外國(guó)人最想和你聊的時(shí)事話題：古巴的雪茄

　What is Cuban Cigars　什么是古巴雪茄
     A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern United States.
     The prevalence of cigar smoking varies depending on location, historical period, and population surveyed, and prevalence estimates vary somewhat depending on the survey method. The U.S. is the top consuming country by far, followed by Germany and the UK； the U.S. and Western Europe account for about 75％ of cigar sales worldwide. The 2005 U.S. National Health Interview Survey estimated that 2.2％ of adults smoke cigars, about the same as smokeless tobacco but far less than the 21％ of adults who smoke cigarettes； it also estimated that 4.3％ of men but only 0.3％ of women smoke cigars. The 2002 U.S. National Survey of Drug Use and Health found that adults with serious psychological distress are significantly more likely to smoke cigars than those without. A 2007 California study found that gay men and bisexual women smoke significantly fewer cigars than the general population of men and women, respectively. Substantial and steady increases in cigar smoking were observed during the 1990s and early 2000s in the U.S. among both adults and adolescents. Data suggest that cigar usage among young adult males increased threefold during the 1990s, a 1999-2000 survey of 31,107 young adult U.S. military recruits found that 12.3％ smoked cigars, and a 2003-2004 survey of 4,486 high school students in a Midwestern county found that 18％ smoked cigars.
     Cuban cigars are rolled from tobacco leaves found throughout the country of Cuba. The filler, binder, and wrapper may come from different portions of the island. All cigar production in Cuba is controlled by the Cuban government, and each brand may be rolled in several different factories in Cuba. Cuban cigar rollers or "torcedores"are claimed by cigar experts to be the most skilled rollers in the world. Torcedores are highly respected in Cuban society and culture and travel worldwide displaying their art of hand rolling cigars.
     Habanos SA and Cubatabaco between them do all the work relating to Cuban cigars, including manufacture, quality control, promotion and distribution, and export. Cuba produces both handmade and machine made cigars. All boxes and labels are marked Hecho en Cuba (made in Cuba). Machine-bunched cigars finished by hand add Hecho a mano, while fully hand-made cigars say Totalmente a mano in script text, though not all Cuban cigars will include this statement. Because of the perceived status of Cuban cigars, counterfeits are somewhat commonplace.
     Despite American trade sanctions against Cuban products, cigars remain one of the country's leading exports. The country exported 77 million cigars in 1991, 67 million in 1992, and 57 million in 1993, the decline attributed to a loss of much of the wrapper crop in a hurricane.
     為了讓人們?cè)谙硎苎┣?cigar)時(shí)，有縫隙讓煙通過，古巴雪茄的煙心(cigarfiller)是采取人工手撕的方法，將煙葉(tobacco leaf)縱向撕成兩片，再進(jìn)行煙心的制作，這也正是手制雪茄才能擁有的特色。古巴雪茄的煙心，是以下列三種煙葉所制成的，依不同比例混合后，便形成各品牌所獨(dú)具的風(fēng)味：里格路煙葉（LIGERO）--雖然LIGERO字面直譯為"清淡"，相反的，這卻是一種色深味濃的煙葉。里格路煙葉乃摘采煙草植物頂部生長(zhǎng)最快、最強(qiáng)壯的部分精制而成，最少需要收藏三年才能使用。 思高煙葉（SEGO）--摘取煙草植物中間部分所制成，顏色較淺、質(zhì)地較干，成熟后十八個(gè)月即可使用，煙味比里格路煙葉清淡許多。和拉多葉（VOLADO）--原意為"扉葉"，其實(shí)是采自植物底部的葉片(leaf) blade，成熟后九個(gè)月便可使用，煙味極淡，多用來幫助雪茄燃燒。而捆扎煙葉所采用的，多是接近植物底部的葉片，類似和拉多煙葉，煙味甚淡。