Burnt Tongue
No Tastebuds...
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2006
- Messages
- 1,190
I have often read here in these posts the relationship of nicotine and the so called buzz that some cigars produce. I was wondering if that was an incorrect analogy. I was thinking that the so called buzz might be related to the fermentation process and not the nicotine. After all aren’t beer and wine fermented? Is that not the process that gives beer and wine that alcohol buzz? Then I dd some research on the fermentation process of cigar tobacco to see if I could find anywhere a relationship to the fermentation process to the buzz feeling.
I found this quote from Tony Borhani of Bahia Cigars. “Unfortunately, the cigar makers give in to that demand and they make cigars that are strong but what it is, is excess nicotine. Green, young, unfermented tobaccos that all it does is give you a headache or a buzz instead of the aroma and array of flavors, that’s what I look for in a cigar. Not something that will give me a buzz or make me sit down.”
So I guess what I have discovered is that fermentation does exactly the opposite of what I had originally thought. It actually reduces the likely hood of getting a buzz and cigars that give you that feeling are incorrectly aged and have a larger amount of nicotine in them
Below are some quotes and the sources I could find regarding fermentation:
“Decomposition of foodstuffs generally accompanied by the evolution of gas. The best-known example is alcoholic fermentation, in which sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. During fermentation organic matter is decomposed in the absence of air (oxygen); hence, there is always an accumulation of reduction products, or incomplete oxidation products. Some of these products (for example, alcohol and lactic acid) are of importance to humans, and fermentation has therefore been used for their manufacture on an industrial scale. There are also many microbiological processes that go on in the presence of air while yielding incomplete oxidation products. Good examples are the formation of acetic acid (vinegar) from alcohol by vinegar bacteria, and of citric acid from sugar by certain molds (for example, Aspergillus niger). These microbial processes, too, have gained industrial importance, and are often referred to as fermentations, even though they do not conform to L. Pasteur's concept of fermentation as a decomposition in the absence of air. See also Industrial microbiology.”
http://www.answers.com/topic/fermentation
“Step 2: First Fermentation
Once the leaves are dry they are placed in piles and covered with burlap. This allows the remaining moisture to initiate the fermentation process, giving the leaves their brown color while lowering the tar and nicotine levels.”
http://www.godominicanrepublic.com/main.as...s/cigars_en.xml
“Cigar tobacco reaches the factory after a series of 60 day periods: 60 days to germinate seeds before transplanting to a field; 60 days to grow the tobacco plant to maturity; 60 days for a complete harvest, which ends with around one month of drying in a tobacco-curing barn followed by a series of fermentation. In the fermentation stage, workers pile slightly moistened tobacco in huge bulks or stacks; temperatures inside the bulks may reach as high as 140 degrees as the cigar "sweats" during the early stages of the fermentation. When the temperature reaches the highest point that the tobacco expert deems proper, workers deconstruct the bulks to lower the temperature, a process called turning. Some tobacco may be turned up to three or four times and remoistened before fermentation finally ceases. The process releases ammonia from the tobacco and other impurities. “
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Da...347,449,00.html
“Fermentation is a unique factor which distinguishes Cohiba Cigars. Tobacco for other Cuban cigars undergoes only two fermentations, while the leaves of Cohiba cigars go through a third fermentation. The fermentation process may take as long as 18 months and it is this process that gives Cohiba cigars their finesse and refinement. Another advantage of third fermentation is that it reduces the nicotine and tar in Cohiba cigars.”
http://www.cuban-cigars-club.com/cohiba-cuban-cigar.htm
I hope you find this as informative and interesting as I did.
I found this quote from Tony Borhani of Bahia Cigars. “Unfortunately, the cigar makers give in to that demand and they make cigars that are strong but what it is, is excess nicotine. Green, young, unfermented tobaccos that all it does is give you a headache or a buzz instead of the aroma and array of flavors, that’s what I look for in a cigar. Not something that will give me a buzz or make me sit down.”
So I guess what I have discovered is that fermentation does exactly the opposite of what I had originally thought. It actually reduces the likely hood of getting a buzz and cigars that give you that feeling are incorrectly aged and have a larger amount of nicotine in them
Below are some quotes and the sources I could find regarding fermentation:
“Decomposition of foodstuffs generally accompanied by the evolution of gas. The best-known example is alcoholic fermentation, in which sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. During fermentation organic matter is decomposed in the absence of air (oxygen); hence, there is always an accumulation of reduction products, or incomplete oxidation products. Some of these products (for example, alcohol and lactic acid) are of importance to humans, and fermentation has therefore been used for their manufacture on an industrial scale. There are also many microbiological processes that go on in the presence of air while yielding incomplete oxidation products. Good examples are the formation of acetic acid (vinegar) from alcohol by vinegar bacteria, and of citric acid from sugar by certain molds (for example, Aspergillus niger). These microbial processes, too, have gained industrial importance, and are often referred to as fermentations, even though they do not conform to L. Pasteur's concept of fermentation as a decomposition in the absence of air. See also Industrial microbiology.”
http://www.answers.com/topic/fermentation
“Step 2: First Fermentation
Once the leaves are dry they are placed in piles and covered with burlap. This allows the remaining moisture to initiate the fermentation process, giving the leaves their brown color while lowering the tar and nicotine levels.”
http://www.godominicanrepublic.com/main.as...s/cigars_en.xml
“Cigar tobacco reaches the factory after a series of 60 day periods: 60 days to germinate seeds before transplanting to a field; 60 days to grow the tobacco plant to maturity; 60 days for a complete harvest, which ends with around one month of drying in a tobacco-curing barn followed by a series of fermentation. In the fermentation stage, workers pile slightly moistened tobacco in huge bulks or stacks; temperatures inside the bulks may reach as high as 140 degrees as the cigar "sweats" during the early stages of the fermentation. When the temperature reaches the highest point that the tobacco expert deems proper, workers deconstruct the bulks to lower the temperature, a process called turning. Some tobacco may be turned up to three or four times and remoistened before fermentation finally ceases. The process releases ammonia from the tobacco and other impurities. “
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Da...347,449,00.html
“Fermentation is a unique factor which distinguishes Cohiba Cigars. Tobacco for other Cuban cigars undergoes only two fermentations, while the leaves of Cohiba cigars go through a third fermentation. The fermentation process may take as long as 18 months and it is this process that gives Cohiba cigars their finesse and refinement. Another advantage of third fermentation is that it reduces the nicotine and tar in Cohiba cigars.”
http://www.cuban-cigars-club.com/cohiba-cuban-cigar.htm
I hope you find this as informative and interesting as I did.
