Fermentation of wrappers 茄衣的发酵

The endof the curing process coincides with the onset of the rainy season, whichprovides the necessary moisture for the dried leaves to be transported safelyto the Sorting House.

晾青过程的结束与雨季的开始一致。雨季为干燥的叶子提供了必要的水分，以便安全地运输到分拣室。

They are removed from the poles and tied in sheavescalled gavillas . This concludes the work of the farmer and the task passes into the hands of the organisation for the gathering and improvementof tobacco，which buys the leaf from the farmer. The leaves are then taken tothe Escogida , or Sorting House, where they will be fermented.

叶子从杆上取下并捆成捆，西班牙语称为gavillas。到这里农民的工作就结束了，接手的是烟草公司烟叶收购和烟叶改良部门。 他们负责从农民那里购买叶子，把叶子放到分拣室进行分拣，然后发酵。

As shade-grown leaves are so thin and delicate, wrappers onlyundergo a single process of fermentation. It lasts for a minimum of 20 days and takes place in chambers at the Sorting House that have been specially designed for this purpose. During the fermentation the leaf’s impurities are eliminatedand its acidity, tar and nicotine contents are reduced whilst its tastecharacteristics are accentuated. The fermentation also evens out the colour ofthe wrapper.

由于阴植烟叶（所受的阳光照射少）薄和嫩，它们只需要一个发酵过程，持续时间不少于20天。发酵场所就在分拣室内，一个专门为发酵而设的房间。发酵过程中，叶子的杂味（比如氨味）被去除，其酸度，焦油和尼古丁的含量降低，叶子本身的风味被凸显，发酵也可以使得叶子的颜色更叫均匀。

Following the fermentation, the wrappers stay in the Sorting Houseand pass to the process of sorting into classes or classification.

发酵后，茄衣叶依旧在分拣室进行再次分类分级。

Sorting andclassification of wrappers茄衣的分类分级

The classification of Cuban tobacco leaves is probably the mostmeticulous in the world.古巴烟叶的分类可能是世界上最细致的。

Size, colour and texture are the three criteria that guide thesorters. Precious wrappers are the subject of very close attention. First they are moistened and aired to prepare them for handling. Then they are classified into a bewildering array of some 50 different categories designed to ensure that only the most perfect will ever dress a Habano. Any leaf below a certain standard is rejected and set aside for other purposes.

尺寸，颜色和纹理是分拣的三个标准。分拣时，珍贵的茄衣叶受到最仔细的料理。首先，它们被润湿再晾干以备处理。然后它们被分类为大约50种不同类别的令人眼花缭乱的阵列，目的在于确保只有最完美的叶子才能成为哈瓦那雪茄茄衣。不达标准的叶子都会被放置一边留作他用。

Baling and ageing ofwrappers茄衣的打包陈化

After the wrappers have been sorted into classes, they are onceagain tied into gavillas (sheaves). The gavillas arethen packed in bales known as tercios , made from yagua ,which is the loose bark of the Royal Palm tree, a material used for manypurposes in Cuba. Every bale carries a label rich with information about theleaves within it including their size, the year of harvest and the date ofpacking. Finally the tercios are transported to the warehouse where thewrappers will be left to age for a minimum of six months.

茄衣叶在经过分类分级后，再次被打成捆。成捆的叶包被放到棕榈叶做成的包装箱中。几个箱子会捆在一起，叫做tercios。棕榈叶在古巴的用途非常广泛。每个烟叶捆都带有标签，写着有关于其中叶子的信息，包括它们的大小，收获年份和包装日期。

最后，将tercios运送到仓库，在那里茄衣叶将至少醇化六个月。