Raw Tobacco Leave

Manufactured Tobacco Leaves

Whole tobacco leaves contain a central stem (or midrib) and the leaf (lamina) which are mechanically separated at the leaf processing facility as they are used separately at the primary processing plant. Moisture content of these two parts is critical for the separation process (threshing) and when packing into storage cases in preparation for the production of finished tobacco products. Moisture impacts smoking quality, flavor, burn, fill, waste, and machine operation.

Paramount Global is a prominent processor and exporter of all grades of (Virginia, American, Burley) Unmanufactured tobacco leaves from India. We offer best-in-class manufacturing setup equipped with the latest machinery and technology in Guntur District in Andhra Pradesh, which is the hub for Tobacco processing and exports.

Stages of Tobacco Leaf Processing

Green Leaf and Stem Conditioning

To make the leaves ready for the mechanical threshing process, harvested tobacco leaves are conditioned in cylinders to be more pliable using forced hot air and steam. The conditioning cylinder is a rotating drum with independently-controlled steam jet nozzles that inject moisture into the tobacco. The conditioned tobacco then goes to the threshing process.

Tobacco Threshing Process

The conditioned leaf passes through a series of mechanical threshers and pneumatic separators. The thresher drums and blades tear the lamina from the stems, and the thresher produces a mixture of lamina, stems and un-threshed leaf. This mixture is fed into a classifier that separates the lamina from the un-threshed leaf and the stem. The lamina continues to the next process, while the un-threshed leaf and stems go into the next thresher. Threshing and classification is repeated until all the stem and lamina are separated.

The stem now moves on to the stem conditioning line, which gives the stem a higher moisture content than the green leaf. The stem is then processed through a stem cutter to give a consistent cut, and will then move to the drying process – similar to that of the lamina.

Drying

The lamina from the different classifiers has different moisture content, so the moisture has to be made uniform for proper storage of the lamina. The lamina first passes through a drying chamber to make the moisture uniform. The dried lamina is cooled and then passes into a high humidity conditioning chamber where the tobacco absorbs moisture and reaches equilibrium. The lamina is then packaged and placed into storage until being used. Stems are processed similarly on a dedicated drying line, to give a consistent product for storage.

Grade Specifications

GRADES	QUALITY	COLOUR OF LEAVE	STEM CONTENT	NICOTINE	SUGAR CONTENT
GRADE A	BRIGHT QUALITY	BRIGHT YELLOW	1 – 2.1	1% – 3%	15% – 16%
GRADE B	MEDIUM QUALITY	LIGHT MEDIUM GREEN	2 – 2.5	2.5% – 2.7%	12% – 15%
GRADE C	LOW QUALITY	LIGHT BROWN	2.3 – 2.7	1% – 1.5%	6% – 10%