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These are terms applied to the growing style of wrapper leaves. Shade grown means that tapadas, which are large white fabric sheets, similar to cheesecloth, are suspended 6-10 feet above the entire crop to shield the leaves from direct exposure to sunlight. The opposite of this is to allow the leaves to grow without any protection, directly in the sunlight. The implementation of either procedure will yield completely different wrappers, as the exposure to the sun will affect the amount of sugars and oils the plant produces, the thickness of the veins in the leaf, and ultimately, its color. A common shade grown wrapper color is of a "Claro" color. This has a pale "coffee with cream" color. Many companies will often alternatively refer to this shade as "natural". A common sun grown wrapper color is "Maduro", which has a hue of dark or black coffee
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