RED ROSE GRABBA.
Ask any shopkeeper downtown what sells every single day and grabba leaf is in the first three answers. We now import Canadian Red Rose leaf ourselves and sell it by the pound from 26 Hanover Street. Here is what it is, what the two grades look like, and what it costs.
What grabba leaf is
Grabba is tobacco sold as the whole leaf. Nothing is shredded, flavoured or packed into a tin. The leaves are harvested, hung and cured until they turn from green to brown, then pressed into bales and shipped as they are. The dark grade is fire-cured, hung over slow-burning hardwood, which is where its near-black colour and weight come from. Elsewhere the same product goes by fronto; in Jamaica everybody says grabba. A shop buys it by the pound and sells it on by the leaf or the piece, so the margin on a single pound is spread across dozens of small sales.
Because it is a natural leaf, the look varies. Colour, thickness and the size of each leaf change with the crop, and no two pounds look identical. That is normal, and it is why we would rather you see the leaf before you buy it.
Why Red Rose, and why Canada
Canada has a long history of growing dark tobacco, and Red Rose is the leaf our customers kept asking for by name. We bring it in ourselves rather than buying from a middleman in town, which is what lets us hold the price where it is and keep it in stock instead of selling out between shipments.
Brown leaf and dark leaf
We stock two grades. The brown leaf is tan to mid-brown, lighter in the hand and generally the milder of the two. It is the everyday grade and the one most shops move fastest. The dark leaf is deep brown to near-black, heavier and fuller, and it is the one regulars ask for by name. Both come from the same importer and both are sold at the same price, so the choice is about your customers rather than your cost.
Red Rose grabba at a glance
| Origin | Canada |
| Form | Whole leaf (dark grade fire-cured) |
| Grades | Brown · Dark |
| Sold by | The pound |
| Wholesale price | J$4,500 / lb |
| Buyers | Licensed shops, bars, vendors |
| Where | 26 Hanover Street, or delivered |
Price shown is today’s catalog price. Live trade pricing and stock are on the wholesale portal.
See it before you buy it
Leaf is a product you judge by eye and by hand, so here is a short look at what is on the counter right now.
Keeping it right in the shop
Whole leaf is forgiving, but it is still a leaf. A few habits keep a pound saleable to the last piece:
- Keep it out of the sun. Heat and direct light dry the leaf until it cracks when handled. A drum with a lid or a sealed bag behind the counter is all it needs.
- Don’t let it swing between damp and dry. Leaf that dries right out turns brittle; leaf kept wet can spoil. Room temperature, closed container, and it holds for weeks.
- Break it down as you sell. Keep the bale whole and pull leaves as customers ask. Pre-cut pieces dry faster than whole leaves.
- Buy what you turn over. A pound a week is easier to keep fresh than four pounds a month, and with stock held downtown you can restock on the same run as your liquor and ice.
How to order
Grabba is on the same wholesale list as our rum, beer and cigarettes. Register on the wholesale portal to see live prices and stock and send an order request, or WhatsApp us the grade and the pounds you need. Established accounts can also take stock on consignment terms. It is delivered across Kingston, St. Andrew, Portmore and Spanish Town, or collected from 26 Hanover Street.
We are a trade supplier: grabba leaf is sold to registered shops, bars and vendors only, and never to anyone under 18.
Brown or dark leaf, J$4,500 a pound, in stock at 26 Hanover Street and delivered with your liquor and ice.