Don Collins

Cuban Cigars Seized

2011-04-28T13:21:00.000-04:00

Avoid Getting Busted over Cuban Cigars. Don Collins Cigars are made from the Same Tobacco as Cubans. The tobacco seed was given to Cuba by Puerto Rico to replace their lost crops in 1899. See our Don Collins FB or http://www.don-collins.com/ for detailed information. See the news from Puerto Rico Tobacco Corporation or see the video at http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7828405

Don Collins PGA

2010-11-14T15:04:00.002-05:00

Don Collins Cigars XII

2010-11-14T15:04:00.001-05:00

Don Collins Coffee I

2010-11-14T15:04:00.000-05:00

Don Collins Cigars XII

2010-11-14T15:03:00.000-05:00

Don Collins History, Puerto Rico Tobacco Corporation

2010-11-13T07:03:00.003-05:00

The Puerto Rico Tobacco Corporation is the oldest company in the western hemisphere. It formally dates from 1505 but was trading tobacco with Europe since the late 1400's. More than 1/2 the shipping tonnage between the entire newly found western islands and continents and Seville Spain was tobacco from Puerto Rico. Cuba, Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic and the leeward islands down to Aruba were all called Borinken by the Native Taino Indians who had settled the land thousands of years before Europeans arrived on the scene.

The "batey" (photo left) was the traditional tobacco plantation of the Taino Indian population that ruled from Cuba to Aruba in an island chain known as "Borinken". The woodcut and text shown on the left is taken from the Gran Encylopedia de Espana, first edition, in which most of the first scenes of thenew world appeared in European cultural and educational circles.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans the Taino Indians who are also noted for their "hemi" stone maps, star charts and written accounting records had also developed the first BBQ and the first Cigars. In the wood cut to the right. This scene depicts a Taino Indian with a Cigar. It is notable that Cigars were actually called "Tobak", a Taino Indian word for the plant and the products made from them. The word "Tobak" was taken into the Spanish language as "tobaco" and eventually made its way to English as the familiar "tobacco".

The Puerto Rico Tobacco Corporation is the oldest company in the Western Hemisphere having the lineage: Porto Rico Leaf Co., Porto Rico American Leaf, Porto Rico Tobacco Products Corporation, Puerto Rico Tobacco Corporation (today).

HEALTH BENEFITS OF DRINKING DON COLLINS ESPRESSO

2010-08-07T12:51:00.000-04:00

[Synopsis of an article by Laura Janecka of Psycology Today July/August 2010]

"A new culture is brewing around the most consumed psychoactive substance in the world" ` Laura Janecka"

Everyone who already enjoys drinking our high quality Don Collins Coffee made from 100% red arabica mountain grown Puerto Rican beans has probably already gathered information and facts detailing the most precious coffee beans on earth. And though they may not always buy exactly those "rare" super coffee beans, they assure all who will listen (and sip) that the beans they covet currently are the best of the best.

Kudos to all. I recently came across the above cited article in a recent issue of Psychology Today Magazine. I am more of a Scientific American kind of Guy and I gravitate toward Sky Magazine or Astronomy Today for my Pic Fix. But this really useful information caught my eye.

The first interesting facts were highlighted in an insert on the article:

"The Case Against Bad Coffee" "Here's what may be the most counter intuitive news about coffee. It's well-known that, for some people, java can be hard on the gut, causing indigestion or heartburn. Researches at the Technical University of Munich, who sought to pinpoint the irritant in coffee, made a surprising discovery: Indeed, caffeine, along with a couple of other compounds, can stimulate production of hydrochloric acid in the gut. But the effect is most pronounced with weak coffee."

"Dark Roast Coffee has components that actually block stomach cells from producing hydrochloric acid. The longer coffee is roasted, the more gut-friendly N-methylpyridinium (NMP) it contains. There's twice as much NMP in a darker roast than a light one."

"So if you want to protect your gut, your best bet is ...yup, espresso."

Wow! Word up here ! This is a surprise. Laura Janecka's praises continue "Coffee is the number one source of cell-protecting antioxidants in the U.S. diet. Green coffee beans contain about a thousand antioxidants, roasting adds some 300 more, most of them unique to coffee. Many of the compounds have biological effects, from minimizing inflammation to favorably affecting glucose metabolism. The health effects of antioxidants cover a broad range, as oxidation is a major factor in brain aging, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and many other diseases [psoriasis, severe dermititis, hair loss, intestinal blockages, heart burn, gastric disorders and skeletal problems come to mind]. Coffee compounds also deter Parkinson's disease and offset Alzheimer's disease."

Laura also gives concrete evidence of beneficial effects on insulin metabolism, iron absorption and other common disorders. I strongly recommend all coffee lovers (and undecided tea drinkers) to look up this article and take good note of the valuable contents.

You will be glad to know that our Don Collins Coffee is a perfect dark roast and I am so happy to announce this article as a forward perspective on the absolute goodness of our coffee products, whole bean and ground.

Don Collins Cigars XIII June 08

2010-07-03T16:24:00.000-04:00

2010-06-26T13:25:00.000-04:00

Most of you have heard of or looked for a cuban cigar. The supply has dropped almost as low as the quality on most cubans. And, unfortunately, the greater majority of "cubans" are fakes. They are being pushed in local markets, slick looking websites that carry photos of real boxes but provide fake cigars by the stick and so on. Caveat emptor ! The wrapper leaves on a real cuban cigar should be WWII army green more so than brown. In any case the color should be perfectly uniform from top to bottom and all the way around. There should be no "sunspots" moldy areas or any imperfection in the ring seal. The smell is most important. Good cigars smell like a vagina. Plain and simple. The musty smell comes about in a precision curing process where amonia is not allowed to accumulate. There is no "sting" to the smell, no "peppery smell" and there is no harsh taste to a real cuban. Authentic cuban cigars are smoother than a cigarette. Any cigar that has a harsh taste, after taste, burns or coats your tongue has been sprayed with chemicals for preservation, anti-funfals, anti-virus, tobacco flavors, tobacco mites or weavils and similar problems. Here are a few cigars I have been sent that are fakes. Beware of any website that has really clear photos of the boxes but images the actual cigar in a half shadow or where the ring and tobacco are out of focus and blurry. Come on guys, wake up !

FROM CUBA TO ARUBA

2010-06-18T13:52:00.000-04:00

The Taino Indians of the Caribbean left an interesting cultural legacy for the americas. First, tobacco (tobak - in the Taino Indian language) was used by the Spanish in the late 15th and early 16th century to finance the exploration of the new world. Not much gold was found in the islands but tobacco was the rage in Europe and the Europeans had never seen tobacco rolled up into tubes. These tobacco tubes were first seen by Christopher Columbes on his second or third voyage to the new world on the Island of Puerto Rico, the central point of the island chain occupied by the Indians that was known as Borinken. The explorer's called the rolled tobacco Cigarros after the name of the gathering where they found the Indians smoking them - Sikar ! That was the beginning of the cigar smoking tradition that is now recognized worldwide.

For the next 400 years more than one half the shipping tonnage between all the new world and Seville Spain was comprised of tobacco from Puerto Rico. These revenues were enough to finance new voyages to new territories and were in fact enough to finance the "pirates of the carribean" who represented the first colonial naval forces in history.

All the islands from Cuba to Aruba were settled by the Taino's who were part of the Arawak nation, including the Caribe Indians after who the Caribbean Ilsands and surrounding seas get their name. There are some interesting facts around the internet and some have been gathered in the history section of the Puerto Rico Tobacco Corporation at their Don Collins website http://www.don-collins.com along with interesting photos, references and a good bibliography of historical and anthropological sources.

We have all taken advantage of smoking rolled tobacco or the other great gifts of the Taino's, Barbeque - that's right good old barbaque started with the Tainos, and so did Rum, Coffee and Molasses.

I hope this has been an informative addition to our blog sites and I hope you continue to check in on us once in a while to update your personal archives on things good to know.

2010-06-15T12:24:00.000-04:00

There are more than a few things I'd like to say. First it is really nice to be in the world with all of you, especially in this way. My interest vary from art to music to theoretical physics (see http://www.don-collins.com/) and I have a great curiousity about you.

What you find out here may not be all that novel but every word will be unique in that these words originate from a well of sincerity that belongs to us all.