Pilon (Burro)

The stack in which tobacco ferments, written pilon with an accent on the final syllable and also called a burro. Hands of leaf are laid in a rectangular or square pile several feet high, weighted by their own mass, so heat and moisture build in the core.

Pile size is a control knob: bigger pilones run hotter and faster, and factories size them to the leaf grade so a delicate wrapper is not cooked like a heavy ligero.