Have you tried Swedish snus?

Never tried snus. Don’t see the point when I absolutely adore makla which is stronger. Am I wrong? Should I open my mind and give snus a go? Any opinions from folk who know both makla and snus. I’d love to hear a comparison.

I, too have a freezer full. My unconditional favorite would have to be Grov los. My favorite portion is anything from the Lab series. Other things I like, ettan los or portion, Gottland’s Yellow (yes, I still have some left) and green, old Skruf (I’ve heard the new one isn’t as nice). Gote Rape 1 and 2, and Prima Flint.

Obviously I know what the word rape means in english, but what is the translation of what it means in reference to snus?  I had a can of the Gotesboarhaldffha;oe (spelling?) Rape that was prettry good, but when asked about what it meant, i had no way of answering people in a way that wasn’t inappropriate and smarmy.

@Dogwalla: It’s the swedish translation of rappee - “A strong snuff made from a dark, coarse tobacco. [From French (tabac) râpé, grated (tobacco), past participle of râper, to grate, from Old French rasper, to scrape”

@toffeenose Wow.  I had no idea.  Thanks for the explanation =D

@OscarWabbit: I’ve only tried a few brands of Makla, but to me there’s absolutely no comparison to snus. Flavor wise, they’re two completely different profiles.

The Maklas I’ve tried have that earthy, somewhat pungent taste of fermented tobacco. While I don’t mind giving them a good snort, I can’t stand them in my lip.

Loose Swedish snus is of a finer cut than Makla, but it’s much more moist. The variety of flavors available is astounding, from the plain/unflavored brands like Ettan and Prima Fint to herbal (Rapé and Röda Lacket) to the bergamot blends like General and Gustavus.

Snus and Makla are manufactured in two different ways. Makla is made more like fermented American moist snuff whereas snus undergoes steam pasteurization unique to Swedish (and a couple of American) manufacturers.

I’m not going to name company names here, but Mick and I are pretty close friends with one of the biggest tobacco exporters in the world, with operations in Africa and South America. Tobacco for snus is grown and harvested to rigid specifications, and only half of the yield meets their standards and makes it to their factory. Of the remaining 50% of the harvest, the better half goes to second-tier Swedish snus manufacturers while the bottom half goes to Makla manufacturers.

This difference is readily apparent to me. You have snus brands like Ettan which are flavored only with a little bit of salt. You’re basically tasting pure tobacco. Every brand of Makla I’ve tried, even the “plain” and “straight” varieties, have been pretty heavily flavored to get past that pungent, cheap tobacco taste.

I’m probably showing my bias here, but I think snus beats the pants off of Makla in every way. As far as nicotine hit goes, Makla is a wee bit stronger than regular strength snus, but is no where as strong as Sterk or Extra Sterk varieties.

If you like traditional, plain Makla flavors, I would recommend picking up Grov, which is flavored in much the same way, but not overpoweringly so. Other than that, my recommendation for snus newbies is to try all the old standards: Röda Lacket, Goteborg’s Rapé and Prima Fint, Ettan, and General.

Of course, I’ve been talking exclusively about lös varieties. We haven’t even got into portioned snus yet. :wink:

+1 @snuffpub… well described

… says the man that eats a pound of Ettan every day. :slight_smile:

Do any of the snus companies ship to the UK anymore?

I don’t think so, Snuffster. That last EU raid on snus vendors pretty much scared the crap out of everybody from what I understand…

From SnusDirect.com:

“Ettan Loose offers a distinguished flavor, with hints of light smoke aroma and a characteristic fresh, unseasoned tobacco scent. Its taste is reminiscent of Belgian dark chocolate, under the lip as well as in the nose.”

Do people really sniff SNUS?  Also, from a guy who has had minimal exposure to the real Swedish SNUS, why is it used in the upper lip?  Other than hiding the bump, is there any advantage to the lower lip like American Dip is commonly used?

(By the way, this is a fascinating thread)

Saliva production. In the upper lip even american dip produces a minimal amount of excess saliva.

@snuffpub Great salesmanship. You’ve got me curious now. So I should try Sterk or Sterk extra, as N content is all I’m bothered about with oral tobacco. Is that loose or tea bag snus?

I’m another with a freezer stocked with snus.  I buy almost exclusively online, as my local tobacconist only carries General.  I didn’t start snuffing until I read about it on a snus forum.  I continue to use more snus than snuff, although I enjoy both very much.

@snuffpub … General Sterk White isn’t for everyone …  :smiley:  A man needs his Ettan!!!

All this snus talk is making me want to take a break from buying snuff for a few weeks (money’s tight right now) so I can order a few rolls of my old favorites.  I am having problems with priority, snus or snuff?

@OscarWabbit: Makla is on average about 10mg/g nic content, so Sterk would be pretty close to what you’re probably used to. Extra Sterk would be a little stronger.

Sterk/Extra Sterk varieties come in both portion (teabags) and loose. (Sterk is the Swedish word for “strong”, several companies make their own brands of high-nicotine snus. Some call them Sterk, Stark or just simply Strong).

@Dogwalla: Yes, there are a few people that still sniff snus. I think all three of them are posting in this thread. :slight_smile:

Nobody in Sweden uses snus nasally. But all the “legacy” brands of Swedish snus (anything that came before 1840) started off as nasal snuffs. The founder of Ettan, JF Ljunglöf, was horrified at the idea that anyone would use his snus in anything but the nose. (He personally carried a teaspoon with him everywhere he went to shovel Ettan up his nostrils. He purportedly used about 250 grams a day!)

By the late 1800’s, most of all the snus brands were being manufactured with more water content to suit the tastes of the people who were abandoning the “French” method of taking snuff (nasally). For example, the recipes for Ettan and Göteborg’s Prima Fint are exactly the same as they were in 1822; the only thing that is different is that the moisture content went from about 30% up to 60%. (Right now it hovers around 50%. Better packaging means they don’t have to make it as wet as they used to in fear of it drying up).

Loose snus makes excellent nasal snuff in some cases. Röda Lacket for example was a dry nasal snuff for almost 150 years before they started making it moist. (You may recognize the original dry variety by its American name: Red Seal.) Göteborg’s Rapé and Ettan are two that are really good nasally.

My method for taking snus in the nose is to let it sit uncovered on the window sill for about a week to dry. You could use it straightaway from there, but the texture is a little coarse for my liking so I run it through the grater one time. After that it’s basically the texture/moisture of Railroad Mills Maccaboy.

We usually have at least one article per issue about the early snus producers in The Snuff Taker’s Ephemeris, so if you haven’t yet bought your first copy, DO IT!!! :slight_smile:

@Snuffster Odens snus does. I thought the northern started again as well.

Northerner ships snus to the EU. From the US warehouse. You can get a lot of brands but not nearly the selection of ordering from Swedish based shops.

@FlippinBird: Make sure your next snuff purchase is dholakia sparrow , that will mush up your brain and last you a long while so you can save up for some snus. @snuffpub: that was a highly interesting post you just made, thanks.