Snuff making 101

Just found this book: THE COMPLETE TECHNOLOGY HAND BOOK OF TOBACCO, ZARDA, KIMAM, GUTKA, PAN MASALA, MOUTH FRESHNER, SUPARI, KHAINI, NICOTINE, CIGARETTE, CIGAR, BEEDI, SAUNF, KATHA/SNUFF, HOOKAH, AND PAN CHATNI WITH MANUFACTURING PROCESSES AND FORMULATIONS (Engineers India Research Institute (2017)

https://www.amazon.in/TECHNOLOGY-CIGARETTE-MANUFACTURING-PROCESSES-FORMULATIONS/dp/9380772947

It would be interesting to browse through.

2 Likes

Wow!  That looks like one interesting read!!  :slight_smile:

Possible download here: https://www.scribd.com/document/387655339/Complete-Hand-Book-on-Tobacco

2 Likes

My latest 11 g micro batch of Orient Samsoun coarse:

20191130_230226

Ingredients: tobacco 7.5 g, water 3 ml, sodium carbonate 0.4 g, ammonium chloride (salmiak) 0.1 g.

Process:

  1. Aqueous sodium carbonate solution (2 ml water and 0.4 g sodium carbonate) worked into the tobacco flour, left overnight.

  2. Aqueous ammonium chloride solution (0.1 g of salmiak per 1 ml of water) worked into the snuff, left to rest for a couple of hours.

  3. Final sieving on the third day.

Love this recipe, will make more! So glad I purchased some salmiak this summer, it really adds to the nose burn, ammonia content and rounds up the back drip. I’ll replace sodium carbonate with potash next time to explore the difference.

9 Likes

Looks great!  :slight_smile:

1 Like

@Cobguy, thanks! Making another batch :slight_smile:

Just found this mass fraction calculator: https://www.fxsolver.com/browse/formulas/Mass+fraction (really handy for quick calculation of ingredient percentage by mass; apparently doesn’t work with decimal fractions, though).

Mass fraction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_fraction_(chemistry)<!–[if gte mso 10]>

/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

<![endif]–> 

3 Likes

@volunge if you were in the US, your PM inbox might have as many messages from me as @Cobguy 's B-)

2 Likes

No problem sending a small treat across the pond from my side, @ar47. I’ll PM you next year. For the meantime I run only a week’s worth batches for own needs and have no surplus, but I’m really interested in running 100 g (or larger) batch. I need to upgrade my tools and procure other varieties of leaf for blending.

1 Like

Very enlightening film about Kendal mills. It answered some of my questions, particularly related to alkalis used in traditional Irish toasts. It’s obviously a lime water there (13:32)! The part about snuff making starts at 9:00.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=AL2wZfFe4Rg&fbclid=IwAR1RKQfTbnqWAjzdj8D0xsnsrqzEgg3GTZS9\_Q8317QfMPCCn8pZnDnjElI&app=desktop

5 Likes

Mesh and micron sizes:

Clipboard01
https://www.industrialspec.com/resources/mesh-and-micron-sizes

2 Likes

@volunge that entire video is a treasure! Thanks for finding it. I was drooling over those one pound tins and all of the old packaging. There’s something rather down to earth about the look of those small factories and antique machines. I can only dream of the wonderful smells that linger.

3 Likes

I was curious about % expression of Juxtaposer’s basic snuff recipe ingredients (posted in the very first post of this thread). Here’s the translation:

tobacco 65.7 %
water 21.7 %
salt 11.6 %
sodium carbonate 1 %

Jux’s formula is deduced from Hannover snuff recipe, kindly provided by Jaap Bes, the head miller of Molens de Kralingse, in Snuffhouse thread “Snuffmiller’s snuff receipe” (http://snuffhouse.com/discussion/6008/snuffmillers-snuff-receipe/p1). Genuine Hannover snuff recipe goes as follows:

"A German recipe for Hannover snuff.

For 500 grams of powdered tobacco, take 10 grams of fine cut yellow sweet clover mix with 40 ml boiling water and let it cool down. Filter and add to the filtrate 50 ml tap water, 10 grams Ammonium chloride and 5 grams Potash. Mix well with the tobacco leave in a warm place to ferment. After convenient fermentation cool down with 50 grams of kitchen salt".

Hannover snuff formula in % (by weight, i. e. ingredients listed by their mass fraction):

tobacco 57.8 %
salt 28.9 %
water 10.3 %
sweet clover 1.2 %
ammonium chloride 1.2 %
potash 0.6 %

2 Likes

Hi,

do you guys think I can make “Neffa Frikia” with Toque Rustica, sodium carbonate and salt?
and what leaves would I use for a Taxi Redisch DIY?
also here in Brazil snuffs are made from “twist tobacco”, which is very easy to find. anybody experimented with those?

thanks

1 Like

@faktiheiny
neffa
Tobacco - 82%, agents of texture - 18 %. Fresh Neffa has nice moisture content, I would say, at least 10% (probably even a tad higher). My nose tells me there’s a sodium carbonate among the ingredients. Not sure if it contains any salt at all.

If I were to make similar snuff, I would try mixing 82% of powdered rustica with 14% of water and 4% of sodium carbonate (all by weight). I would dissolve sodium carbonate in  a  w a r m  w a t e r (30-40 C) and mix the solution with the tobacco flour. The most important step is thorough mixing - it takes time, and should be repeated several times daily in the course of the first 2-3 days. Letting it rest for a week shoud be enough for a quickie.

If I were not satisfied with nicotine delivery, I would try upping carbonate amount and reducing water content: 82% rustica, 12% water, 6% sodium carbonate. Or 10% water and 8% carbonate. In such case I would mix dry carbonate with rustica flour and add water.

4 Likes

sodium carbonate solubility

4 Likes

@faktiheiny hi there, as a big fan of Neffa I’ve been wondering the same. I think the Toque’s Rustica is already treated with additives so its hard to experiment with it without ruining snuff. Would be better if you bought ready to go rustica leaves imo. I believe the characteristics of the snuff is beyond the percentage of added “18% agents texture”. The specific scent could be the result of the way they are curing tobacco leaves, which is the trickiest part from what I read. Got to make a further research on this topic… Soo I started my own N. rustica plants, sprouted the seeds about week ago and planning to move them into ground when they grow up. Not much to show yet… but yeah, the germination seems to be very easy! tmp-cam-9090115606978048422

4 Likes

Taxi, NTSU:

Taxi

For Taxi, I would try 44% water, 6% of sodium carbonate and 50% of any tobacco (even low-nic orientals are very satisfying, when properly alkalized). Or 55% tobacco, 35% water, 8% carbonate, 2% salt.

2 Likes

@Johano, @faktiheiny Sure, any attempt to replicate something won’t result in achieving neither the same flavour nor texture, but you can succeed in matching the nicotine delivery. Using pH meter and precision scales ensures 100% match. I mean, it is super easy to make strong (100% freebased) homemade (even without pH meter) from any tobacco.

If my memory serves right, Roderick has mentioned his rustica powder is not alkalized. Browse his recent posts and you’ll find it.

One guy from fb snuff group has slightly boosted Toque Rustica with 1.5% of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) recently. It resulted in somewhat better nic delivery. The guy is going to run another batch, upping the slaked lime content to 2 or 2.5%.

2 Likes

@volunge this is amazing sir! This knowledge you bring here is priceless =D> I wonder what they use to achieve coarse grind like TAXI, NTSU etc. Definitely not something to do in kitchen mixer… Could be worth to experiment with this snuff type too!

1 Like

Yes, definitely worth trying, @Johano. I cannot stress enough how simple the process is (and how satisfying the result).  I don’t know what machinery is used for grinding/cutting Taxi, but basic mortar and pestle (or wooden potato masher and any bowl) gives very satisfying (in terms of coarseness) grind.

1 Like

@volunge

wow, so much nice info. thanks a lot. Will def. try out your suggestions.

nico-hit is nice, and it sure is nearly impossible to replicate those snuffs 100%; but I actualy hoped I can get something in the same direction. Who knows the result is going to be even better then the original :wink:
the advantage is that one can adjust to own taste. I would make a Taxi Redish snuff more fine grind, just with the “taste”/feel of the original

@Johano

nice little plants. I actualy grow some things like chillis. I have no ground though, to make enough tobacco leaves.
About Toque Rustica: I read somewhere it is just the dried leaves milled.

2 Likes