If I were a newbie, I'd be apologizing for asking a dumb question, but I guess I've moved beyond being diplomatic. I understand that applied heat is part of the process in making some tobaccos used in some blends, sometimes called stoving, and the end product with some leaf called dark-fired. I'm curious to know in a general way how the leaf is cooked/baked. Industrial cooking ovens? Specially made brick ovens, like a pottery kiln or giant pizza oven? At what temperatures is leaf cooked and for how long, and in what quantities at one time? Maybe as with many blending techniques, there is some proprietary secrecy about this, but there must be information that is generally known. I don't need a text, just a short overview. I fancifully imagine them sliding cookie sheets of leaf into Big Bend restaurant stove ovens; then I wonder what they really do.
