The art of mixing
Let's stay close to home. Do you ever eat one of those old- fashioned apples? And do you notice that the taste of each apple is different? Why is that? An apple is a natural product, it grows the way it grows, absorbs sap from the tree etc. Then the type of soil on which the tree stands plays an important role, as does the weather, or whether it was from the first or the second crop etc. etc.
The same is true of tobacco. Tobacco is just as much a natural product as apples or anything else for that matter. But the manufacturer of tobacco products has one big advantage: all tobacco products comprise mixes, that is to say sometimes thirty different types of tobacco are mixed into a single blend in different quantities. This enables a constant quality to be achieved without being overly dependent on the influence of nature. All the different types of tobacco are bought by the buyers in the countries where the tobacco grows. They know from experience what type, quality and quantity of tobacco has to be bought. It is the art of a good buyer to buy the right lots at the best price. The person in the tobacco factory who indicates which types of tobacco should be mixed in a blend and in which quantities is the melangeur or blender. He is an important link between the tobacco planter and the tobacco smoker. At the beginning of the chain is the tobacco planter who does his utmost to grow good tobacco. But as a result of all those other influences such as climate and the time of harvest he will never succeed in achieving a constant quality. Moreover the curing process and fermenting have a lot of impact. At the end of the road is the smoker who likes his standard, familiar taste, aroma and quality. It is the task of the blender to broker a match between the fluctuating quality of the tobacco leaves and the smokers' need for a familiar taste. For him the point of departure is the constant taste and quality. Among all the batches of tobacco bought he chooses the types which he knows when mixed in certain quantities will give a constant taste, aroma and quality.
© 2007-2009
ThirdWave Webdesign.
Powered by
ThirdWave CMS.