Abstract: Provided is a tobacco raw material having a low content of specified polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and low-molecular carboxylic acids and containing a large amount of specified flavor components, and a method for manufacturing the tobacco raw material. The objective is achieved with a manufacturing method including: a step for drying pre-deribbing leaf tobacco after harvesting until the moisture content thereof reaches 10-25 wt %; a step for smoke-processing the pre-deribbing dried tobacco using thermally decomposed smoke at 400-500° C.; and a step for, after the smoke-processing step, storing the pre-deribbing smoke-processed leaf tobacco under partially sealed conditions.