Cigars + Coffee

[Joey]

Ok, this is a question for the cigar lovers here:

Are there special cigars or cigarillos where you would say "they fit perfectly" or is it all just smoke?
As cigars have different aromas, too, can you compare and say: This cigar goes well with that coffee...?

Right now I have Cohibas, Partagas and Monte CHristos in my humidor in my shop, but I still have some space left and wonder what to buy...

Thanks
Joey

[kingseven]

Tobacco is fascinating stuff - the heavenly smells!

I am working with pipe tobacco at the moment - and that costs enough! I'd love the money and time to work more with cigars though - such a deeper, spicier smell....

[Raf]

Joey, the new line of Cohiba (Siglo VI) is absolutely orgasmic, and in no way comparable to lesser smokes. It's also quite expensive (20 € per stick! ). Things that are important in stocking cigars:

- don't buy too many at a time, because even in a humidor they will age, and age = the enemy of cigars (mostly, there are exceptions). Preferably, you get only the best brand of each type (thickness/lenght, i.e. Robusto, Churchill, Panetella). Too many same types are confusing and make your cigars go bad (the trained smoker will choose from the box that is fullest, as these are usually fresher. We spot old cigars from a mile away!).

- stock only (or mostly) hand rolled cigars, as they will draw more smoothly than the machine rolled. You have to be very careful, because all the cigar brands come out of the same factories and it's not always clear if they are hand rolled or machine rolled. The difference in taste comes from the different tobacco origins. The master blender chooses differend tobacco's for the different parts of the cigar (filler, cover and something), giving each brand a unique signature taste (! there's something familiar for coffeenuts!). So all the different brands use the same or similar tobacco's, and are manufactured in the same factoreis, but they are blended differently.

- good cigars are: the Punch Punch (small Punches), the Epicure n° 2 by Hoyo de Monterey, the Cohiba Siglo VI (the top!).

Above all: better one type of cigar that sells quickly and doesn't go stale, than a hundred varieties of stale, old, hard and mouldy cigars. Hope this helps!

[Raf]

Also, I don't like Montecristo, but maybe that's personal.

[quink]

I always liked Bolivar when I smoked, but couldnt tell you the size of them, Oh and those torpedo shapped ones that I cant remember the name of where tthe wrapping leaf is tapered towards the end of the cigar so the first 3 puffs or so are just the wrapping leaf before you get to the main body.

[Raf]

I always liked Bolivar when I smoked, but couldnt tell you the size of them, Oh and those torpedo shapped ones that I cant remember the name of where tthe wrapping leaf is tapered towards the end of the cigar so the first 3 puffs or so are just the wrapping leaf before you get to the main body.

Isn't that the part you have to cut off???

[quink]

Isn't that the part you have to cut off???

Sorry that wasn't that clear was it. I dont mean the bit that has to come off with the cigar chopper. Have a look at the link and it should make more sense


http://www.cigars-review.org/Cuaba-Generosos.htm

[jumper]

i dont think you can use this but i smoke olifant corona's i think you can only get them in the netherlands.
they are the absolutely best cigar out there to smoke near an espresso.
cheers mark
ps olifant=elephant

[Joey]

WOW, thanks for all that information - I guess I have to learn a lot more...

Raf, how can I proof all these things you said? I mean, about the right blending of the cigar... right now I bought these 3 25 piece packages because someone from the gastronomy here said these are the most smoked ones.
I also have to admit I didn't take the most expensive or biggest ones for the following reason:
A *real* cigar smoker will bring his own portable humidor anyway and wouldn't rely on what I maybe have in my store.
My cigars are mostly sold to people who "would like to try one" - "but don't spend too much for just one piece, because they are not the real conisseurs (I spelled that wrong, didn't I )
So I sell them for 6, 7, and 8 Euros per piece....
Already sold about 6 Cohibas and 4 Montechristos in 3 weeks.... is that ok? How long can I store them?
I have a wall humidor.
And I have to admit, although I read a lot on a very good homepage about "how to built a humidor" and with what to humify it.....I do have a plastic sponge now in my dish. Don't freak out! It's because the man who gave me that humidor has a Cuban Bar, loves Cigars, and has the same pieces in his shop. He says after trying almost everything expensive he found out that with this design of the humidor the humidity given from the plastic sponge is correct for a very, very long time.
He also adds a bit of Cognac to the water. Was it Cognac? I took a tiny bit of Irish Whiskey in lack of Cognac
("let the stoning begin...")
Oh, boy - I'll send you a pic of the humidor ASAP.
I heard that that granulate would be better then the moss....any comments on that?

So summarized, the cigars I have sold where bought by some pretenders or wanna-be's either then the "real" cigar smokers.... so until someone can tell me if I have the best possibility to store the expensive ones, I dare buying them.... Raf, that was the petition to come to Vienna soon to check on coffee and cigars

And please wright more if you want to, I wanna learn a lot about cigars.
The Olifant sounds funny, wanna have one for myself

Joey

(would you still speak with me if I tell you that in lack of a cigar cutter I always cut them with my leathermen? With two angled cuts, of course...)

...I hear a hissing sound coming from the sky ...is it a bird? No. Is it a plane? No. It's a huge stone from Belgium!!!!!!! Aaargghhhhh......

[Raf]

Raf, how can I proof all these things you said? I mean, about the right blending of the cigar... right now I bought these 3 25 piece packages because someone from the gastronomy here said these are the most smoked ones.

I also have to admit I didn't take the most expensive or biggest ones for the following reason:
A *real* cigar smoker will bring his own portable humidor anyway and wouldn't rely on what I maybe have in my store.
My cigars are mostly sold to people who "would like to try one" - "but don't spend too much for just one piece, because they are not the real conisseurs (I spelled that wrong, didn't I )

Ok, I'll try to answer this.

First, I don't think you can check the "right" blending of a cigar. It just depends on the brand. For the signature of every brand, I think there's plenty of websites out there describing them, and I believe it's possible to find out which ones are hand rolled and which ones machine rolled.

Second, I don't think cigar smokers carry humidors around - unless they're real addicts. For most cigar smokers, a cigar is a treat, to be smoked as shortly after purchase as possible - I think most smokers buy their cigars one at a time, and hardly ever a box. It's just too hard to store them if you only smoke one or two a week.

So I sell them for 6, 7, and 8 Euros per piece....
Already sold about 6 Cohibas and 4 Montechristos in 3 weeks.... is that ok? How long can I store them?
I have a wall humidor.
And I have to admit, although I read a lot on a very good homepage about "how to built a humidor" and with what to humify it.....I do have a plastic sponge now in my dish. Don't freak out! It's because the man who gave me that humidor has a Cuban Bar, loves Cigars, and has the same pieces in his shop. He says after trying almost everything expensive he found out that with this design of the humidor the humidity given from the plastic sponge is correct for a very, very long time.
He also adds a bit of Cognac to the water. Was it Cognac? I took a tiny bit of Irish Whiskey in lack of Cognac
("let the stoning begin...")
Oh, boy - I'll send you a pic of the humidor ASAP.
I heard that that granulate would be better then the moss....any comments on that?

I'm really no expert on humidors, Joey, but if you have a knowledgeable cigar dealer to get advice from, I guess you're okay. Also, I wouldn't worry about not selling expensive sticks. I think it's better to have cheap cigars and cigarillo's that sell quickly, than letting the expensive ones go bad. I guess a coffee shop is more of a place where you smoke a less expensive cigar. Freshness is paramount!

So summarized, the cigars I have sold where bought by some pretenders or wanna-be's either then the "real" cigar smokers.... so until someone can tell me if I have the best possibility to store the expensive ones, I dare buying them.... Raf, that was the petition to come to Vienna soon to check on coffee and cigars

I'll be there the moment I can scrape together the cash (and when I find out which trains go to Vienna, cuz I'll be damned if I fly! Too afraid! )

(would you still speak with me if I tell you that in lack of a cigar cutter I always cut them with my leathermen? With two angled cuts, of course...)

...I hear a hissing sound coming from the sky ...is it a bird? No. Is it a plane? No. It's a huge stone from Belgium!!!!!!! Aaargghhhhh......

Actually, that's not a stone but my damnable defunct Rocky

[Joey]

ROFLMAO!
Thanks Raf.
Ok, I'll get some single good treats, too.
But I swear, I have had 3 men already taking out their single packed cigars and one had a real small wooden etui with several cigars and a hygrometer inside - he was the one who told me he and some othr real freaks would never buy one in a shop... but i guess you are right. I f I store them correctly they would...
What about the alcohol in the water?
Joey

[Raf]

Well, then you've met a real cigar lover. If you want single good treats: you can't go wrong with the Cohiba Siglo VI. My own cigar dealer, who doesn't really like Cohiba (he thinks they're too expensive) praises them as "the absolute top". A Punch Punch would cost something like 10 euros. I wouldn't know about the alcohol, but there's a newsgroup called alt.smoking.cigar (or something) where they can probably help you.

[johara]

You could always buy your cigars in 'tubos' if your worried about keeping them correctly.
These are small aluminium cylnders lined with cedar to maintain the atmosphere.
Not how a true afficianado would do it because the range is limited but its a posibility.
For a cafe I would stick to the smaller sizes that people can smoke in up to say 1/2 hour.
A partagas coronas senior comes in a tube and is quite pleasant. I don't know what they wholesale for but I bought a couple retail in france for 4-5 euro.
I agree that a siglo VI is a great cigar - but it's a Lonsdale (about 6 inches long) and takes about 45 - 60 mins to smoke. Great for the perfect cup of coffee thread but expensive and probably intimidating for newbies.
Cheapest place in europe to buy cigars is either Belgium or Spain - but be carefull the Cubans sell different quality to different markets. A range that is handrolled for the UK market may be machine rolled for spain. The spanish smoke 60% of all havanas but they like them a little bit cheaper.There are a few books about which list what goes where.......

[zix]

I am not by far as "into" cigars as I am with coffee, but know that I like the Cohibas. I think like johara - a shorter (Mareva or Franciscana) type is probably better for selling in the café. Also, to try and find both stronger and milder tasting cigars. The ones from the Dominican Republic are milder and also - so they say - have less variation between cigars (fewer bad ones). Among cubans (my favourite country of origin btw) why not try Romeo y Julieta or Sancho Panza. Just my five SEK...

Edit: oh, and we have a small cigar+espresso coffee bar over here. Their focus is 50/50 cigars and coffee. They have made a small humidor room (just about big enough for one person to stand in) which seems to work great for them. Want to see pictures?

[Joey]

Want to see pictures?

yeah! cool thanks
joey