After reading this thread last Saturday morning, I had to spark one of these and see if I was just imagining that I like them. I sat back with a nice cup of Killer Beans and a book and smoked away.
This cigar was from a split that I did in February. First thing I noticed was that the dark-brown wrapper was still nice and oily. It almost had a sheen to it. There was one prominent vein that ran down one side, but the wrapper was well applied and there were no visible seams. The pre-light nose was earthy and leathery, with the promise of coffee. The pre-light draw was firm, but not to the point of plugged. Appearance-wise, a very nice cigar.
The cigar lit easily and the draw instantly opened up to allow an easy pull. Each puff rewarded me with mouthfuls of thick, rich smoke that just hung in the still morning air. The burn was even throughout the smoke, never requiring any touch-ups. The oily wrapper almost decided not to burn after the first ashing...reduced smoke production, a little tunneling, but it quickly self-corrected and I experienced no further problems. The ash was firm and light gray, staying on an inch at a time. The smoke stayed cool to the last inch or so. A finely constructed cigar. :thumbs:
I find the taste of the Africas to be rather unique. I find that I like the Cameroon tobacco in the filler much more than the wrapper. It adds a slight sweet spice to the taste. Upon lighting, there was a stand-out coffee and earthiness to the cigar. It quickly settled into a complex coffee/earth/wood blend with that bit of sweet spice that I spoke of poking its head through from time to time. At the half way mark, the wood became a bit charred and smokey and the earth reduced itself to just a bit-player in the overall profile. The cigar ended with a hint of cedar and the sweet-spice dancing across the taste buds. All in all, a very nice tasting cigar.
For the price that these can be found at these days, I think they are a great goto, everyday smoke. They are not super-premiums, but they remain in my smoking rotation. I give this cigar a steady
B+ . :thumbs: