The Mystique of Medio Tiempo

This powerful, yet fickle tobacco brings strength and complexity to a cigar blend

BY GREGORY MOTTOLA

In 1908, Japanese biochemist Kikunae Ikeda attempted to reproduce the savory taste found in seaweed and thus formulated an additive called monosodium glutamate. It’s used today to not only add flavor to foods, but to also enhance the perception of the ingredients in any given dish. In the cigar world, there’s a tobacco that does the same thing. Unlike MSG, this particular tobacco can’t be mass-produced in a lab, nor can it be grown in large quantities. The leaf in question is called medio tiempo, and it’s appearing in more and more cigars, promising an enhanced experience and an added wow factor to your smoke. Medio tiempo functions in much the same way MSG does—to bring your other tobaccos together while adding a gustatory giddyup. Lately, cigarmakers are openly acknowledging its…

You're reading a preview of

Cigar Aficionado (Digital) - 1 Issue, November/December 2021

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.