When settling down to a nice cigar in my lounge, I find that more often than not, I reach for my trusty coffee cup, a combination that is both unassuming and relaxing.

Now, if you guessed that I’ve never been a Folgers kind of guy, you’re absolutely right. In fact, wherever I go, I usually try to find a small local roaster where I can get some sort of good quality artisan coffee.

But I never thought that, in my search for perfection, I’d be going a step further to even roast my own beans. I mean, if the pros can’t get it right, how could I possibly do it, right?

Wrong! What I didn’t realize is the difference it makes when coffee is brewed shortly after roasting. Usually, unless you get the beans from a local roaster, they may sit in sackcloth for days, if not weeks, before they are officially packaged and shipped to the retailers.

That means that by the time we grind and brew the coffee, it’s months after roasting has taken place and well after the coffee has gone stale. The real difference with home roasting is that you can now enjoy the coffee when it is still at its peak freshness: between 24 and 48 hours after roasting.

Well, after months of thinking about it, I finally took the plunge and bought me a small Hearth Ware home roaster with a good selection of green coffee beans; and all I can say is that while I was perfectly happy with my pickings from my local shop, the home roasted stuff is absolutely the best I’ve ever had.

An added bonus of roasting your own is the great variety of coffee beans that are available for purchase, each with their own character and unique flavor.

From the well structured power beans to the subtle aromatic ones, their wonderful complexity and aromas make these home roasts excellent companions to a fine cigar.

Alright, this post has nothing to do with cigars… well, almost nothing. It’s really more like an inside joke about a recent YouTube video that drew in almost a million views in just a couple of days when some chick posted a still image of herself for a whole one and a half minutes.

It was pretty hilarious to watch how YouTubers kept leaving frustrated comments about how they were having trouble watching the video, not realizing that they had just been had. After over 900,000 views, I finally got inspired to do a video in response, which I entitled: Cigar Smoking as an Art.

I guess I’ll have to wait a few days to see how it is received by the YouTubers, though the poster of the original prank thought it was pretty funny. Well, here it is:

I should mention that I’m going to screen out the comments section of this entry very, very carefully folks; we don’t want anything inappropriate in there!!

There is something about a Cuban cigar’s wrapper that I find very distinct and appealing. They are generally buttery and come packed with a generous dose of chilli pepper that can be sensed from the moment the cigar is tasted before lighting—I just love that sweet spicy hot sensation.

In general, I find that even the best tobacco growers from Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic have a difficult time reproducing this. The Rocky Patel Sun Grown Ecuadorian wrapper, though, in my opinion, comes mightily close.

It is an absolutely well put together cigar: a good cap, even bunch, solid feel, and that wonderful semi-sweet caramel aroma of the wrapper. Cuban cigars often lack the spotless, flawless construction that these sticks have.

At first taste, I got a wonderful peppery taste. The pre-light draw revealed a bit of graphite, which I tend to associate with my favorite Cuban cigar, the PSD4. This is a cigar that I really enjoy from start to finish. It is simply perfect for those who appreciate the entire cigar smoking ritual; and I certainly do.

A good light, and the smoke yielded is very well balanced from the start: dense, rich, and with a very good dose of pepper to counter the semi sweet notes. In one word, I would classify the smoke as elegant.

The spice and pepper subside in the second third, and the smoke becomes more chewy. The semisweet caramel notes are extremely satisfying and bare a light cacao undertone. As the cigar progresses, the caramel notes increasingly become rather earthy while retaining the sweet scent that reminds me of the smell I typically associate with that of a fine pipe.

All the flavors intensify and darken past the half way point and before long a great espresso note sets in; a note that deepens in the last third and coats the taste buds with an awesome, long finish. That sun grown Ecuadorian wrapper is simply delightful.

Here we go people. The media has been buzzing about how early Walmart pulled the Christmas garb this year in an effort to shift everyone into holiday shopping mode. Well, here’s a “holiday” early bird from cigar one. These probably aren’t the absolute cheapest Cuban cigars around, but when they throw in free shipping, that really gets me thinking: a reputable dealer, genuine Cuban cigars, and free shipping? …not a bad start, even if the holidays are over a month off. Just click on the deal image to check it out.

On that note: I found a 30 cigar deal for $29.95 from Thompson cigar where they throw in a neat aluminum travel humidor. I think the case alone is worth the thirty bucks, so I thought I’d include a blurb in here. I’m going to permanently link to this while the deal lasts. Just look for it on the right hand column of the FrontPage of this blog.

Cheers,