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6-THE CURING PROCESS

The curing process will take 45 days and is done in the curing house called a"Rancho", a wooded barn with palm trees leaves on the roof. The sides can be opened or closed using plam leaves. The curing is a totally natural process taking place in January and February.


The leaves are tied in bunches of 5 leaves with the Volado, Seco and Ligero being kept separate. The farmer takes a long string and then ties each bunch onto this string. The string is then hung horizontally in the curing house.


In the first 3 to 4 days, the leaf will go from green to yellow. This first chemical change correcsponds to the transformation of the startch and water into sugar. The sugar level at the end of this first chemical reaction will be around 21-22%. the temperature in the curing house will rise during this transformation.


During the next 35/40 days, the second chemical reaction will take place. The sugar will tansform into phenol alcohol. This will correspond to a change in colour from yellow to brown. This process takes longer in order to ensure that the sugar is completely trnsformed into phenol alcohol.


The curing process will also see an important development of thr flavours and aroma of the leaves.