Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/680166
26 tobaccoasia / Issue 2, 2016 May / June) Djarum - Spice Island In Indonesia Blessed with humidity, sunshine, and volcanic soil, with a leaf-growing history dating back to the late 1700s, Indonesia has what it takes to grow tobaccos and Indonesian dark-air cured tobaccos are one of the largest raw materials used in cigar production around the world, mainly for machine- made and affordable hand-made cigars. Two categories of tobacco account for most of Indonesian production: tobacco for cigarettes and tobacco for cigars. Kretek, or clove cigarettes, are what Indone- sians smoke the most. As the world's largest pro- ducer of cloves, Indonesia consumes over half its annual crop of cloves in the making of kreteks. The first-ever workshop to produce the Djarum blend of kretek was established in 1951 by the company's founder. Today, with its 70,000 employees, Djarum is one of Indonesia's largest revenue generators and its modern factories are producing both hand- and machine-rolled kretek. A company with a conscience and a vision, Djarum started its own cigar production in 2000, and today, has the impressive production capac- ity of 1,000 handmade cigars and 75,000 machine- made cigars per day. Part of their cigar line, machine-made Djarum Wood Tip Natural Leaf boasts a Besuki (Java) wrap- per, HTL binder, and a filler of clove and tobacco, and comes in several flavors such as cherry, rum, and vanilla. Spice Island (machine-made) also offers the dis- tinctive clove and tobacco blend filler, with a Be- suki (Java) wrapper and binder. In the more traditional cigar category, hand- made Dos Hermanos is a quality cigar made from selected Indonesian and Brazilian tobaccos mixed together to create a unique taste. These cigars are quite in favor on the Indonesian local market and the company is successfully export- ing them to international markets, with impressive results especially for their machine-made cigars. In China The cigar industry in China is undergoing a trans- formation that might be dubbed a revolution. China - Great Wall Cigar factory Djarum - Dos Hermanos Churchill