Leave those stems in

[Le Buzz]

Had a tat victorias the other day. It had a stem in it, not a huge one but pretty good size. About 2-3 mm in diameter and 2.5 inches long. Draw was fine before and after pulling it out. Decided to light the stem up and see what aromas came from it.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the aromas coming off of it to be phenomenal. If a stem isn't affecting the draw then I suggest you leave it in and smoke it. I've read some statements by prominent cigar makers that sometimes smaller stems are part of the blend. After experiencing what I did I have no reason to doubt this, even though it goes against established dogma.

Thought I would share my thoughts after seeing some complaints lately, I think folks might benefit from changing their perspective on this construction attribute.

 

[Tnvol47]

I have found a significant amount of Padron cigars to have significant stems. Doesn't hurt the performance at all in my experiences so far.

 

[danmdevries]

Its all part of the leaf.
Leave it be.

 

[Cigary43]

Not a fan of stems....if I feel one while I'm smoking I'll pull the sucker out. I know it doesn't change the profile but I just don't like them...it's an OCD thang!

 

[Benjamin]

Its all part of the leaf.
Leave it be.

Hahaha, "leave" it be....get it? Get it?

 

[dubv23]

The stems are actually veins. If they don't affect the draw I leave them in because the veins are the main transport system for nutrients to the leaf which attributes to the flavor

 

[ssaka]

"There were stems in my cigar!"

As for the stem issue, I'd have to see the cigar to make a judgement on this.

ALL cigars should contain stems... stems in themselves are not a bad thing as the stems contain high levels of oil and flavor - this is why we frogstrip filler tobaccos of their central rib. If you look at a piece of any properly prepare filler leaf you will notice that from the top down it looks like the shape of a frog - intact body out front with two legs stretched behind it. The reason for this is because we break out the thickest part of the stem from the leaf, but typically leave more than half of it intact and in place. On average about 50% of the stem is extracted, with the other 50% being left intact to be incorporated into the bunch.

It is a compromise as the stems/ribs add a lot of flavor and aroma, but too much stem and the it can be awkward in the mouth for the consumer or worse it can sometimes act like a fuse due to its high concentration of oil and result in tunneling. (FYI - this is not the only reason a cigar can tunnel, but I will save that for another day). Regardless, we always try to position the stems forward in a way so that it is less likely for them to come in contact with the smoker's tongue because nobody, myself included, likes the feeling of a hard stem against the tip of their tongue.

So the question is how much stem is too much stem, and there is no way to determine this without my personally dissecting the cigar and judging it based on the blend and its individual construction - one the whole, more robust, heavy leaf cigars will have more thicker ones and milder blends with lighter tobaccos will have less.

My 2 cents,

STS

 

[ssaka]

ps: fwiw when it comes to tobacco, we use the term "stem" to describe the central rib that runs from the stalk to the tip of the leaf, while we use the term "vein" to describe the feeder lines that radiate out from the central rib to the edge of the leaf.

BR,

STS

 

[SailorAg]

I also dislike the feel of a stem. I'm usually a stickler about removing them. Lately, I haven't much trouble with stems, especially with the smaller boutique brands. But hey, the good cigars are handmade items. You can't expect them to 100% perfect, even though they're pretty damn close.