Cigar FundamentalsWrapper Leaf Colours

The colour of a cigar comes from its wrapper leaf. Depending on the method of processing or the tobacco strain, the colour of it could be inconsistent. In the cigar world, we have 7-colour groups.

The easiest way to separate and learn them is if we start with an association. Just like the state Colorado is in the middle of the USA, the colour Colorado is in the middle of the colour range.

Double Claro also known as Candella, is the lightest of them all. It is lightly green because it requires a quick method for drying that uses heat and locks in the green chlorophyll of the plant. It tastes slightly sweet.

Claro is yellowish or tan because it has grown in shade under a canopy. It tastes very mild. These light wrappers have very little to offer in terms of taste, so the taste of those cigars is entirely dominated by the filler and the binder.

Colorado Claro is a medium brown with a smooth flavour, mostly sun-grown.

Colorado is more of a reddish brown, and it has a strong and spicy flavour. It is usually shade grown.

Colorado Maduro is dark brown with a rich and aromatic flavour. Those leaves are usually grown from Cuban seeds.

Maduro is very dark brown or black. The colour can vary, but it is always in the dark spectre of colours. The flavour is smooth and rich. Maduro means Mature in Spanish, which refers to the longer production time. It is either fermented longer in above-average heat or toasted in a pressure chamber.

Oscuro is black with a strong flavour. Those leaves are from the top of the tobacco plant. In order for those dark colours to be achieved, the leaves are left on the plant for as long as possible and then fermenting them for a long period of time.