STEAMING

Raw tobaccos have a moisture level of about 12%. At such a low level, the leaves would crumble during further processing. The first step in the production process is therefore to loosen the tobacco carefully and add steam. The tobacco is run through a drum where is exposed to steam, which makes it elastic and flexible.

Afterwards, the tobacco is threshed to remove the leaf stems. If the shredding is too fine, there will be dust in the tobacco. In other words, this is a process that is carefully controlled, taking account of the exact thickness of the tobacco leaves in order to achieve the best result.

During the threshing, dust and foreign objects are removed from the leaves so that only the pure tobacco continues through production. After the threshing, the tobacco is temporarily stored in a box for a few hours. The purpose of this break in the processing is to ensure that the entire lot has the same moisture level and temperature in the next stages of the processing.