Sampoerna
Indonesia Kretek 1913
In nearly 1912 young Seeng Tee start to mixed and rolling
cigarettes for a small kretek manufacture located outiside of
Surabaya, Indonesia. He soon developed such a love for the job
that he decided to set up his own business selling tobacco,
cloves and spice.
Previously, Seeng Tee had sold his tobacco
without any additives but he offered a variety of natural flavorings
- chocolate, vanilla, nutmeg or clove - to go with it. Over
time, Seeng Tee came to notice that certain flavors and combinations
of ingredients were more popular than others and so he came
up with the idea of making pre-rolled cigarettes with a blend
of tobaccos and condiments that reflected the preferences of
his customers. These he sold as a packaged product which became
an instantaneous hit and gave birth to the mother of all kretek,
Dji Sam Soe.
By 1934, the Sampoerna cigarette factory
was up and running and this time there was plenty of room for
every stage in the manufacturing process with spaces set aside
for tobacco mixed, clove processing and handrolling, as well
as printing and finished-goods processing.
After three generations, today, Sampoerna
is best known for its handrolled Dji Sam Soe and their successful
'A' range of machine-made kretek. A-Mild -
launch in 1989 - was the first low tar and nicotine kretek of
its kind in the world. In their sprawling complex in Pandaan,
south of Surabaya, they have some of the fastest Hauni rolling
machines in the business and one of the most advanced research
and development facilities in the world. Despite the current
management's love of technology, what is most amazing is that
Sampoerna is still able to keep Liem Seeng Tee's original handrolled
masterpiece firmly in the top-tier of all kretek on the market.
(Contents partially are taken from "Kretek
Book" by Mark Hanusz)
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