Authenticity
What a fake Cohiba band cannot fake.
Three details a genuine Habanos band carries that a counterfeit almost never gets right. Read them before you cut.
Read on
We do not sell tobacco.We curate time.
A London Habanos Specialist · Trading since 2019 · Society est. 2014
The houses we keep
The shelf · Chosen by the merchant
The month’s reading.
Hand-picked from the cellar every month. Click any cigar to read the full note.
The shelf is between readings.
New selections are being chosen. In the meantime the full cellar remains open.
Habanos S.A.
Specialist (EMS), London
Habanos World Days
Invited merchant · 2023, 2024
Cigar Aficionado
Cigars rated 92 and above, kept in depth
Imperial College
Society of origin, London · MMXIV
The Cuban canon
Twenty-seven Habanos marques.
Eight to begin with.
Every Cuban marque we carry is stocked directly through Habanos S.A. Each tile opens the house, its history, and its cigars.
Cohiba
Founded for the Comandante, 1966. Rolled at El Laguito.
The historyThe cigars
Bolívar
Named for the Liberator. Black pepper, dark tobacco, plain strength.
The historyThe cigars
H. Upmann
Banker’s tobacco since 1844. A quieter, diplomatic hand.
The historyThe cigars
Ramón Allones
The 1837 house. Kept for its boîte-nature boxes and weight.
The historyThe cigars
Cuaba
A small figurado-only marque, revived in 1996.
The historyThe cigars
Sancho Panza
A quieter, medium-bodied line. Long a favourite in Spain.
The historyThe cigars
Quai d’Orsay
Made for the Parisian diplomatic trade. Gentle, cedared.
The historyThe cigars
El Rey del Mundo
Founded 1848. The name translates plainly: king of the world.
The historyThe cigars
The library
What every cigar should tell you.
A working reference, kept since MMXIV. The one our readers wrote the Cuban canon into, evening by evening. Open to read.
Featured article · Authenticity
The counterfeiter’s tell: what a fake Cohiba band cannot fake.
— by Ehab Abdallah, founder
Factories
Where the cigar was rolled.
El Laguito, La Corona, Partagás, H. Upmann. A short account of the eight living Havana factories.
Read onVitolas
The shape of a cigar is its grammar.
Robusto, Pirámide, Laguito No. 2, Double Corona. What each vitola tells you before you light.
Read onWrappers
Reading the leaf on the outside.
Seco, volado, ligero, medio tiempo. What the wrapper predicts of the cigar underneath.
Read onRegions
Vuelta Abajo, and the other four.
Cuba’s five tobacco regions. Where each one sits on the island, and what that leaves on the wrapper.
Read onReleases
Limited, Regional, Reserva.
Three release programmes. Three reasons to keep. A reference, not a sales page.
Read on
A letter from the house
A letter from the house
“MMXIV. A reading society at Imperial College, teaching ourselves the Cuban canon one vitola at a time — students, a shared humidor, Friday evenings that ran too long.
In 2019 the society opened a door and became a merchant. The cigars we trusted were too often counterfeit, and the shops we loved were too far from home. The reading has not stopped; every Habano on the shelf is tasted, traced to its factory, and written about by a hand that has kept the ash.”
Ehab Abdallah
Founder · MokaCigar, London
a london habanos specialist since mmxiv
Membership · A monthly subscription
A chair at the reading society.
Hand-picked cigars arrive each month. Every member keeps a seat at our auctions. Three tiers — choose the cadence that fits your reading.
Enthusiast
£100 a month
An introduction to the house.
- Three cigars a month, hand-selected
- Entry to every members’ auction
Aficionado
£150 a month
The middle seat — and the one we recommend.
- Five cigars a month, hand-selected
- Entry to every members’ auction
Connoisseur
£300 a month
For the serious reader, kept at depth.
- Ten cigars a month, hand-selected
- Entry to every members’ auction
The Moka Standard · Six points
The ground we stand on.
The terms we keep on every cigar that leaves the cellar. Set out here so a member need never ask.
Habanos Specialist (EMS)
Accredited by Habanos S.A. under the Específico label. Every Cuban on the shelf is stocked direct.
Factory-traceable
Every box carries its factory code, date stamp, and seal. Each is read and recorded on arrival.
Climate-controlled cellar
70°F, 68% RH, across seven independent humidors. Logged to the hour and audited each quarter.
Inspection on arrival
Band, wrapper, foot, draw. Four points, read by hand. A rejected cigar never reaches the shelf.
MokaVerify, for members
A signed verification receipt for any cigar in our care — the tool we built for ourselves, first.
Begun as a society
Imperial College, London, MMXIV. The library that taught us the Cuban canon is still being kept.
EMS · Habanos Specialist · London · 2014–Present