CLOVE

Cloves
Eugenia caryophyllus
syn: E. caryophyllata, E . aromatica,
Caryophyllus aromaticus, Syzgium aromaticum
Fam: Myrtaceae

The word ‘clove’ is from the Latin word for ‘nail’ – clavus. The clove is native to the North Moluccas, the Spice Islands of Indonesia. It is cultivated in Brazil, the West Indies, Mauritius, Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, Zanzibar and Pemba. The Chinese wrote of cloves as early as 400 BC. and there is a record from 200 BC of courtiers keeping cloves in their mouths to avoid offending the emperor while addressing him. Arab traders delivered cloves to the Romans.

Spice Description
Cloves are the immature unopened flower buds of a tropical tree. When fresh, they are pink, dried, they turn to a rust-brown colour. Measuring 12-16 mm (1/2”-5/8”) long, they resemble small nails, with a tapered stem. The large end of the clove is the four-pointed flower bud.
Bouquet: Warm, pungent and aromatic
Flavour: Sweetly pungent, astringent and strongly aromatic.
Hotness Scale: 5

Preparation and Storage

Cloves are best bought whole. As a powder flavour quickly deteriorates. Being extremely hard, it is difficult to grind cloves with a mortar and pestle so an electric grinder such as a coffee grinder is recommended. Store in an airtight container out of direct light.

Culinary Uses
Cloves can easily overpower a dish, particularly when ground, so only a few need be used. Whole cloves are often used to “stud” hams and pork, pushing the tapered end into the meat like a nail. A studded onion is frequently used to impart an elusive character to courts-bouillons, stocks and soups. Cloves are often used to enhance the flavour of game, especially venison, wild boar and hare. They are used in a number of spice mixtures including ras el hanout, curry powders, mulling spices and pickling spices. Cloves also figure in the flavour of Worcestershire sauce. They enjoy much popularity in North Africa and the Middle East where they are generally used for meat dishes, though rice is often aromatized with a few cloves.

Attributed Medicinal Properties
Folklore says that sucking on two whole Cloves without chewing or swallowing them helps to curb the desire for alcohol. Traditional Chinese physicians have long used cloves to treat indigestion, diarrhea, hernia, and ringworm, as well as athlete's foot and other fungal infections. India's traditional Ayurvedic healers have used Cloves since ancient times to treat respiratory and digestive ailments. The medieval German herbalists used cloves as part of anti-gout mixture. Early American Eclectic physicians used cloves to treat digestive complaints, and they added it to bitter herbal medicines to make them more palatable. They were also the first to extract clove oil from the herbal buds, which they used on the gums to relieve toothache. A few drops of the oil in water will stop vomiting, and an infusion will relieve nausea. Essential oil of clove is effective against strep, staph and pneumomocci bacterias. Contemporary herbalists recommend vloves for digestive complaints and its oil for toothache. The primary chemical constituents include eugenol, caryophyllene, and tannins. Cloves are said to have a positive effect on stomach ulcers, vomiting, flatulence, and to stimulate the digestive system. It has powerful local antiseptic and mild anesthetic actions. Japanese researchers have discovered that like many spices, clove contains antioxidants. Antioxidants help prevent the cell damage that scientists believe eventually causes cancer. On the other hand, in laboratory tests, the chemical eugenol, has been found to be a weak tumor promoter, making clove one of many healing herbs with both pro- and anti-cancer effects. At this point, scientists aren't sure which way the balance tilts. Until they are, anyone with a history of cancer should not use medicinal amounts of clove. For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, powdered clove is considered nontoxic. Additionally, dentists have used clove oil as an oral anesthetic. They also used it to disinfect root canals. Clove oil still is an active ingredient in several mouthwash products and a number of over-the-counter toothache pain-relief preparations. Cloves kill intestinal parasites and exhibits broad anti-microbial properties against fungi and bacteria, thus supporting its traditional use as a treatment for diarrhea, intestinal worms, and other digestive ailments. Like many culinary spices, Cloves helps relax the smooth muscle lining of the digestive tract. And finally, eating cloves is said to be aphrodisiac.

Buy clove oil and supplements here

Plant Description and Cultivation
A conical tropical evergreen myrtaceous tree reaching heights of up to 14m (45 ft). The bark is gray, the leaves are a shiny dark green, elliptical in shape and very fragrant. Small crimson flowers grow in triple clusters at the ends of branches. The fruit is a purple drupe, about 2.5 cm (1”) long. Cloves grow in the tropics and best near the sea. Rainfall must be at least sixty inches per year and a dry season is needed for harvesting and curing. The clove clusters are picked by hand before the buds open and dried on palm mats.

Other Names
French: clou de girofle
German: Gewuzenelke
Italian: chiodo di garofano
Spanish: clavo de especia
Burmese: ley-nyin-bwint
Chinese: ding heung
Indian: lao(o)ng, laung lavang, lavungam
Thai: gahn plu

Smoking alters brain 'like drugs'

Cigarettes were found to affect brain chemicals Smoking cigarettes causes the same changes to the brain as using illicit drugs like cocaine, a study suggests. US researchers compared post-mortem brain tissue samples from smokers, former smokers and non-smokers. Their findings, published in Journal of Neuroscience, suggested smoking causes changes to the brain which are evident years after someone has quit. A UK expert said the changes might explain why smokers found it hard to stop - and why they then relapsed. The researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Nida) looked at samples of human brain tissue from the nucleus accumbens and the ventral midbrain - brain regions that play a part in controlling addictive behaviours. Eight samples were taken from people who had smoked until their deaths, eight from people who had smoked for up to 25 years before their death and eight non-smokers. All died of causes unrelated to smoking. Relapse The scientists looked at levels of two enzymes - protein kinase A and adenylate cyclase. Both translate chemical signals, such as dopamine, which exist outside the cells, into a form that can be understood inside. It would be surprising if taking large doses of a drug such as nicotine many times a day over many years did not result in lasting changes in the brain Dr John Stapleton, National Addictions Centre Smokers were found to have higher levels of these enzymes in the nucleus accumbens, a part of the brain that processes information related to motivation and reward, which virtually all illicit drugs act upon. But levels of both enzymes were also found to be high in the area of the midbrain that responds to dopamine, which acts as a "reward chemical" in smokers and former smokers. The same changes had previously been seen in the brains of rats given repeated injections of cocaine and morphine. Writing in the Journal of Neuroscience, the team led by Dr Bruce Hope, said: "The present study confirms that drug-induced neuroadaptations [brain changes] observed in animals can also be observed in humans." The researchers suggest that the differences seen in both smokers' and non-smokers' brains "may contribute to long-lasting alterations in nicotine-induced reward and addiction in humans". The researchers say this suggests that the changes persist long after smoking has ceased and could contribute to drug relapse. Dr John Stapleton, of the National Addictions Centre at King's College London, said: "It would be surprising if taking large doses of a drug such as nicotine many times a day over many years did not result in lasting changes in the brain. "The new results may take us closer to understanding these changes. "The key question remains as to whether such changes are partly responsible for the intractable nature of smoking and relapse after many months or years of stopping."

Made by Taru Martani

Cigar Van Java

Since 1918, Taru Martani always created the formulas for blending tobacco to create cigars with high color of tastes to satisfy the craves of cigars lovers. These days, the company produces fourteen types of cigars which are well known worldwide, namely: Cigarillos, Extra Cigarillos, Senioritas, Panatella, Slim Panatella, Half Corona, Corona, Super Corona / Grand Corona, Boheme, Royal, Perfecto, Rothschild, and Churchill. The fourteen types of cigars have become promising export commodity. The shipment of cigars has reached markets in Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Czechoslovakia, the United States, Asia, and soon Eastern and Central Europe, and the Southeast Asian countries.

Taru Martani blends three formulas of cigar mixtures, namely: 1) natural cigars (pure tobacco), 2) flavor cigars (tobacco with accent sauce of Mint, Amareto, Vanila, Rum and Hazelnut), and 3) mild cigars (with mild tobacco). The main material of tobacco comes from Besuki area, Jember, East Java. It is called Java Besuki. The taste is dominant and the color is brownish black. It is used for inner liner wrap (omblad) and outer liner (dekblad) of the cigars. The filler is a combination of Java Besuki and tobacco from Havana - Cuba, Dominican Republic and Brazil. The uniqueness of Taru Martani cigars is that all the processes are hand rolled. Every single cigar is carefully and accurately wrapped by hand to become a quality of cigar.

Taru Martani Cigar Collections

Of the many kinds of cigar production, there are only five driving market brands, namely Senator, Mundi Victor, Adipati, Ramayana, and Borobudur.

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SENATOR Since 1918, Taru Martani had produced cigars of the same model and size with what is now called Senator. The official name Senator was only given in 1952. The first generation of Senator was shaped after a bullet (knak), which was the original model of cigars. Senator has Royal size.

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MUNDI VICTOR Just like Senator, Mundi Victor Boheme was also produced since 1918. The name Mundi Victor was not used until 1952

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ADIPATI The first Indonesian name Adipati was given to its 1972 made cigars. This brand was made in four sizes, namely Adipati Super Corona, Adipati Panatella, Adipati Slim Panatella and Adipati Half Corona.

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RAMAYANA In the same year (1972), Ramayana brand was also made. Ramayana was made in nine sizes, namely: Ramayana Corona, Ramayana Super Corona, Ramayana Senoritas, Ramayana Cigarillos, Ramayana Cuban Corona, Ramayana Cuban Perfecto, Ramayana Rothschild, Ramayana Super Rothschild, and Ramayana Churchill.

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BOROBUDUR Inspired by the the Indonesia uniqueness and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Taru Martani chose the name Borobudur. It began into production in 1987. It was only produced in one size, namely Borobudur Cigarillos with the dimension of 3 5/8" x 20" (90 x 8.5 mm). It was intended to reach beginner cigar community. Cigarette smokers are tempted to try cigars that have the same soze as cigarettes.

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Taru Martani Shag Tobacco Collections
In addtion to cigars, Taru Martani also produces and distributes tobacco shag, or sliced tobacco with the following brands : Van Nelle, Drum, and Countryman.

HISTORY CIGARETTE FILLTER

In 1925 Hungarian inventor Boris Aivaz, who had patented the process of making cigarette filters from crepe paper, with some variants including cellulose wadding, experiment at the Ortmann plant of Bunzl. Aivaz produced the first cigarette filter from 1927 in co-operation with Bunzl's Filtronic subsidiary, but up take was low due to a lack of machinery to produce cigarettes with the filtered tip.^[1]

From 1935, a British company began developing a machine to make cigarettes that incorporated the tipped filter, but it was a specialty item until 1954, when manufacturers introduced it broadly following a spate of speculative announcements from doctors and researchers concerning a possible link between lung diseases and smoking. Since filtered cigarettes were considered "safer," by the 1960s, they dominated the market.

With classic filter cigarettes, the filter is covered with a cork-colored mouthpiece. Nowadays, some cigarette brands use a white mouth piece, especially those which are oriented to a predominantly female target group; it is also used to signify a menthol cigarette in the United Kingdom and a "light" cigarette in the United States.

Most factory-made cigarettes are equipped with a filter; those who roll their own can buy them in a tobacco store.

HISTORY CIGARETTE AT KUDUS

The origin of kretek cigarettes traces to the late 19th century. The creator of kretek was one Haji Jamahri, a native of the town of Kudus in Indonesia’s Central Java region. Suffering from chest pains, Haji Jamahri attempted to reduce the pain by rubbing clove oil on his chest. Jamahri sought a means of achieving a deeper relief and smoked his hand-rolled cigarettes after adding dried clove buds. According to the story, his asthma and chest pains vanished immediately. Word of Jamahri’s discovery spread rapidly among his neighbors, and clove cigarettes soon became available in pharmacies under the name of rokok cengkeh – clove cigarettes. Although first discovered as a medicinal product, kreteks became widely popular outside this capacity.

In those years, the locals used to hand-roll kreteks to sell on order without any specific brand or packing. A resident of Kudus called Nitisemito had the idea of starting serial production and selling kreteks under a proprietary brand name. Unlike other manufacturers, Nitisemito who first created the Bal Tiga brand in 1906 enjoyed great success by implementing unprecedented marketing techniques such as using embossed packs or offering free-of-charge promotional materials.

Furthermore, he also developed a production system which was called the abon system and which offered great opportunities for other entrepreneurs without enough capital. In this system, a person called as “abon” assumes the job of delivering finished products to the company which pays the price of piecework done whereas the company is liable to supply the necessary production materials to the “abons”. However, most manufacturers have since opted to have their workers working under the roof of their own factories, to maintain quality standards. Nowadays, only a few kretek manufacturers make use of the abon system.

During the period from 1960 until 1970, kreteks became a national symbol against “white cigarettes”. In mid 1980’s, the amount of machine-produced cigarettes exceeded the amount of hand-rolled ones. As one of the largest income sources of Indonesia, the kretek industry comprises 500 large and small manufacturers as well as 10 million employees.^[5]

MUSEUM KRETEK

This Museum is more as image of Kudus as Kretek City. Once upon a time, there is Niti Semito pioneered the Kretek cigarettes in Kudus in 1937, with his company "Bal Tiga". It is so impressive as he was one of the richest man in the country.

He was promoting his kretek with big effort. In 1920 he hired planes to spread his leaflets! Can you imagine that? In the museum you may find cigarette making production line, planting process, ingredient mixer, traditional processing machine, old equipments and advertising promotion since Niti Semito's period.

The different types of cigarette wrappers, diorama display of people working from drying of Tobacco leaves to hand making cigarette.

TOBACCO

Tobacco is an agricultural product, recognized as an addictive drug, processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. The word nicotiana (as well as nicotine) was named in honor of Jean Nicot, French ambassador to Portugal, who in 1559 sent it as a medicine to the court of Catherine de Medici.^[1] It is most commonly smoked in the form of cigarettes or cigars. Tobacco has been growing on both American continents since about 6000 BC and was used by native cultures by around 3000 BC.^{[citation needed]} Employed as an anthelmintic^[2], it has been smoked, in one form or another, since about 3000 BC.^{[citation needed]} Tobacco has a long history of ceremonial use in Native American culture. It has played an important role in the political, economic, and cultural history of the United States of America.

Dried, cured, and unprocessed tobacco is commercially available all over the world. Smoke from burning, or otherwise heated, tobacco can be inhaled in the forms of cigarettes, cigars, stem pipes, bongs, and hookahs. Tobacco can also be chewed, dipped (placed between the cheek and gum), or sniffed into the nose as finely powdered snuff. Many countries set minimum legal smoking ages, regulating the purchase and use of tobacco products. Bhutan is the only country in the world where tobacco sales are illegal.^[3] According to the World Health Organization, tobacco smoke is the second largest cause of death worldwide, and is reported to have been responsible for the deaths of 100 million people in the 20th century.^[4]

All methods of tobacco consumption result in varying quantities of nicotine being absorbed into the user's bloodstream. Over time, tolerance and dependence develop. Absorption quantity, frequency, and speed of tobacco consumption are believed to be directly related to biological strength of nicotine dependence, addiction, and tolerance.