A Cameroon wrapper is a wrapper grown primarily in Cameroon and, historically, the Central African Republic. The variety has been cultivated in Africa since the 1950s and produces a leaf with a distinctive toothy texture (small bumps visible across the wrapper surface) and a delicate, balanced flavour profile that runs medium in body with notes of cedar, sweet hay, and a mild peppery finish.
Cameroon wrappers occupy a particular place in the market. Supply has always been narrow because the growing regions are politically and climatically unstable, and the leaf is delicate enough that yields are lower than for more robust varieties. The result is that Cameroon-wrapped cigars are usually more expensive than their Connecticut shade counterparts, despite occupying a similar mild-to-medium position in the cigar landscape.
The Arturo Fuente Hemingway line is the best-known modern showcase of Cameroon wrapper. Other notable Cameroon-wrapped lines include the H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon, the La Aurora 1495, and parts of the Padrón family. None are common, and the texture alone makes the wrapper recognisable on sight once you know what to look for.
For more on cigar construction and how the wrapper interacts with the rest of the cigar, see The Anatomy of a Cigar.