Behind the Swedish cigar Tektor there’s an adventurous story. The founder of the company Tektor is Joakim Widell. He lives on the island of Gotland and is field worker, farmer, blender, and roller, all in one, for his cigar, Tektor. About eight years ago he was given some tobacco seeds as a gift and he began the experiment of planting tobacco on Gotland. The island boasts the most hours of sunshine in Sweden, is mild, but cold at night. The tobacco – 14 plants – thrived, and Joakim, his main profession a programmer, began to ferment the leaves.
Viewing YouTube films, and, with help from a Honduran tobacco farmer via telephone, he learned everything about cigar production. Widell took his time, which is one of the most important ingredients when dealing with tobacco. In eight years, he experimented and perfected every working step. “I know each individual plant,” he told us. And that is, with what in the meantime is now 500 plants, a huge achievement. Meanwhile in Sweden, there is a huge interest in his Puros made with Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco. Last year, the Puro was launched and was already sold out in advance via the Tektor online store.
Starting in April, Merja Juselius, from the legendary Stockholm top store Cigarrumet, was the first, and still the only, point of sale for the Swedish cigar. “Everybody knows the cigar. It’s so special. I really like it. It’s a real surprise!” confesses Merja Juselius. Members of the CJ tasting panel did a blind tasting of the Petit Corona – the evaluations range between 88 and 91 points. The peppery creamy aroma of the rather robust cigar was very well received. Tektor can be ordered internationally via [email protected].
