Tobacco Leaves of Asia and Africa

 

(Cigar & Spirits) The tobaccos of the Caribbean and the Americas are the dominant force in the global supply of cigar tobaccos, but they by no means constitute a monopoly. Tobacco, being native exclusively to the New World, was entirely unknown in Europe, Asia and Africa until Columbus’ expeditions to the Americas brought tobacco culture across the Atlantic. Since that time, tobacco farming has spread to nearly every agricultural region in the world in which its cultivation is possible. Though not all of the tobacco-growing regions across the world are capable of producing cigar tobacco—much less wrapper-quality leaf—there are two notable tobacco regions outside of the Americas that have a long history of growing superb quality cigar tobaccos, namely the island nation of Indonesia in Southeast Asia, and the region of central Africa, anchored by two separate nations, Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Continued