Tobacconist University

Tobacconist University (TU) is a virtual university that educates, certifies, and promotes retail tobacconists. It is the nation's leading educational resource for consumers and professional tobacconists, offering several degrees and certifications based on different professional backgrounds. TU is the exclusive educational curriculum for the Premium Cigar Association (PCA), the industry’s oldest trade organization, and has been certifying consumers and professionals since 1996.

Overview and history

Originating in Princeton, NJ and moving to Port Charlotte, FL in 2021, Tobacconist University offers a variety of programs, including Certified Consumer Tobacconist (CCT), Certified Retail Tobacconists (CRT), Certified Salesforce Tobacconist (CST), Certified Master Tobacconist (CMT), and Certified Cigar Sommelier Tobacconist (CCST).

Tobacconist University is the first and only organization that educates and certifies professional tobacconists and consumers, providing free educational resources for the luxury tobacco industry. As of January 2023, TU has over 1080 certified professional tobacconists and 1000+ apprentices representing 1269 companies in over 1500 locations. While the majority of companies are located in the USA, Tobacconist University has certified tobacconists and apprentices in more than 25 countries.

Tobacconist University was founded in 1996 by Jorge Armenteros, a Cuban-American with a degree in International Business and Marketing from the American University, who opened his first retail tobacconist A Little Taste of Cuba, in Princeton, N.J. in 1995. With love for his homeland, he created a totally Cuban environment in the stores. He is a devotee of Cuban art and the author of The Tobacconist Handbook: The Essential Guide to Cigars & Pipes.

After opening his first store, Armenteros went to Cuba and accidentally met the director general of Cubatabaco, getting access to farms, factories, and rare educational materials. Armenteros returned to the US and created a curriculum based on the educational material that he had found, to train his tobacconists and started doing consumer seminars under the brand name Cuban Cigar University.

By 2005, he had opened three stores in three states and continued training his retail tobacconists using the Cuban Cigar University (CCU) curriculum, which was a proprietary educational program to train professionals for a single company. For ten years, the original CCU curriculum consisted of huge notebooks, transparent overhead projector sheets, and paper exams, until it was put online.

In 2007, Tobacconist University became the official educational curriculum of the Premium Cigar Association (PCA), initiating a decade-long period of building out online academic programs and conducting free final exams at the annual tradeshow convention. This came with the help of sponsors like Padrón Cigars, Tatuaje Cigars, Drew Estate, and Miami Cigars. The first tradeshow booth for TU exams was in 2008.

The following year, Tobacconist University published The Tobacconist Handbook.

Between 2012- 2015, TU spearheaded the R&D Cigars project. This program created the R&D Brazilian Corojo and PA/CT Broadleaf cigars sold to a select number of Tobacconist University Certified Retail Tobacconists (CRT). R&D Cigars were created to educate one's mind and palate; the premium cigars were offered along with Puro Components which allowed consumers to taste the individual ingredients that compose the premium cigars. This revolutionary program was ended in 2016 due to the threats of excessive FDA regulation and the Organic Nicaraguan and Mexican Broadleaf R&D Cigars projects were cancelled.

In 2018, TU deployed online exams for everyone, making its certification programs (CCT, CRT, CST) fully online.

In 2019, TU started the Certified Cigar Sommelier Tobacconist (CCST) degree, inspired by the need for professional and consumer education. It arose out of the need to ensure that people selling premium cigars could do it responsibly and professionally.

In 2020, TU created the Certified Cigar Reviews website, a revolutionary platform where certified tobacconists can review cigars. All reviews can be viewed and shared online as well as printed as shelf talkers and spec-sheets for private and/or professional use. The same year, The Tobacconist Handbook was updated and a new online certification course called CIGARS 101: A Fundamental Education was announced. It was released outside of the TU website on a modern learning platform.

In 2021, TU introduced the CCST Maestro program.

In 2022, TU developed Benchmark Cigars Database because reviewers were overwhelmed by having to input too much cigar data on Certified Cigar Reviews (CCR). Benchmark Cigars Database allows manufacturers/distributors to upload their cigars into the CCR platform for free, helping users to create reviews quickly.

Tobacconist University’s upcoming projects include TUECOM, Online Career Center, educational content improvement, leveraging discounts for Certified Retail Tobacconists, and more.