Picked (Primed) leaves are tied in pairs, hung on lathes (Cujes) and placed high up in curing/drying barns for approximately 50 days.

These barns, also known as Casas de Tabaco, are typically made with wood walls and thatched palm roofs. 

The open ends of the Casas de Tabaco face East and West to provide optimal air circulation.

While construciton materials may vary for curing barns around the world, the East/West facing is critical.

After about 50 days, the leaves have released their chlorophyll and much of their moisture (85%): causing them to turn brown in color.  Curing also fixes the sugar content of the leaf and halts the maturation process.  Cured cigar tobacco is still raw tobacco and definitely not ready to smoke: it is still filled with ammonia and impurities that must be “worked” out through the processes of fermentation.  Curing has merely prepared the leaf for the next step.