Shag Community
A forum about tobacco, and customer feedback

Virginia Flue Cured Tobacco
All English blends of cigarette use 100% Virginia tobacco. American blends use about 70%, the balance is made up of burley tobacco. All “Hooka Pipe” tobacco is also Virginia tobacco. All the best cigarettes use about 40% of the finest virgina tobacco to give the smoke flavor and smoothness. The balance of the cigarette is made up of lower quality “filler tobaccos” or rolled and cut Tobacco Stem.

Also known as Golden Leaf Tobacco, Virginia Flue Cured Tobacco is one of the most commonly used tobacco leaves in the tobacco industry, as it is a major component in cigarette blends for almost every type of cigarette, and is used as hookah and pipe tobacco all over the world.
You can enjoy this tobacco leaf knowing that it is the same as it was when the farmer was picking it off the stalk other then being cured and pressed to make it easier to handle and ship.
Although this tobacco leaf is “uncut”, we do not consider it wrapper leaf because it is not handled in the same fashion as the whole cigar leaves and Virginia tobacco is not used for wrapper leaf.

Air cured Burley Tobacco
Shag Tobacco is proud to announce the arrival of our all natural burley tobacco leaf brought in from local tobacco farms and in support of the small holder farmers and the communities of Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique ensuring the customer of the best Burley tobacco available.
This tobacco leaf also known as ” Air Cured” and is commonly used as the counterpart of Virginia Flue Cured tobacco in most cigarette blends. On occasion, this leaf is also used for cigar filler, pipe blends, and chewing tobacco leaf.
These tobacco leaves have an amazingly fresh, earthy aroma. The smell of this tobacco leaf has a deep aroma , nutty, chocolate almost as if a fresh bread was being baked, and not only does it taste wonderful, but the leaf smokes smoothly as well, providing enjoyment for those that like a more robust smoke.
Composite Leaf Blends
Various grades of Virginia Tobacco are used to make the Benson and Hedges leaf blend, ranging from the top quality flavorful tobaccos and a mixture of lower grade, filler tobaccos which help keep the price within the reach of the smoker.
To understand the types of tobacco please have a look at our “How to work your way around a tobacco plant”


The basics on tobacco leaf
When the tobacco plant is fully grown, which takes about seventy days from planting the seedling to maturity, the top of the plant is nipped of, normally at the twenty two leaf stage. This stops the plant from growing and causes the leaves to expand as all the nutrients are then channeled into the twenty two leaves. The leaves begin to ripen from the bottom up and on average two leaves per week are harvested. These leaves are then hung in tobacco barns or curers. After three days the leaves have turned from green to golden yellow. Once this has happened, the temperature is increased and air passed over the leaves to begin the drying process. The temperatures are gradually increased to 70 C and remains here until the tobacco dries which usually takes about four days. Once fully dry, moisture is re added to the tobacco to enable it to be handled without breaking. The moisture also helps the tobacco mature in storage.The lower the plant position the less the nicotine in the leaf. Also the lighter the tobacco, the less nicotine.
