Maya Selva Flor de Selva Natural Robusto
Posted on April 16 2021
Vitola: 4.75x50
Smoking Time: 92 Minutes
Cigars Smoked: 4
Body: Medium
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
MSRP: $10.40
Maya Selva was founded in 1995, in France. Using tobacco from Honduras and Nicaragua, everything is chosen by Maya herself. Consisting of 3 brands, there is something for everyone. The Flor de Selva Natural uses all Honduran grown tobacco, and is a great example of Honduran cigars having full flavor, and a smooth complexion.
Visual Inspection: This cigar is darker then most marketed as natural, that being said it is a clean milk chocolate color. Veins are present but smooth, which help blend the seams together. Which are not very noticeable, and there is plenty of oil present on the wrapper. The cellophane is tinted yellow, as most of the Maya Selva I have seen, indicating a high essential oil content.
This is a very fragrant stick, it is extremely earthy, with notes of coffee, and raspberry. When opening a box of these, the aroma is one of the first things you'll notice. Adorned with a foot band, this short robusto is very visually appealing. A cold draw brings flavors of honey, coffee grinds, and earth. Proving a bit hard to pull, optimistically the tight draw will fix itself.
First Third: Immediately the Flor de Selva is extremely smooth. Initial flavors of nuts, cinnamon sugar, and coffee take charge. With a bit more pondering, sub-flavors of wet earth or damp soil, cream, and a hidden raisin sweetness. The draw is undeniably tight, but unfortunately I have smoked cigars with bigger draw issues.
Quickly ramping up its profile, the flavors are developing to be more earth focused. Strong notes of almond, moss, and green wood are very prevalent. Sub-flavors of coffee, cream, and honey are still hiding behind the bolder notes. The burn line isn't amazing, but it only wavers slightly. Ash is a medium grey, and appears firm.
Second Third: While still fighting the draw, I use my PerfecDraw to try and unplug the cigar, but it doesn't appear to do much. As a result it appears to be burning hot from pulling so much. However the flavors are still enjoyable enough. I haven't had any issues with any Maya Selva Cigars before, so please take my criticism with a grain of salt. Strong notes of cream, almond, oak, make for a pleasant experience.
I touched up the cigar 10 minutes ago or so, and the burn line is not very clean. Ash has retained the same color and characteristics.
Last Third: Cream flavors are coming back, but still give way to strong earth and nuts. A retrohale brings subtle notes of pepper, and cinnamon. Upon hitting the last third, the complexity has not grown, but has stayed consistent. On top of that, the draw has cleared up. With an inch left, this cigar is getting truly exceptional. Smooth, and full, flavors or vanilla, oak, almond, coffee and honey are most prevalent.
The burn line is still clean, and I very much enjoy the lack of flaking coming off of the ash. Starting to get hot, with under an inch left, this cigar ended up performing very well.
Final Thoughts: Naturally, when I sit down to write this review, I have a poor sample, regardless it performed very well. Certainly a progressive cigar, it only got better with time. A new brand to me, I have given these to friends who enjoy them, and are surprised at how much power this robusto has. Available in natural and maduro, there is something for everyone. I am truly pleased we offered these in our subscriptions, and hope to see them again in the future.
- My third sample was the only one with a tight draw
-Sam