Focus on Ybor | Meet Tabanero Cigars Passionate Owner, Yanko Maceda

Tabanero Cigars owner, Yanko Maceda shares his passion for the Cigar Industry and for Ybor City, Tampa, FL. Click Here to Read More!

Cuban Cigar rolling at Tabanero Cigar Factory, Ybor City

We take a tremendous amount of pride in our craft of rolling cuban style cigars. Our focus is on quality, not quantity. In this article we aim to highlight the wonderful craft of cuban style cigar rolling that is used daily right here in the Tabanero factory here in Ybor City, Tampa, FL.

A cuban roller trains and learns the art of rolling cigars for 9 months. These rollers work independently, they do not work in pairs. They roll the entire cigar themselves versus rollers from Central America and the Caribbean who work in pairs. The men do the bunching and the woman perform the wrapping. This allows them to work faster. They are able to do 600 to 1000 cigars a day. A cuban roller only rolls 100-150 cigars per day. This allows the Cuban Artisan roller to focus on the craft and quality of rolling the cigar. The selection of tobacco is a very important part of the rolling process. High quality tobacco must be used to ensure proper construction. Oliva Tobacco is our local tobacco supplier here in Tampa. Oliva is the largest grower of Ecuadorian wrapper and binder and the largest supplier of filler. They sell filler tobacco from Nicaragua, D. Republic, Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Indonesia. All of the world’s best tobacco can be found right here in Tampa through our supplier, Oliva Tobacco Company. When buying cigars from a larger tobacco manufacturer located in Nicaragua or Dominican Republic they will use tobacco filler that is indigenous to their country which limits the variety of tobacco and flavor you can experience in one of those cigars. At Tabanero, we have access to the best rollers and tobacco that is available. We have been in business for 5 years and have experienced tremendous growth. We believe we can rescue the industry 1 cigar at a time.

We use cuban style rolling exclusively. We believe it is superior to any other style of rolling. The roller lays out the binder leaf of the cigar. The roller then begins to bunch a blend of ligero, seco, and volado leaves together to create the filler of the cigar. As the roller bunches the cigar he or she is continuously feeling the bunch to ensure it contains the right amount of tobacco. The roller then rolls the binder leaf around the blend of filler tobacco and places it in a mold. The cigars rest in a mold for a couple hours. The cigars are then tested using a Drawmaster. The Drawmaster is a machine we have implemented here at Tabanero and is used tomeasure the draw of every single cigar that we roll. It’s important that the cigar doesn’t have too tight or too loose of a draw. If it’s too loose the cigar will burn hot and will not produce the flavor profile we are expecting from the blend. The roller then places a wrapper leaf around the cigar. Finally the roller will apply a Cuban triple cap. The final cap is the cap that should be used as a guideline for cutting the cigar. This triple cap is a sign of a high quality cigar made by a Cuban Artisan. The cigars are then placed in an air conditioned room for a period of 2 weeks. The cigars then rest in our large humidor for 90 days prior to fulfilling and shipping orders to our customers. Aging is a key component of the final product. Large production factories only keep cigars a max of six weeks compared to our 90 day agings process. 

I interview every roller prior to hiring them to ensure they share the same passion as we do here at Tabanero. It’s very important to us here at Tabanero that the rollers share in the same passion we do and most importantly enjoy what the are doing. I often over hear the rollers talking about how fortunate they are to roll here in Tampa at Tabanero. They truly enjoy their craft and it comes through in the quality of the cigars that we roll here at Tabanero. We believe in what we are doing! We approach cigar rolling a little differently. We produce about 3600 cigars per week using 5 rollers. We produce a limited amount of cigars per month. Our focus is on producing a quality product not quantity. We do offer a monthly membership where we reserve some special cigar blends and sizes for our members. People often ask why we don’t hire more rollers to meet the demand. Because we focus on quality and not quantity. For example, because we are a small factory we are able to focus on details such as draw. We have a machine that we have implemented at Tabanero that We are so confident in the quality of of cigars we have a “No Questions Asked” return policy. We are confident that because of our focus on quality that we will help restore the cigar industry right here in Tampa. We are hopeful that we can recreate Tampa as a cigar destination by encouraging other boutique cigar companies to start their business here in Tampa. We are so committed to this vision that we openly and happily share the resources that we have here at Tabanero with other cigar manufacturers here in Tampa.

We invite you to enjoy a quality rolled cigar by one of our Cuban Artisan rollers. Please be sure to visit us at our Factory Located at 1601 E. 7th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605

Ybor City in the News

Ybor City was recently featured in the news during a Public Service Announcement (PSA) by WWE star John Cena.

He used the everyday streets of Ybor to portray a different view of diversity in America. 

Check out the video and local news article about it here.

After the filming was done, John stopped by for some Taba Brew. He enjoyed his cup of the best Cuban coffee in Tampa while relaxing in Ybor City.

We enjoyed seeing John Cena stop by and share such an interest in the great city of Ybor.

Enjoy a Tabanero

We have the finest hand-rolled Cuban cigars you've ever tasted.

All our cigars are hand-made right here in Tampa, Florida. We've been focused on restoring the cigar industry here in Ybor City.

Tabanero Cigars Lighter-Watch!

No cigar would be complete without the best accessories. Light up a cigar in style with a Tabanero Lighter Watch! Plus, it works as a full-functioning watch. A great accessory for any cigar loving fan and it's easy to use! 

See how easy in this clip below:  

The History of the Tampa Cigar Industry

It’s important that we maintain the cigar heritage of Tampa. How did we get our name; Tabanero, do you ask? Well, a guy from Havana is a Habanero. I, Yanko Maceda, immigrated to America from Havana so I decided to name my business Tabanero! The cigar business in Tampa/Ybor City has changed over the years. There aren’t as many cigar manufacturers here in Tampa that their used to be. Today only a couple of large cigar manufacturers and a few boutique cigar manufacturers remain. Allow me to share some of our local cigar manufacturing history here in the Tampa bay.

Vicente Martinez-Ybor, originally from Spain immigrated to Cuba at age 14. He fell in love with the cigar industry and began his own cigar company. In 1856 Martinez Ybor founded his own company in Havana, Cuba and began manufacturing his El Principe de Gales ("Prince of Wales") brand. The brand quickly became popular, and Martinez Ybor's factory was soon producing 20,000 cigars a day. While focusing on his business he also focused his efforts on helping Cubans break away from Spain. This was not popular among Spain’s government. He was sentenced to death and quickly escaped to Key West. This is also where He moved his cigar production to. He was having a hard time keeping the rollers in Key West. A friend of his discovered Tampa, Florida and recommended that Martinez-Ybor move his production to Tampa. He purchased 40 acres from the city of tampa to begin his production. Vicente built the biggest cigar factory in the world in 1886. He believed that in order for the cigar industry to be successful that he needed to encourage others to get involved in manufacturing cigars. The industry grew quickly to 200 cigar factories in Ybor City which accounted for the production of 600 million cigars manufactured per year. This was truly the golden era for this industry. The depression of 1929 and the cigarette industry began the decline of the cigar industry. In 1962 the Cuban trade embargo had the largest and most significant impact on the cigar industry in Ybor City which caused nearly 200 of the original manufactures to close their doors.

Well over one hundred years later you can still feel the passion of the cigar industry here in Tampa, Florida. We at Tabanero believe we can bring back the heritage of cigars to Tampa and Ybor City. Thanks to the internet we are able to share our passion for the Ybor City cigar industry with people all across the world not just here in the Tampa Bay area.

So why did we choose Tampa? Believe it or not, in Cuba the lectures still educate and inspire the rollers using stories about the Cigar industry in Tampa, Fl. Back during the Golden Era, Cuban rollers always dreamed of moving to Tampa to work for 1 of the 200 factories right here in Ybor City. Today, when Cuban rollers visit Tampa they quickly realize that much of the cigar industry has come to pass with only a few cigar companies remaining trying to keep the heritage alive. This is one of the reasons to move your boutique business to Tampa. There is a great opportunity to hire many of the Cuban rollers who have moved to Tampa hoping to live out their dream of rolling cigars here in Tampa, Fl.

Tabanero is here, in the heart of Ybor City with the goal of reviving the cigar industry that was once so vibrant. We believe that with some of the finest tobacco available from our local supplier, Oliva Tobacco Company and the amazing local Cuban artisan rollers rolling our fine blend of tobacco we can help restore the wonderful cigar heritage of Tampa and Ybor City.

Tabanero Cigars Wins A Prestigious Award

Cuban Immigrant Yanko Maceda of Tabanero Cigars Awarded the Adela Gonzmart Award

Yanko Maceda, of Tabanero Cigars was recognized June 12, 2016 for his ongoing contribution to Ybor City and the American cigar industry. Since the beginning, Yanko has been working hard to restore the legacy and heritage of the Ybor City cigar industry.

The award recognizes an individual, family or corporation for unique achievements that promote the cultural preservation and commercial revitalization of the Ybor community. The Gonzmart award is named after Adela and Cesar Gonzmart, the third generation of the Gonzmart family, that built Ybor’s Columbia restaurant. She also witnessed Ybor City's transformation from a cigar-rolling district to the nightlife destination that it is today.

What's the source of Tabanero's Tobacco? Only the Best!

Tabanero sources its tobacco from Oliva Tobacco Company, a large supplier right here in Tampa! Oliva supplies Tabanero with some of the best tobacco from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. For Tabanero, tobacco selection is critical. View full article →

Cuba: Preparing to meet America's demand for Cuban Cigars

View full article →

VoiceofAmerica

Tabanero Cigars was just featured in a Voice of America article highlighting Tampa's Last Cigar Factory. 

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TripAdvisor Reviews from "Visit Tampa Bay"

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