This richly earthy cigar filler leaf is ideal as your primary cigar filler. It can optionally be fortified with any of our viso and ligero offerings. This leaf burns well, and will arrive to you as a medium brown color.
The tobacco leaves are typically sized ~16″ by 8″ with moderate veins.
Expect roughly 50 to 70 leaves per order pound. Typical Size and Leaves/pound are provided only as an approximate guidance of what you will receive. It is not guaranteed.
This Seco leaf is part of the middle (or large second) priming of a tobacco plant. See the Leaf Guide below. It has more flavor than volado, seco, but slightly under than ligero, but less nicotine than the voldado priming. The leaf is somewhat larger than ligero, with a lower leaf count than ligero per pound.
Although this is filler-grade leaf, with some care, a fully intact Criollo 98 seco half-leaf can sometimes serve as a binder or wrapper, adding another dimension of flavor.
For cigar rolling the components should have the following moisture content:
- Filler: nearly dry, but not so dry that it crumbles when handled
- Binder: moist enough to be very flexible, but not damp
- Wrapper: fully hydrated, slightly damp You can increase leaf moisture using a fine mist of water, and then allowing it to absorb. Very thin leaf will hydrate in less than a minute. Very thick leaf (such as CT Broadleaf) may need to be held in a plastic bag overnight.
As with all Whole Leaf Tobacco products, this leaf is shipped in thermal sealed vapor-proof bags and arrives in the proper moisture content for working.
One pound of cigar filler should make about 20 – 50 x 7″ cigars.
Jim D (verified buyers) –
I’m glad I finally ordered this Criollo seco and now that I’ve smoked it, wish I had ordered it sooner. I like the mellow flavors it brings to the blend, no pepper blast, just smooth flavorful smoke.
Waikikigun (verified buyers) –
Like the description says, this can be used as your primary filler: you should try using is as the ONLY filler and then adding to it from there. It is not dull and flavorless. It has a pleasant flavor and aroma all by itself. Odds are it will get worse the more you mix with it.
David (verified buyers) –
I have come to enjoy this tobacco as one of my go-to fillers. I tend to roll this one as Seco and Ligero
dn (verified buyers) –
Another purito rolled from a recent (very large) order. Just by itself, I’d almost tend to describe it as “medium bodied and medium strength”. There’s a nice room note. To me, there is a little spice but it’s more along the gentle end of the spectrum, such as a blend of spices you might use to make a cookie or apple sauce… There’s a bit of caramel-like sweetness in there too. I hope there’s more of this coming in the future.
mricciardelli (verified buyers) –
I bought this Seco based solely on the reviews and that my research pointed to Criollo 98. I was very pleased with this leaf. It provides a stable well burning addition to my blends. The flavor is not too strong, nor too mild. It combines well with other flavors to provide a solid, consistent smoke. I have repurchased this leaf and use it as my go to Seco.
bob.burgette (verified buyers) –
This is my primary filler. It has been for a few years. This filler makes a really smooth cigar. I mix it with various Ligero fillers and it never disappoints.