The Kafie Chronicles

This weeks episode is very special. We had the great pleasure to host a visit of Sir Ali F. Zayani a tobacco businessman of many decades and a family dynasty in Premium Cigar Industry in the Middle East. One of the most fascinating interviews of the year. Enjoy.

This week we dive into a post Smoke at the Creek festival conversations. What does the future have in store for all of us. We must continue to unite and come together as family owned premium cigar manufacturers. Together we can overcome all obstacles.

5 years later, we still have people wondering what is the driving force behind the BCA. It's simple, we want to protect, defend, promote, and raise awareness for small family owned premium cigar manufacturers. This is all about community. Each and every person is here because of love and passion for the leaf. www.boutiquecigarfestival.com

August is the month of the Boutique Cigar Festival. The first ever Festival know as "Smoke at the Creek" takes place this month. Tickets available at www.boutiquecigarfestival.com

Our industry is far too small to be divided up into several different trade show platforms. Maybe it's time we all come together, under one roof. The current options are not inclusive. Time for a premium cigar summit. Out with the old, in with the new.

Time for change. Communism/Socialism must end. Time for Democracy.

The premium cigar industry is facing new packaging guidelines around the world. What does this mean ? Should we appease the regulators ? Do we have a choice ? The good, the bad, the ugly. Join us for this special pre-50th birthday podcast for our co-host Dr. Gaby Kafie. Enjoy the show family. Cheers !

This week we welcome Traci Irven and A.T. Fields, owners of Ultimate CEO Cigars. Please tune in and get to know their story a little better. These folks are 100% invested in the premium cigar industry. Everything they do is with love and passion for the leaf and the brother/sister hood of our industry.

A divided industry shall not withstand the forces that come our way. We all need to come together and help each other pave the way to a brighter future. Family owned premium cigar companies need to all be on a level playing field when it comes unity. As man have said before us, "we are all one !"

Today we had the great privilege of interviewing a new cigar lounge owner from Tyler, Texas. Jerah Hutchins is an amazing person, with an extremely interesting background. All I can say is Tyler, Texas will never be the same again. Please visit our dear friends at The Humidor Tyler to get to know them and celebrate their grand opening. We wish them huge success.

It's almost the middle of 2021. How has this year shaped up, where are we and what to expect moving forward. Shortages are happening in every industry. Are we going to be affected ? We already are. Enjoy the show.

Featured guests Fouad (Eddie) & Romy of Hiram and Solomon Cigars join us this evening to discuss everything cigars, trade shows, and the business of premium boutique cigars. Join us !

This past week we had a great visit here in Miami, Florida from the owners of Mountain Smoke WV, a boutique cigar online retailer making waves in the premium cigar industry. Join us for great conversation and great times with some awesome people.

The ever changing world of technology has inspired a famous online cigar retailer to accept bitcoin as a form of payment. Will this become a new industry standard ? Doge to the moon !

This week we dive into the ever changing problems facing our family driven industry. Some government officials want to tax premium cigars up to $56/lb on import to the U.S.. This is not a typo 56 dollars per pound of tobacco imported to the U.S. This will start a revolution ! This can not happen.

Apart from great conversation, we had a surprise visit from Alex Spenser, owner of ASR Cigars and The Mansa Cigar. Great recap as to how the world is changing around us and how we need to adapt in order to succeed.

Coming this summer to Indiana on August 14th, 2021 the first ever Boutique Cigar Festival. This will be a 1 day event, with a VIP dinner the evening before for a limited number of guests (factory owners, brand owners, etc). 2000 person capacity. Location is at www.drinkatthecreek.com, more to come soon.

Lots of people behind closed doors have talked about self regulation, some love the concept while others don't understand its benefits. With mandatory continuing education courses offered at major trade show events for all it's certainly a great way to drive up participation at trade shows while at the same time creating another revenue stream for our associations. Many industries that do this see...

Today was a great session. No guests, but great conversation. We caught up industry news and the drastic changes happening right under our nose. It's important to be able to perceive the changes that are happening in order to adapt to the new post Covid 19 world.

Tonight we had the great pleasure of welcoming a true warrior, a man that has dedicated his life to serving others. A family man full of passion and perseverance. Get to know him and his cigar company. He's invested a lot of time, effort, and money into his craft, and it's paying off big time for him. Enjoy the podcast.

This evening we had the guys from www.mountainsmokewv.com in the studio. Great stories, inspiring partnership, tune in and get to know them better. Visit and support their e-commerce website. These guys only deal in boutique cigars. Family owned and operated 100%.

Today we dove into the things that people never talk about, business practices. The challenges of doing business. Barriers to entry, and responsible business protocols that will lead you to success. Family owned cigar companies please take note ! The value of trade references, credit checks, and bank reference letters. This is a must if you want to run a smooth cigar business with no surprises tha...

Tonight we hosted the @wolfofkstreet (PCA) and @glynn_loope (formerly CRA Director) to discuss current affairs in the premium cigar industry and what we can all do to better support these Associations. Awareness, Membership, and Participation are all key ingredients to our future success. Enjoy the show !

This week we recap some interesting news with the industry lawsuit against the FDA. We discuss the revolutionary virtual cigar event hosted by Smoke Inn Cigars. Nothing was held back ... We laid it on the line. Love us or hate us, we're here to discuss everything going on in order to make our industry better.

The world is upside down, every aspect of it. Tonight we discover our zen. A moment of sanity and peace with the beautiful Christine Morgan, former operations manager, exhibitor relations, and booth sales lead at the Premium Cigar Association. She is priceless! What an awesome session this was.