Feature Story: The Origins of Criollo Seed Tobacco

Earlier this month, we officially launched the Cigar Coop Video Channel on You Tube.  The intent of this video channel is to supplement the content on this web-site.  From time to time, we will include some of the content on this web-site that we feel is relevant to the mission of this web-site.  The following video was filmed in Nicaragua and is part of an on-going series this month (June 2012) of a visit I took to Drew Estate in Nicaragua.

Criollo means "native seed".  Criollo tobacco is well known for its uses in cigars.   Criollo tobacco is often associated with Cuba in terms of its origins.   As Drew Estate President Steve Saka points out, while Cuban Criollo can be considered a "base tobacco", there are origins that precede its arrival into Cuba.

In this video, Saka takes us through the origins of the Criollo and takes us through the migration paths and how the cultures of different regions impacted this seed.  As we will learn, many tobaccos that are used have Criollo origins such as San Andres, Mata Fina, and Connecticut Broadleaf.