By Jay Amberg Bloomberg Lifestyles. Mon, 07 May 2001,
12:05pm EDT. Bloomberg.com
London, May 7 -- A Bloomberg subscriber in London recently asked if Cuba had
ceased planting Habana 2000 tobacco plants for use in cigar manufacturing and
gone back to growing the Corojo variety instead.
Bloomberg's response: Based on reports from Cuba, Habana 2000 is no longer
being planted in any significant quantities.
Habana 2000 is the genetically developed hybrid tobacco plant Cuban
agricultural scientists introduced to replace the disease-prone Corojo plant.
However, Habana 2000 soon became prone to disease, too. The Habana 2000 leaf
was generally disliked by Cuba's cigar manufacturers and consumers because the
leaf was thick, coarse to the touch and not aesthetically pleasing.
In general, Cuban cigar smokers preferred the older Corojo variety of
tobacco leaf because it was aromatic and produced a smooth taste. Habana 2000
produces a pungent, almost acrid aroma and dull, flat, musty taste, critics
said.
During the recent harvest in February and March, most of the plants
comprised a new variety of tobacco, hybrids of both Corojo and Habana 2000.
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