From Sursee to Puriscal and back.
The trip
Costa Rica had been on our list for a long time: volcanoes, rainforest, two coastlines. We had arranged the factory tour from Switzerland: one stop among many, not a business meeting. We just wanted to see how a cigar actually gets made, from leaf to box. Nothing more was planned.
Puriscal
Puriscal sits in the mountains of San José province, a good hour of winding roads from the capital. This is where Tabacos de Costa Rica rolls its cigars by hand, station by station: sorting, fermenting, rolling, resting. The tobacco is bought two years before it is rolled. Walk through the factory and you notice quickly: nobody here is in a hurry. And in the end, that is what you taste.
The decision
The tour became a conversation, the conversation a whole evening with Andrés, about politics, Costa Rica, God and the world. Somewhere in that evening the question came up: why can't you get these cigars in Switzerland? We had no business plan and no idea about customs or tobacco tax, just the conviction that these cigars were worth the journey. By the flight home, the name was settled: we are the primos; Andrés is our patrón.
Andrés León
Andrés is the owner's son and is currently taking over the factory from his father, with ideas of his own and the same standards. He pays his people around 1,000 dollars a month, well above what's common in Costa Rica, and only buys tobacco he can stand behind. For us that means we buy directly from him, with no middlemen. Every box we sell in Switzerland comes from his factory, and if something's off, we call him.
Three friends from Sursee.
What began in kindergarten is now a shared company. Each of us does what he does best.
Looks after our members, from first enquiry to delivery. If you write to us, the reply usually comes from Philipp.
Our cigar expert. Yves tastes every blend before it enters the line-up, and says no when it isn't good enough.
Responsible for everything digital: shop, website, orders. If something here works, that was Luca. If it doesn't, also Luca.
See how a cigar is made in Puriscal.
From seed to finished wrapper: this is how Tabacos de Costa Rica works.
Our craftsmanship