Cigar tobacco varieties: Criollo, Corojo, Connecticut and others
Criollo, Corojo, Cuban hybrids, shade-grown and sun-grown wrapper tobaccos, the levels of the plant: a sourced overview of the tobaccos used for cigars.
Names to read with caution
The same variety name can refer to an old lineage, a hybrid or a commercial designation; the name Criollo, for instance, is sometimes applied to varieties with no link to the original Cuban seed. These names should therefore be read with caution. The specialist press also reports, citing an expert, that the Cuban government keeps the seeds used to create its hybrids closely secret, which limits what can be stated about their makeup.
Criollo and Corojo: debated origins
Criollo means “native seed” and refers to one of the original tobaccos of Cuba. Corojo later replaced Criollo as a wrapper tobacco. According to the specialist press, it dates from 1948, is attributed to the grower Daniel Rodríguez and results from a cross between Criollo and a Sumatra-type seed. Dates and lineage may vary depending on the source. The name Criollo also covers varieties, such as the Dominican Criollo, whose link to the original Cuban seed is debatable.
Havana 2000, Criollo 98 and Cuban hybrids
The specialist press indicates that Havana 2000 was developed to replace Corojo; the spelling varies (Habano 2000, Habana 2000). Criollo 98 is presented as a recent Cuban hybrid, resistant to blue mold, intended to succeed Habana 2000, a Corojo hybrid falling out of favour. The exact parentage of these hybrids has not been published. Outside Cuba, the Jalapa valley in Nicaragua is cited as a place where Criollo-type wrapper seeds are grown.
Connecticut, Sumatra and Cameroon
Connecticut shade is grown under shade cloth in the Connecticut Valley; its leaf, thin and elastic, cures to a lighter, more even colour. Connecticut broadleaf is grown in full sun, its leaves are very wide and darken considerably when cured, and it serves as the wrapper of many maduros. Sumatra comes from an Indonesian seed, adopted in Connecticut at the end of the 19th century. Cameroon is cited as a wrapper-producing country; the tobacco of neighbouring Central Africa is often lumped in with it.
Shade or full sun
The Habanos glossary and reference works describe the same principle: tapado refers to wrapper grown in the shade under muslin, which diffuses the light, whereas tobacco grown in full sun is generally coarser and stronger. Regarding Connecticut, it is specified that the cloth holds in moisture and keeps the temperature slightly warmer, and that shade leaf cures to a lighter, more even colour than sun-grown leaf.
The levels of the plant
The position of the leaf on the stalk determines its character. According to the Habanos glossary, volado, at the bottom of the plant, is light and promotes combustion; seco, in the middle, has a medium flavour and contributes aroma; ligero, at the top, is rich and stronger. Habanos specifies that the capote is chosen from the largest and finest volado leaves. The tripa is a blend of these leaf types.