When it comes to actually making cigars you may be surprised to learn that not every cigar a manufacturer might make contains leaf that has come from the same farm. Many cigar manufacturers blend tobacco from several different areas and they are very careful not to reveal the exact blends that are used in their cigars. However there is no doubt that the best tobacco leaf ... the one that provides the best quality ... only comes from tobacco plants grown in a tropical climate.

While all those other countries may grow tobacco the quality is just not there for even the cheapest of cigars. Cold winters and lots of chemicals simply don't lead to the quality that cigar smokers expect but the warmth of the tropics certainly do produce the quality that we want.

But before you get the impression that tobacco thrives in the tropics because the climate is so wet let me tell you that the best tobacco grows in slightly drier and even sandy soils, on the sides of hills and drier seasons in those areas produce even better tobacco than seasons where the rainfall is around the average for the growing area.

It's interesting to note that tobacco thrives in soils and under conditions that many food crops have difficulty tolerating. Not much wants to grow in sandy soils but that's exactly what tobacco plants like and the best tobacco grows in sandy soils that are rich in minerals.

These minerals ... things like quartz and iron mixed with sand and even some clay ... do find their way into the tobacco leaf so don't be surprised when I tell you that the cigar you're smoking can contain potash, ammonia, iron oxide and lots of other things you may not care to know about.