Homemade Snuff - a new adventure

[Graeme1]

Because snuff is hard to find in Indonesia (just recently a company has issued 5 varieties, including clove flavoured - reminiscent of kretek clove cigarettes), I have decided to try my hand at making snuff with the excellent quality tobacco leaf available here. It’s ridiculously cheap to buy a sheaf of leaves - sun dried, air cured or fire cured. I’ve bought some pure aromatic oils with the flavours I love like Bergamot, Tonquin, Patchouli, Violet, Geranium. I’ve bought food grade plant based glycol, mineral oil (coconut - odorless) and food grade sodium carbonate. All ready to go. See photo of these items. Will let you

know how I go.

[tornpentacle]

I am interested in producing snuff from whole leaf as well. So far, I have only made about 25–30 grams from a couple of cheap cigars. It has only been reacting with the sodium carbonate for about four or five days now, and although it smells very lovely in the jar, it isn’t quite right in the nose. It feels just about like any old snuff, but it is rather odorless after being snuffed, and I don’t quite know why.

Please update as you go along in the process! I think I’m going to purchase some Latakia leaves and other varieties soon. I don’t know how to go about perfuming (or otherwise scenting) snuffs yet, but if I could somehow reproduce my favorites en masse, (Löwen-Prise, Africa, Grand Cairo, Jockey Club, and a few others), I would be a very happy snuff-taker. Then again, I don’t want to cease to patronize the companies out there who have been producing such wonderful snuffs for centuries…bit of a conundrum given how much money I could save.

I’ve rambled on about my own plans too long—what do you imagine you’ll make?

[Graeme1]

Hi. Thanks for your message.

I made some simple snuff a while ago from milled over dry flake pipe tobacco. Rather than throw it out. It was a Virginia/Perique Blend. It wasn’t bad. A bit too coarse in texture so I sifted it several times after successive milling. One good thing is that presumably commercial pipe tobacco will have the right balance of humectants and other additives in It already.

But it’s been on my mind to try and produce a really nice snuff from sun cured or dark fire cured local Indonesian tobacco leaf (Virginia, Burley, Kasturi) and to try the addition of sodium carbonate, salt, mineral oil and glycol, to see what they bring to it, and also some milled without. I have bought about 15 tiny bottles of natural aromatic oils that are the aromas I enjoy in my favourite snuff like F&T Dr. James Robertson Justice’s Mixture: Violet , Geranium, Tonquin, Musk, Lavender, etc.

Im told that a good way of introducing the aromas is to place the milled snuff in a flat container. Sprinkle or spray the oil(s) on some blotting paper and place it on the surface of the snuff. Close the lid and leave for a few days before removing. This way the oils are not in the snuff, only the aroma has been absorbed. We’ll see.

I plan to make 25 gr or 50 gr of each batch, trying different things, so as to avoid wasting a large quantity of tobacco if there are failures. I think the skill will be in getting the aromatics right.

I had the idea of milling a dried up cigar but I never have. Yes, I wonder why it didn’t turn out to be more remarkable. Were the cigars too cheap and without a distinctive aroma I wonder?

Yes, Latakia could be very nice. I have some leaf on hand from Cyprus.

I have been enjoying snuff since I was 20. I also smoke a pipe as much as I smoke snuff. My young son now enjoys snuff, starting at an earlier age than I did. He will join the pipe fraternity when he’s a bit older, Im sure, but snuff keeps him away from cigarettes, and especially vapes which are the rage amongst his friends. I’m convinced nasal snuff is the healthiest way to enjoy tobacco. We both find nicotine stimulating of the mind and body. Elsewhere I’ve mentioned its arousing effects. This is particularly true with the very black fermented snuff from Brazil. Wow.

Once my experimentation gets under way I will let you know how I get on.

Best wishes!

Graeme

[tornpentacle]

Thank you for your kind response! If you don’t mind me saying so…be careful posting your email address publicly, malicious actors crawl the web for such information & sell it, usually ending up with people like you and me getting unsolicited offers from unscrupulous parties. I learned this as a teenager (I am a few years younger than you). Not to be presumptuous and assume you aren’t aware of that risk—but I wanted to mention it in case you weren’t aware!

Anyway, if you don’t mind me asking for specifics, which Brazilian snuffs are you referring to? I have never tried a true Brazilian snuff, although I have had some from Pöschl that I believe is meant to mimic certain aspects of the Brazilian snuffs. I’m afraid I am far from expert in all things snuff, but I seem to recall a double-fermentation being involved…(do you happen to know how one might achieve that?)

I look forward to reading more about your snuff-making trials. Thanks again for elaborating, it sounds like you’re on your way to squeezing even more fun and enjoyment out of this hobby.

Edit: It just occurred to me that I forgot to answer your question—the cigars I bought were the cheapest available. One was particularly long, so I chopped it about ⅔ down and lit the remaining third to see whether it was any good. It was certainly without any distinguishing flavor smoked, so it’s not hard to guess the tobacco must be rather bland. However, I also realized that the snuff is full of ammonia at this point, so the tobacco notes may be overpowered as it is now. Time will tell! I just re-sieved it, as there were some larger bits still in the snuff (the first sieving was done before adding the water and alkalizers). I should be able to give another update in a few days.

Update: I looked around and found out what the cigars were. One was a Nat Cicco Robusto Maduro, and the other was a Havana Q. The Havana Q is what I puffed on for a few minutes before deciding it was not very interesting to smoke. The snuff combined the contents of both, “ground” with an electrical coffee grinder. All in all, the flour was about 17 grams, including whatever moisture was already contained in the cigars. I did not dry them any further before adding the water and all that according to the basic snuff recipe from @Juxtaposer in the Snuff Making 101 thread.

[Graeme1]

Thanks for the sound advice. I was thinking our messages would be secure, but it’s good to be careful. Here is the link to the Brazilian snuff. Their very dark fermented snuffs are powerful.

Rapé Império do Brasil

These are other sources below. The shaman rape of the Amazonian Indians. They can have an

amazing effect on you. I can go into more detail if you’re interested. My son and I replicate the rituals of the Amazonian tribes sometimes using the bamboo tepi which allows you to blow the snuff up the other person’s nose. We either use Brazilian fermented snuff or the rape mixtures of tobacco with herbs.

What fun!

Create and Blend your own Rapé - Katukina - Tribal Rapé, Mapacho, Kambo,...

Your best source for high quality Rapé - 70 Types - Tepi - Kuripe

Complete Guide to Rapé (Rapeh, Hapeh, Shamanic Snuff) - Sananga Canada

6 Types of Shamanic Snuff to Try in Your Hape Medicine Rituals - EntheoNation

[tornpentacle]

Ah, how interesting! I wonder if they’ll ship to my country. Did you order directly from Brazil to Indonesia? (Edit: will have to get started on reading those resources, thank you!)

[Graeme1]

Yes, I did. I made two orders but only ordered a small quantity in each. 3 or 4 snuffs. I asked them to write on the package: Ground tobacco / Tembakau giling. The packages were opened this end and one tap tin opened, but nothing missing. I wasn’t asked to pay anything.

In which country are you located, may I ask?

G

[tornpentacle]

I’m in the US. We don’t have any issues receiving packages containing snuff from Germany or the UK, so I don’t see why we’d have issues receiving it from Brazil, unless political tension has caused Customs to subject packages therefrom to more scrutiny. Sadly, it wouldn’t surprise me…

I looked at the exchange rate of the Brazilian Reál to the US dollar—those prices are comparable to those on the sites most US snuff-takers are used to from Toque (and, to a lesser extent, MrSnuff, since their prices are unduly high). It is interesting that one must purchase packs of 4 tins from the site you linked. If you say it’s worth it, then I’d like to give it a try! If it’s not too far off topic (I am new here, and I don’t know how seriously that is frowned upon), would you mind sharing your thoughts on those snuffs? What are they like?

Edit: I might have misunderstood the webpage; most or all of the listings seem to say four must be bought, but that might just indicate a special rate if customers buy four. Never mind.

[volunge]

Nice to see you aboard, Reddit fellow.

When it comes to flavour, cigars are better enjoyed without the addition of alkalizers, just milled with their natural moisture and sieved through a mesh of your choice. Finer flour will deliver more nicotine, coarser will be more flavourful.

Alkalized cigar flour turns to ammonia falls and - if your cigar is rich in nicotine (not all of them are, but even mild cigar might contain plenty of ammonia) - to nicotine bomb, but resulting snuff will not be very flavourful, unless it’s made from fire cured tobacco (Italian Toscano cigars, namely; noteworthy, they release less ammonia than Cuban or Dominican stogies after alkalizing, at least in my experience).

[Graeme1]

Now that Lula da Silva is president , US relations with Brazil are good. That wasn’t the case with Bolsanaro, a total shit.

I didn’t see that about ordering 4 tins. I don’t think there was any restriction when I ordered. Tbh, unless you’re a pauper I don’t mind slightly higher prices. I see people on the forum not buying a brand they’re interested in because it’s $2 more. Shit. That’s less than the price of an ice cream. Life’s too short to worry about that.

The dark fermented snuffs are strong in tobacco aroma. A toasted smell. Medium to fine grind, medium moisture. A nice nicotine kick. Fiery nose burn.

I have a UK friend who to’s and fro’s between here and the UK every 2 months. I order F&T snuffs from Wilson’s and sent to his address over there. He brings it here in his luggage. It never draws attention through the airport scan. We buy the 500gr/1 pound tubs you’ve probably seen on their site or Mr Snuffs . We are very lucky to get it this way as we get through a lot of snuff. About 1/2 oz a day each. Or even more. My son snuffs like a young Napoleon. Lol. We are certainly addicted but that doesn’t bother us as long as we can get it. There are some beneficial effects on the body as Im sure you know from nicotine.

[Graeme1]

That’s very useful and interesting information. Thanks a lot!

Graeme

[volunge]

Cheers.

Ordering from WoS is the way to go, when possible. I used to visit the UK every now and then before the Brexit and loved to grab the opportunity to order some fresh snuff directly from the mills.

[snuffmiller]

@ Graeme1: Good Luck with your experiments!

[Graeme1]

Thanks for the extra detail. Very interesting.

Cheers,

Graeme

[Graeme1]

Thanks so much! All best wishes, Graeme

[tornpentacle]

Ah, that’s where I went wrong—I was reading the threads about Toscanos! I just found a retailer in my city that sells them, so perhaps I’ll go pick some up today.

When you say “ammonia falls”, what are you referring to? I tried searching for the term, but no luck. Anyway, ordered a sieve last night, and it looks like it’ll arrive today. Think 200 microns will do the trick?

Aside from cigars…whole leaf tobacco should definitely be alkalized, right?

@Graeme1, thanks for your description. Sounds very nice. Awfully lucky having a friend who travels often and doesn’t mind helping you out! What a great arrangement.

Apologies once more if I’ve brought the thread off-topic. I didn’t mean to hijack it. Perhaps I will start my own. I’ll let you know when I get around to ordering those Brazilian snuffs!

[Graeme1]

Hi.

Yeh, going off topic is fine with me. I Just enjoy chatting around snuff. But I talk candidly and cuss a lot, so take it or leave it.

Yeh the strong Brazilian are definitely different. A year or so ago a local friend who manages a cigar plantation milled some dark fire cured Srintil variety leaves from East Java. Wow. At first it blew my nose off but then i got really into it. It was rich, earthy, pungent, vinegar like, with intitial nose burn which I quite like. We called it “the horny snuff”. Fucking shit.

Yes,my English friend is generous in effort. I never turn his offer down so I can build up a stock for a rainy day. I have 11 unopened 500 gr tubs of F&T, Wilsons, Samuel Gawith, Gawith Hoggarth and Mc Chrystal’s, and more than 30 small tubes and tap tins. It will keep us going for a while. To return the favour I get local cigars for him to smoke while here. Nice Churchillian size, 6.5 in to 7 in and a big ring guage. Long filler. The wrapper is the famous Deli Sumatra tobacco that was first planted in the mid 1800s by the Dutch. They cost around $1-2 each. They are made to order.