Glossary

The language of tobacco, from capa to volado.

Photo: kuhnmi · CC BY 2.0

Wrapper Capa: The outer leaf of a cigar; it defines the look and contributes much of the flavour.
Binder Capote: The leaf that holds the filler together beneath the wrapper.
Ring gauge Cepo: The diameter of a cigar in 64ths of an inch. A 50 ring gauge is about 19.8 mm.
Figurado: Any irregularly shaped cigar — pirámides, belicosos and perfectos.
Rolling gallery Galera: The hall where rollers work in a factory.
Lector: A reader who reads newspapers and novels to rollers; brands such as Montecristo take their names from these readings.
Ligero: Leaves from the top of the plant — most sun, most oil and strength; burns slowly.
Medio Tiempo: The two topmost leaves of the plant, rare and not grown by every plant. Famously used in Cohiba Behike.
Parejo: A straight-sided cigar with a rounded head.
Cap Perilla: The small piece of wrapper sealing the head; it is cut before smoking.
Foot Pie: The end of the cigar that is lit.
Bloom / Plume Plume: Fine white crystals of oils that may appear on well-aged cigars and can be brushed off — not to be confused with mould.
Box-pressed Prensado: A cigar pressed into a square cross-section, changing its feel and burn.
Seco: Leaves from the middle of the plant, providing aroma with moderate strength.
Roller Torcedor: The artisan who rolls cigars by hand. Cuban rollers are graded by skill level.
Filler Tripa: The leaves inside the cigar, typically a blend of ligero, seco and volado.
Vega: A tobacco plantation. The vegas of Vuelta Abajo are considered the finest in the world.
Factory vitola Vitola de Galera: The factory name of a size and shape to which a cigar is rolled, such as Robustos or Marevas.
Market vitola Vitola de Salida: The name a cigar is sold under, e.g. Montecristo No.4 (factory size Marevas).
Volado: Leaves from the bottom of the plant — light in flavour, mainly aiding combustion.
Vuelta Abajo: The tobacco region in Pinar del Río, Cuba, producing the finest Habanos wrapper and filler.