Pilón

For fermentation, dried and moistened leaves are stacked into pilones, inside which the tobacco warms spontaneously. A measuring rod with a thermometer stands at the centre of the stack: once the temperature reaches the set value, the entire pilón is dismantled and rebuilt — outside in, top to bottom — so that every leaf ferments evenly. This cycle repeats over weeks, and for full-bodied tobaccos such as Ligero over months.