Te Amo

Te-Amo is the Mexican cigar that America smoked before it knew it was Mexican. In the 1970s it was everywhere — a working man's cigar which, according to Alberto Turrent (2009), sold for eighty cents, had a hundred and seventy points of sale around New York and made about sixty per cent of the brand's sales there in the 1970s.

The family that makes it has been in San Andrés tobacco since 1880. Alberto Turrent entered in 1960, at twenty-two, as a truck driver. The brand was born in 1966 according to Alberto Turrent; other sources give 1963 or 1964, and the date is not settled. It began with a failure: two million cigars packed and unsold, a try in Miami that did not take, then New York. In 1972, when the New York partner died, the family bought the Te-Amo company.

In February 2024, the trade press writes that Altadis U.S.A. owns the brand in the United States and that the Turrents own it in the rest of the world. The cigars are still made in Mexico by the Turrents; Alberto Turrent (2009) gives Nueva Matacapan de Tabacos, in San Andrés Tuxtla, as their factory, and describes it as a cigar-tobacco producer in the country. The atlas carries the family's entry under the name Casa Turrent; Te-Amo (Mexico) is neither a New World namesake nor a Dominican brand.

Altadis has tried to relaunch it twice. Te-Amo Revolution, more than ten years ago, started well and then the group went back to the drawing board. In February 2024 came Te-Amo The Original San Andrés Valley Cigar — gold, white and green bands, three sizes, three years of development during the pandemic. Alejandro Turrent, the son, has been in the business since 1998; his own son, sixth generation, carries the same first name.

Range Depth

• The Original San Andrés Valley Cigar

  Wrapper San Andrés · Strength Medium

  The February 2024 relaunch: three sizes (Robusto, Toro, Magnum), gold, white and green bands, Mexican puro, three-year-old Habano Mexico San Andrés wrapper.

• Te-Amo Revolution

  Wrapper Undisclosed

  The brand's previous relaunch attempt, whose last release dates from 2012.

🥃 Pairings

• Artisanal Oaxacan mezcal

  Mezcal

  Two exceptional Mexican products — the maguey mezcal and the volcanic Veracruz tobacco. Shared earthy notes.

• Veracruz coffee

  Coffee

  The coffee from the same region as the tobacco — shared chocolaty notes of both Veracruz mountain terroirs.

👤 Associated figures

• Aztecs and Totonacs

  Tobacco has a long history in the San Andrés Tuxtla region; no page read links Aztec ceremonies to the brand, so the anecdote is brought back to the region.

✨ Notable limited editions

• Te Amo Anniversary Edicion Especial
• Te Amo Mexico 2000