The name "cuaba" is derived from the Taino, a native people of South America, and referred first to a small bush used to light tobaccos used in Taino ceremonies. All standard Cuaba are rolled in the figurado style, a characteristic unique to the brand: While the figurado was consistently popular, particularly in England, the complexity of this rolling style was decidedly unpopular with cigar manufacturers. The figurado style declined during the beginning of the twentieth century, until it disappeared in the 1950s. The Cuaba brand was launched in part as attempt to revive the traditional style; the launch party included fifteen master torcedores displaying the figurado roll at Claridge's hotel in Great Britain. The flavour of the Cuaba is reminiscent of both the woody, cedar bouquets of Romeo y Julietas, and the spicy and leathery flavours of the smaller Monte Cristos.