Connecticut Broadleaf (Growing Under the Sun) and Shade (Growing in the Shadow)

Tobacco has been cultivated since the 1600s in the Connecticut River Valley, which stretches from the United States' state of Connecticut to Massachusetts. At first, tobacco suitable for pipes was produced, and later, as cigars became more popular, production of cigar-specific tobacco surpasses that produced for pipes. ^ Beginning in 1833, the first Broadleafs started to be grown from Maryland tobacco seed. Grown from Cuban seed for the first time in the 1870s and then from Sumatra seed, Connecticut tobacco is among the best-selling tobacco in both America and Europe. Until the 1900s, only Connecticut Broadleaf (Growing Under the Sun) tobacco was grown, afterwards, as a result of the researches and experiments made to obtain the best wrap leaf, Connecticut Shade (Grown in the Shadow) tobacco was started to be produced.

Since the Connecticut Broadleaf leaf is exposed to direct sunlight, it has a very thick, wide and sugary structure. The shape of the plant is made with the stem (stalk cut), not the leaf, leaf (priming) as is done in other tobacco. The leaf has an earthy and sweet taste in terms of flavor. Due to its dark texture, of course, it is mostly used as a bandage of maduros. Her look is quite veined and oily, according to her brother Connecticut Shade. One disadvantage of its veined structure is that it can adversely affect a smooth and balanced combustion. For this reason, it is also considered less valuable than its brother Shade (with a price difference of about 3-4 times in between) and is used quite frequently in machine-made cigars (eg Backwoods). However, its rich aroma is still one of the factors that paves the way for the use of this leaf in premium cigars.

The Connecticut Shade has a silky texture, in stark contrast to the above description, as they are grown in shade under the linoleum, and the leaf's veins are so thin that they are almost invisible. This of course means a perfect burn and a gorgeous look for this wrap sheet. Connecticut Shade, which is one of the most expensive wrapping leaves, has a lightly aromatic structure. In terms of flavor, it adds a very slightly sweet, woody taste to the cigar, as well as a slightly burnt taste. This light structure allows this leaf to be used comfortably in almost all blends.

A large part of the Connecticut Shade leaf currently used is leaves grown in Ecuador. One of the reasons is that Ecuador's naturally cloudy weather eliminates the laborious task of laying linoleum. At the same time, the leaf becomes ready for use with less fermentation. Also, in Ecuador, diseases such as molds or fungi that were once a headache and could damage tobacco do not grow in Connecticut. For these reasons, even Davidoff, who uses the real Connecticut Shade from America, has started using Connecticut in Ecuador since the early 2000s. The texture of the leaves grown in Ecuador is oily, veinless and silky. In contrast, its aroma is less than that of Connecticut.

In my opinion, when buying cigars, be sure to take some of your inventory from cigars with these precious wrapping sheets.

Enjoyable smoking ...