Stemming
The stem of a tobacco leaf is very thick, and need to be completely or partially removed before the leaves can be rolled into cigars. For binder and wrapper tobacco, workers remove the entire stem, either by hand or by using a machine made specifically for such an action. For filler tobacco, a worker strips the bottom two thirds or so of the stem, leaving a leaf that somewhat resembles a frog looked at from above, so such leaves are known as frog’s legs. Stemming is also sometimes called destemming.
