Yesterday I wanted to sit down and relax with a nice cigar so I decided to fire up a Padron 40th. I did my usual lighting routine but had a real hard time getting it going. At first it would only burn down the inside, about half of diameter. I finally get the outside lit but it was burning horribly. The draw was fine when it was lit but one puff then snuff. The outside portion that took so long to light was would catch fire even without puffing on it. I would have to blow it out. I got down about 1" and decided to knock off the ash and try it again. When I did I noticed the portion that was not staying lit and catching fire was really hard and black. It come out in one large piece about 1/2" x 3/8" fat. After that it smoked like a dream but I lost the first 1" and a half. What was this petrified portion of tobacco?