Wrapper help

Joined Jul 2006
285 Posts | 0+
Chicago burbs
All -

I wonder if you all would mind helping me get an understanding of all the types of wrappers available. I understand a majority of the flavor can come from the wrapper.

So far from what I've gathered are four:

> Natural
> Maduro
> Cameroon
> Sumatra

Any comments/notes would be great.

Thanks!
 
I remember Alex explaining so good points on this but im not good enough to work the search engine.
 
There are actaully tons of wrapper variations but most stem from the type of seed that is used. I could write a book on this subject so I am going to try to be as breif as possible.

Natural is a broud term for a brown colored wrapper. Most typically these wrappers are spawned from some sort of Habano seed. Habano seed is one with Cuban Origin. To name just a few of the more common varieties, you have:

Criollo
Corojo
H2000
San Viciente
Olor
... and the list goes on

But, within each seed type, there are also different generations and strands, for example, Criollo 98, or Corojo 99. THese refer to genetic cross polinations where seeds are hybrids that make them more resistant to disease or provide larger leaves. Habano seed leaves can be fermented for a Colorado shade, maduro, or candela and are most often grown in central america, ecuador, and the Dominican Republic.

Cameroon refers to the famous Cameroon seed. Contrary to popular belief, this seed only grows in Central and primairly Western Africa. It is a very brittle tobacco that is toothy with lots of flavor and usually very expensive.

Connecticut This seed almost always gets classified as Natural but also at times as English market selection for its fare faint brown color and silk texture. The leaves from the these plants are very large. The seeds are grown in Connecticut and Ecuador primarily but are also grown in Nicaragua in Honduras to a lesser degree. To differentiate, people will say the name of the country first followed by the seed. For example, Ecuadorian Connecticut. The growing region alters the taste of the tobacco more so than the appearance. Connecticut leaf is th easiest to spot with the naked eye. On cigar.com US Connecticut Connecticut or Honduran Connectucut is refered to as natural, while Ecuadorian Connecticut are listed as Ecuador. Connecticut Connecticut is extremely expensive. Most of the worlds best Maduro (extra fermented leaf) usually comes from connecicut seeds refered to as broad leaf becuase of the plants enormous leaves.

Sumatra Sumatra seed has been around for a long time but blew up during the Cigar boom of the 1990's. Reason being that it made a very inexpensive wrapper adn the seeds and tobacco were readily available during a time that tobacco was very scarce. Today it is quite common and is usually grown in either Sumatra or Ecuador. The same rule applies here as to how you refer to it. Sumatra Sumatra is the cheaper stuff. The leaves are usually brittle and very non descript in the flavor department. Better cigar makers will only use the top primings (Viso or Ligero) of real Sumatra Sumatra (meaning Sumatra seed Sumatra grown) as those primings are the only ones that have a decent amount of flavor. That said the only type of Sumatra, Ecuadorian Sumatra is very special. This leaf became very popular in the late 1990's. This seed as well as most ecuadorian tobacco is almost exclusively sun grown as ecuador has the perfect cloud cover and valley climate. These leaves are usually hearty and very flavorful from its environment. Some popular cigars that use a leaf like this are the Ashton VSG, La Aurora 1495, and Fuente Sun Grown. At cigar.com these are classified as Ecuador wrappers.

There are also a host of other seeds from all over the world include Mata Fina (brazil) and a host of Habano Type seeds.

When we refer to Maduro or Candela we are not refering to a type of wrapper, but rather a type of fermentation that relates to a specific color.

Maduro is a process of extra fermentation which takes place a higher temperature for a longer period of time. The process darkens the leaf and draws the sugars from it which is why people often refer to these leaves as sweet. mOst often the hearty leaves for the top (Viso, Ligero, Corona) primings are used. Most seeds with the exception of Cameroon and sumatra (due to how brittle the wrapper is) can be made into a maduro. The strength of this leaf is often dictated by the seed and more importantly the growing region. The most famous maduro wrappers are Connecticut Broadleaf, Mexican San Andras, and Brazilian Mata Fina. Some people cheat the long process of making maduro wrapper as they become impatient and they will paint or cook their wrapper to make them artificailly dark. This process is more common then you might think.

Candela is also another form of fermentation but more than anything it is the first stage which is curing, when the leaves are hanging in the barn. Most leaves take 30 - 45 days to cure depending on region. Candela usually takes 72 hours maximum and is basically done at extrememly high temperatures so that the color essentially cooks into the leaf. Candela leaves recieve no further fermentation where as Natural leaves will undergo 1- 2 years of extra fermentation in stacks and maduro will require up to 4 years of fermentation.

I am sure I just confused everyone even more than they were before. Hope this helps. Again this is just scratching the surface as a quick 101. If anyone has specific questions about any of the above, please post and I will drill in on specific questions since the whole process is too long to write about.
 
God Alex....Lets have some detail already :wink:

PM me when you write your book. I'll buy a copy.
 
Thanks very much Alex. This is exactly what I was looking for. Hoping to widen my cigar knowledge. I printing this and will refer to it often.

You're awesome
:bow:
 
Alex Svenson said:
Maduro Some people cheat the long process of making maduro wrapper as they become impatient and they will paint or cook their wrapper to make them artificailly dark. This process is more common then you might think.

I have a question Alex........

Is there a way to tell if has been done correctly or if it has just been colored?
 
Alex if you decide to write a book I'd love to read it.
 
A lot more people actually dye wrapper tobacco more than you think. It is very hard to keep cigars the same crop to crop, year to year, as far as color.

Tobacco doesn't really bleed when it's wet. So if you get color on your hands or mouth, then there is a good chance. Cooking wrappers naturally darkens the wrapper, but it take out all the oils and flavor from the leaf.

Maduro is a long, iffy subject. There are many roots from where it came from, and it has also been warped into something different from marketing. Maduro is really just full flavored, thick leaves that require more fernmenting than other leaves, usually the ligero leaves from a plant. The result is a smooth, sweet, full flavored smoke.

I know Alex could have kept going on and on about this subject, there are a lot of regions that produce wrappers from different seed varietals and country origin.
 
I actually have given some thought to a nice manifesto on cigars.

As to the question of identifying a colored wrapper vs an authentic maduro, there are ways. The best way is to wet the tobacco and take a white cloth to it. Naturally there will be some color that omits from the tobacco but it will be primarily a yellowish brown, if it has been colored, then it is more black.

The maduro wrappers you see that show no color variation and are jet black are the ones that incorporate a dye process. It is important to note though that this does not necessarily always mean that it is still not a maduro leaf. Many cigar makers will go through all of the fermentation and still color it just to make it more asthetically pleasing. So it is died, but still a true maduro. For makers like Camacho, they dont use coloring, which is why their maduro at times looks so much like their natural. But if they were to add a bit to darken their wrapper it would not make their maduro any less maduro in my eyses.

What you need to look out for are guys that use the dye to cut time or cook the wrapper at high heats to cut time. These are really just dark colored natural leaves that are made to look maduro. This is where the real ripoff is.

Sadly sometimes you just dont know until you smoke it. If you light up and your lips turn black, that is your first indication. The second indication is if the tobacco is very edgy. The extra fermentation involved in making maduros should round out the leaf. It should have a nice burn and compustions with a thin black line where the ash meets the foot. It should be relatively smooth in flavor with hints of sweetness.

Another one of the easiest ways is to simply spend a lot time inspecting the wrappers. The cubans for example use what they call "maduro" for their limitada lines. However, they typically dont use any extra fermentation. For them Maduro simply means that it is a leaf from an upper priming (corona). So the term is not necessarily universal. Today people relate it more to color than the actual fermentation that comes along with it.
 
I think it would be best if Alex sends each of us a sample cigar of each wrapper. Then we can all discuss about it in the Live Chat. :D