Wrapper leaf
Cameroon wrapper
Cameroon wrapper is a toothy, sun-grown tobacco from Cameroon and the Central African Republic, prized for a sweet, lightly spiced flavor. Supply has always been small and, at times, close to gone.
Two countries, one name
"Cameroon" on a band can mean leaf from Cameroon or from the Central African Republic next door. Both Wikipedia and Cigar Aficionado say CAR leaf is often sold under the Cameroon name.
The growing belt crosses the border. Cigar Aficionado's 1998 report from the region names farms around Batouri in eastern Cameroon, and processing plants at Gamboula, Berberati and Abba, all on the Central African side. Leaf from a field in one country can be sorted and baled in the other.
So the name is a regional label. Think of it the way you'd think of "Connecticut" on a band.
Sun-grown, which is unusual for wrapper
All Cameroon tobacco is sun-grown, and Cigar Aficionado flags that as unusual for a wrapper leaf.
Most premium wrapper is shaded: by cloth tents in New England, by cloud cover in Ecuador. Shade keeps a leaf thin. Cameroon skips it. Wikipedia's cigar article notes that sun-grown wrapper is generally coarser in texture and stronger in flavor than shade leaf.
The leaves aren't tiny. The 1998 report describes an oval leaf 21 inches long. After harvest and curing, the tobacco goes through one of several fermentations, chosen by its texture and strength, before being packed in bales of about 78 kilos.
What is "tooth" on a wrapper?
Tooth is the fine, grainy texture on a wrapper's surface, a scatter of tiny bumps you can see in raking light and feel under a fingertip.
Cigar Aficionado's glossary describes Cameroon as toothy, dark wrapper tobacco. Run a thumb along one and compare it with a Connecticut shade wrapper. The shade leaf feels like paper. The Cameroon leaf feels like fine sandpaper.
The 1998 report also marks a change in reputation. The leaf was once called flaky and brittle. By the late 1990s it was being described as elastic.
The supply nearly vanished in 1993
Cameroon wrapper almost disappeared when the French tobacco monopoly SEITA pulled out of Central Africa in 1993.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Late 1950s | France's state tobacco monopoly, SEITA, sends expert Jean Masseron to Cameroon to set up wrapper plantations. |
| 1960s and 1970s | Cameroonians take a growing share of the business. SEITA sells the leaf at auction in Paris. |
| 1993 | SEITA ends its operations in Central Africa. Supply of the leaf is suddenly in doubt. |
| Early to mid-1990s | Cigar Aficionado describes the leaf as endangered. |
| 1990s onward | The Meerapfel family's private company, CETAC, grows, contracts, processes and ships the leaf from both countries. |
CETAC stands for Compagnie d'Exploitation des Tabacs Centrafricains. Cigar Aficionado's glossary credits the Meerapfel family's efforts with reviving supply. When Richard Meerapfel died in 2003, Carlos Fuente Jr. told the magazine that he had saved the wrapper from extinction. It's a short chain: a handful of growers and processors in two countries.
Sweet spice, as a tendency
Cameroon wrapper is usually described as sweet, with a mild spice and a woody edge.
Cigar Aficionado's 2003 tribute to Meerapfel calls it a sweet-flavored leaf, and the magazine's glossary calls it dark. Smokers add cedar, baking spice and a little nuttiness. Find its shade on the wrapper shade chart. Treat all of it as a starting point. The filler sets most of the strength, which the strength and body scale separates from flavor. The flavor wheel has words for the spice.
For a wrapper with a colonial trading history of its own, see Sumatra.
Cameroon leaf questions
Is Cameroon wrapper grown in Cameroon?
Partly. Cameroon wrapper is grown in Cameroon and in the neighboring Central African Republic, and leaf from both countries is sold under the Cameroon name.
What does tooth mean on a cigar wrapper?
Tooth is the fine, grainy bumpiness you see and feel on the surface of some wrapper leaves. Cigar Aficionado describes Cameroon as a toothy wrapper.
Is Cameroon wrapper shade-grown?
No. Cameroon wrapper is sun-grown, which Cigar Aficionado notes is unusual for wrapper tobacco, since most premium wrapper grows under cloth or cloud cover.
What does a Cameroon wrapper taste like?
Cameroon wrapper is usually described as sweet with a gentle spice. Cigar Aficionado calls it a sweet-flavored leaf, and the blend underneath shapes the rest.
Where the Cameroon facts come from
- C'est l'Afrique: Cameroon wrapper leaf, Cigar Aficionado
- Glossary: Cameroon, Cigar Aficionado
- Havana Corner: The Loss of a Miracle Maker, Cigar Aficionado
- Cigar: wrapper sources and sun-grown leaf, Wikipedia