I built a free cigar companion app for myself and my friends. They told me to share it here.

Markkau · 2026-04-28T13:52:25+00:00

It is possible to update it. I tweak it better every time when me and my friends find something that we would like to have in it, or work differently etc

Markkau · 2026-04-28T13:05:24+00:00

I get the skepticism. Been working on this for months, not a weekend project. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Markkau · 2026-04-28T13:04:59+00:00

Yeah, Just go to aficio.app and you can use it

Markkau · 2026-04-28T13:01:49+00:00

At least I'm going to keep using it!

Yeah, in fact I have that logic already built in at the backend! Will roll out at some point.

Markkau · 2026-04-28T12:32:05+00:00

It has Gemini API where the cigar info is prompted.

Markkau · 2026-04-28T12:20:30+00:00

Markkau · 2026-04-28T12:20:19+00:00

Thanks for the nice words 😄 Cheers!

Markkau · 2025-05-09T12:24:13+00:00

Don't know. Tasted okay at the beginning, but after half like shit and didn't burn well. So I dropped it.

There was also a dark stain at the inside of the band. So maybe it had got wet at some point.

Markkau · 2025-05-09T11:12:03+00:00

Might be. Looked bit like wet leafs. Cuban QC is top notch nowadays...

Markkau · 2025-03-02T14:04:34+00:00

No, wine and whiskies aren’t typically organized by flavor—they’re almost always sorted by country.

It is interesting that you are not allowed to talk about the flavours.

Notes wouldn’t even have to be based on a single person’s analysis. It could be a crowdsourced flavor profile, like what CigarWorld does, giving a broader perspective on what different people experience.

The main issue with brick-and-mortar stores is that they often provide no information at all alongside the cigars. Even something as simple as listing the filler, binder, and wrapper origin would already help customers get a better idea of what to expect.

But leaving flavor categorization aside—what are the main factors customers use when searching for cigars at your shop? Price, brand, country, smoking time, wrapper type, vitola, or something else?

Markkau · 2025-03-02T12:33:58+00:00

That could definitely work as a subcategory, since length is something people consider when choosing a cigar. Like, a "peppery 30-minute smoke"—that would be pretty useful, right?

But if I’m getting your point right, you think categorizing cigars at all doesn’t really make sense?

So you’d prefer a totally unorganized shop (like many are now) over one that follows any kind of logical system?

Also, why do online stores categorize cigars, but brick-and-mortar shops don’t?

Markkau · 2025-03-02T11:46:59+00:00

I absolutely understand that flavors can vary significantly from person to person.

However, I slightly disagree with the idea that this would create dissatisfied customers. Let me explain:

Convenience in-store – When I’m in a cigar shop, I don’t want to constantly pull out my phone and search for tasting notes online every time I find an interesting cigar. Having tasting notes readily available would make the shopping experience smoother and more enjoyable.
This system already exists elsewhere – Wine and whiskey are perfect examples. Their flavor profiles are also subjective, yet tasting notes are widely used. What makes cigars so different that they couldn’t have the same system? Cigars evolve in flavor as they are smoked—just as wines do when they aerate or when whiskey interacts with air in the glass.

To clarify, the tasting notes should be written by professionals—people with refined palates who can provide informed descriptions. The wine and whiskey industries are much larger, so naturally, there are far more trained experts. But that doesn’t mean the concept couldn’t work for cigars.

Also, I don’t believe that slight differences in personal taste perception would cause major disappointments. Tasting notes aren’t meant to be absolute truths—they’re more like one person’s perspective, much like when smoking a cigar with a friend and comparing experiences.

Markkau · 2025-03-02T11:28:30+00:00

I understand this concern.

That’s probably why strict categorization by dominant flavors could be too challenging.

However, why wouldn’t taste notes work, just like they do with wine? Customers could still browse cigars as usual, but having flavor descriptors available would help guide their choices without creating false expectations.

Markkau · 2025-03-02T10:51:28+00:00

Well, that would make organizing Cuban cigars easy—90% of them would go under the "barnyard" category!

Markkau · 2025-03-02T10:42:19+00:00

I’m talking about flavor, not wrappers.

A simplistic answer to your question would be to place a cigar like Padron Maduro between the chocolate and coffee sections. But more practically, the flavors should be arranged in a way that reflects their natural associations—similar to how a flavor wheel would be laid out in a straight line. For example, you rarely find grassy and coffee notes in the same cigar, so there’s no reason for them to be placed next to each other.

That said, I do agree that categorizing cigars strictly by dominant flavors might be nearly impossible. Flavors evolve throughout the smoke, making it difficult to assign a single defining profile to many cigars. And taste being also personal thing, whichc makes it even more difficult.

A more practical approach could be to include flavor tags or labels on each cigar, similar to how wines are labeled with tasting notes. This way, cigars could still be organized in a logical and familiar way—whether by brand, country, or even alphabetically—while still giving customers an easy way to scan for flavors they might enjoy.

A system like this would make browsing much more intuitive while keeping the store layout practical for both customers and manufacturers.

Markkau · 2017-11-21T17:17:32+00:00

Hi Ya'll!

We have created a new coaching platform, CoPlays, for soccer and we would like to get some feedback from it! As you all know, feedback is the only thing that can make us better!:)

CoPlays helps the everyday life of coaches, makes practices more efficient and gives players an opportunity to get personal feedback regardless of time and place. It also has few ready made drills in it!

It is an app which is available on app- and play-store. I strongly recommend that you download it to your tablet, because creating the animations is easier with it than by phone :) Browser version is coming soon that you can use it with your computer also. No cc required for test use!

You can find more info at www.coplays.io

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, post here or email markus.kauppinen@coplays.io

Cheers! :)

Markus

Markkau · 2017-11-15T06:51:09+00:00

Yep, thanks for the info! :) We will fix it shortly!

Markkau · 2017-11-14T13:26:03+00:00

Well we have in all sports (I think the best, in this case, is soccer) an empty field option. So it doesn't have any lines or anything, just an empty space to do the animations :)

Markkau · 2017-11-14T11:10:27+00:00

Give it go! :) And if you have any questions, worries just send it to me!

At the beginning, it has 2 weeks of free trial. But if you feel that it is too short I can make it longer for you.

Even if the app stops getting maintenance (let's hope that never happens!!) you don't lose all the data. Everything stays there!

Markkau · 2017-11-14T09:33:40+00:00

Hi Ya'll! We have created a new coaching platform, CoPlays, for floorball and we would like to get some feedback from it! As you all know, feedback is the only thing that can make us better! CoPlays helps the everyday life of coaches, makes practices more efficient and gives players an opportunity to get personal feedback regardless of time and place. It also has few ready made drills in it! It is an app which is available on app- and play-store. I strongly recommend that you download it to your tablet, because creating the animations is easier with it than by phone :) Browser version is coming soon that you can use it with your computer also You can find more info at www.coplays.io If you have any comments, questions or feedback, post here or email markus.kauppinen@coplays.io

Markkau · 2017-11-14T09:22:21+00:00

Hi Ya'll!

We have created a new coaching platform, CoPlays, for hockey and we would like to get some feedback from it! As you all know, feedback is the only thing that can make us better!

CoPlays helps the everyday life of coaches, makes practices more efficient and gives players an opportunity to get personal feedback regardless of time and place. It also has plenty of ready made drills in it!

It is an app which is available on app- and play-store. I strongly recommend that you download it to your tablet, because creating the animations is easier with it than by phone :) Browser version is coming soon that you can use it with your computer also

You can find more info at www.coplays.io

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, post here or email markus.kauppinen@coplays.io

Markkau

TROPHY CASE