastran Valley, where the actual tobacco fields are located. After departing the pavement and driving 20 minutes down dirt roads we reached the covered tents where the seedlings get their start. We saw a small container of individual seeds which was worth over $3,000. The seeds are spread out in rich soil to begin growth and then transplanted to the green houses when they are just big enough to take root under the protected tents. The planting dates are tracked carefully and plants are monitored daily until they are transplanted into the actual fields after approximately 60 days. It was quite a sight to see up to 300,000 individual plants under a single tent!

Just before the plants are taken to the fields for planting, they are "shocked" to stimulate growth in the field and ensure uniformity of size. This is accomplished by sliding the plants in their trays under a lawn mower blade – amazing! The next stop was the curing and aging barns where the leaves are stored and aged for varying periods of time, depending upon the particular blend desired in the final product. There were standard barns for aging and also a building called the kalfrista which provides tightly controlled temperature and humidity which reduces the curing time. It was interesting to see the changes from the freshly harvested green leaves, as they mature to yellow and then the familiar brown that we are used to seeing.

In yet another area we saw the harvested leaves coming in from the fields in trucks, then being transferred to the workers who sew each individual leaf to a wooden pole, which is then hung on the rafters in the barn to age. These guys are absolutely fearless as they straddle the beams high above the dirt floor as they work their way higher and higher toward the roof to hang the leaves for curing.

After a return to the villa, we all snacked and enjoyed cigars (have you noticed a trend?) and discussed the wealth of cigar and tobacco information we had ingested during the past two days. The information flow was akin to drinking from a fire hose, as it was coming fast and furious. I have attempted to be accurate in reporting the details, to the best of my ability (and memory). That evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner of stuffed peppers, yucca plant, plantains and rice and dessert featured flan and Cuban coffee – absolutely outstanding! Supervised by Marissa and Adolfo, the staff at the house did an exceptional job of taking care of us. We capped off the evening with more cigars as we attempted to solve the problems of the world.

Day 4 – Having fully covered the tobacco activities in Danli, we decided to go back into the capital city of Tegucigalpa for the final night. We said our farewells and thanks to the villa staff and once again loaded with sticks, boarded the van for our ride back to the city. After arrival in the capital, we took a scenic ride to the top of Picacho Peak and entered the Parque Naciones Unidas (United Nations Park). The key feature is the huge statue of Christ, the Cristo del Picacho, overlooking the city. This viewpoint provided a great photo op and view of the city as the townspeople celebrated Honduran Independence Day on September 16th. We checked into the Hotel Camino Real Inter-Continental and adjourned to the pool for rum and cigars (the trend continues). Some folks did some shopping, while other hit the small casino in town to try their luck. Following a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant, some of us sampled the nightlife with a trip to La Grotta, a popular disco. Once again, Nimish proved an outstanding host, as he contacted the club owner in advance and we had reserved parking, reserved seating and were treated like kings as we watched the lithe 20-somethings dance to Latin and American music. We sipped rum and fired up more RP offerings until the wee hours of the morning as we wrapped up our final evening in Honduras.

Day 5 – After a sumptuous buffet breakfast in the hotel it was time to check out and head for the airport. Once again the RP staff helped us speed through Customs and the miscellaneous paperwork in time for us to find the cigar lounge (imagine that) in the airport for a final smoke before boarding the plane for our return to Houston.

After settling back into the routine at home, it is fun to reflect upon the short time in Honduras. We all had a fantastic time, with friendly hosts and a welcoming staff as we learned the intricate details involved in the cigar manufacturing process. I smoked 34 cigars during the visit and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of the Edge Corojos, Edge Maduros, Edge Lights, RP Vintage 1990 and 1992's, Edge Missiles, Nording Private Reserves and RP Old World Reserves that I consumed. If you ever have the opportunity to take part in a factory tour, by all means, make sure you attend – you'll kick yourself if you let it pass you by. Again I want to express sincere thanks on behalf of our entire group to Elite Cigars and especially to Nimish and all the team from Rocky Patel, the members of the household staff at the villa, and all of the Honduran employees who helped make this such a memorable trip! As I puff on a fine one right now and take another sip of rum, my mind wanders as I daydream about the next cigar outing – absolutely cannot wait!!.

Neil Noffsinger (Road Hawg) is a retired sales executive from the semiconductor industry and enjoys life with his wife Gail in Spring, Texas. The seven years since retirement have been filled with motorcycles and travel to all corners of the U.S. and Canada. He has been on 2 wheels in 49 states (missed Hawaii) and typically enjoys a quality cigar at the end of the day - or before breakfast when in Honduras!