02 - Cultivation

A hundred days. One summer. One character.

Tobacco is a plant that listens. It remembers the August heat, the June rain, the cool nights before harvest. Every season writes its own vintage.

Agriculture instead of industry

Tobacco does not grow in factories. It grows in fields.

Between sowing and harvest lie months of decisions, observation and patience. The plant sets the pace. People accompany it.

Honest tobacco emerges where agriculture remains more important than yield.

Soil & climate

Swiss soil
makes Swiss tobacco.

Soil

Loamy, well-aerated soils across the Mittelland and along Lake Constance. Mineral-rich, balanced, with a memory for water.

Climate

Warm summer days, cool nights, Föhn winds. That tension is what lays down aroma in the leaf - quietly, but with precision.

Water

We barely intervene. Swiss rain is enough. In dry years the leaf comes back smaller and more concentrated.

Crop protection

Pesticide-free and GMO-free. That is not a certificate. That is a stance.

„We only process as much tobacco as a year brings forth. Nature sets the beat. We work in its rhythm."

The season

One season in five chapters.

Seedlings, Cugy, March 2024
01March - April
Sowing
Young seedlings under glass. The first breath of a long journey.
Young seedling, root ball in the field
02May
Planting
Rows are drawn, plants set into the field. The soil does the rest.
Field rows in summer, Mittelland
03June - July
Growth
Sun, rain, warmth. The plants decide what they will become.
Tobacco flower shortly before maturity
04August
Ripeness
The leaves begin to change colour. We wait and watch.
Hand-picked tobacco harvest, Corcelles - September 2023
05September
Hand harvest
Leaf by leaf. At the right moment.
Leaf by leaf. At the right moment. Not an hour too early.
„The leaf is created in the field. Its personality is born in fermentation."
Drying barn, early transformation of the leaf
06September - October
Drying
The first transformation.
Freshly harvested tobacco contains up to 80% water. Now begins a process that nature has known for centuries. The leaves are hung and dried slowly. Water leaves the leaf. Starch begins to transform. Lush green turns into the first shades of gold and brown. The leaf does not die. It transforms.
Golden Virginia leaves after flue-curing
07Virginia
Flue-Cured Virginia
Gold is created by heat.
Virginia tobacco is dried in a controlled manner after harvesting. Through the gentle application of heat, part of the natural leaf sugars are preserved. This results in the light colors and the fine natural sweetness for which Virginia is appreciated worldwide. Not added. Created within the leaf.
Burley leaf after slow air drying
08Burley
Air-Cured Burley
Character is created by patience.
Burley takes a different path. The leaves hang for weeks in well-ventilated drying houses. Slowly. Without additional heat. Without acceleration. While Virginia preserves its natural sweetness, Burley develops depth, structure, and spice. Earthy notes. Nutty nuances. More character than sweetness - what tobacco connoisseurs love.
Sorting in the factory
09October - November
Sorting
Every leaf finds its place.
After drying, no two leaves are the same. Color, structure, leaf thickness, size, position on the plant - now begins the careful sorting. What ripens together must also fit together.
Fermentation stacks in the Steinach factory
10November - January
Fermentation
The birth of character.
Fresh tobacco has strength. Fermented tobacco has character. During fermentation, the leaf changes from the inside out. Natural enzymes work. Bitter substances are broken down. Aromas combine. The leaf becomes rounder, more harmonious, and more balanced. Not through additives. But through time.
Fermented Virginia, light gold
11For Virginia
Fermented Virginia
The natural sweetness becomes finer.
The aroma gains depth. The light honey and grain notes become more harmonious. The leaf appears more mature and balanced.
Fermented Burley, deep chestnut brown
12For Burley
Fermented Burley
Spice that matures into complexity.
Burley changes particularly strongly. Earthy notes become deeper. The structure becomes rounder. The characteristic spice gains complexity. The result is not a loud tobacco. But a mature one.
Manual stemming
13January - February
Stemming
Less is more.
The midrib has fulfilled its purpose. Now it is removed. What remains is the part of the leaf that later determines the aroma, character, and smoking behavior.
Mountain spring water from the Alpstein
14February
Refining with mountain spring water
The only thing we add.
Water that has been filtered through rock for centuries flows from the Alpstein. With this mountain spring water, the tobacco is gently brought back into balance. No aromas. No sugars. No casings. Only water.
Leaves from nine regions, united
15March
Union of regions
A little Switzerland in the leaf.
Nine regions. Nine signatures. Nine different terroirs. Only now does the final composition emerge. Not to hide differences. But to let them speak with one another.
Cutting in the factory
16April
The final cut
From leaf to tobacco.
Now it is decided how the tobacco will be experienced later. Cut width. Structure. Moisture. Every decision influences the later smoking behavior.
Quality control before release
17May
Quality control
Four eyes. Sometimes six.
Before a batch leaves the factory, it is checked again. Smell. Feel. Moisture. Structure. Burning behavior. Not every batch passes.
Finished batch, ready for refining
18June
The finished batch
A year of work in one leaf.
From seedling to finished batch, almost a whole year passes. Sun. Rain. Soil. Time. Craft. Patience. Everything is in this leaf. This is not an industrial product. This is honest Swiss tobacco.