Cigars come in different grades of colour which is produced naturally by the plant as the higher leaves will be darker than the lower ones. There is no artificial process involved. When you purchase a box of Havana Cigars you will notice that the Cigars are all the same colour, or varying very slightly. They are laid out in the box from the darkest wrapper on the left, to the lightest on the right. An Escogedor will sort the cigars in this fashion. The process start with one Escogedor who will sort the cigars into general colours in bulk, then the second one will sort within this group and place them into the boxes, one box at a time. He will also choose the best ‘face’ of the cigar to show.

Cigar colours come in five main categories. This list shows them from the lightest too the darkest.

Claro
Colorado Claro
Colorado
Colorado Maduro
Maduro

Escogedor: A factory worker able to distinguish up to 60 various shades of wrapper colour.