sorry about the off topicness of that just started rambling. Guess I’am getting old in my young age.
Though as far as NTSU as a dip I don’t like it. It works well but the taste is kind of like a nastier version of the nose smell. With some strange floralness that is totaly unpleasant to my taste. Though in the nose what a wonderfull and delightfull snuff.
Sounds like something I’d enjoy. I’ll give it a try later in the night.
There must be something wrong with me, Ive never got any of the fabled mega nic hit with NTSU; I like it, sure, but it just seems to have the strength of anything else.
@ Snuffster : I had the same feeling. Put big pinch in your lip, and see what happens.
The trick is shoving mass quantities in the nose at one time. Seriously,take like three pinches per nostril. Because its so course and moist, almost like dip, you’re physically able to do this. Just shove it in with your thumb. Get another pich and shove some more. Really pack it in, then pinch your nostrils shut until it all gets moist and sticky and stays put. You’ll feel the nic just out of quantity. Its not something you can really do with an SP. Also all that ammonia it releases gets you a little dizzy. That helps a bit too with the experience.
Doesn’t appeal that much to be honest! I mean aren’t all snuffs strong if you shovel large amounts in? Dare I say that NTSU is an urban myth? I know Ill get shot for this but are people maybe, errm, kidding themselves just a touch. I have snuffed large amounts and used it as a dip and I would bet next months salary that if it was analysed it would be no stronger than anything else. Im getting plenty of nic kicks with my bullet of Dholakia white anyway so Ill probably stick to that. Its taken me over, maybe Im…a-d-d-i-c-t-e-d…OH NO!!!
Not an urban myth to my nicotine sensors, and I’m not kidding myself. Basically what I am saying is I can take a much larger dose with this than with your average snuff of medium grind. The feeling also lasts several minutes rather than the seconds you get with a quick hit like a toast or scotch, or Dholakia White (not that there is anything wrong with those, just a different style) I would sometimes like to shovel large quantities in of finer ground snuffs, but because of their fine texture they disolve or dissipate pretty rapidly. Analysis my show what I suspect, and that is it contains some alkalizing agent, as I don’t believe the heavy ammonia vapors are entirely natural, and possibly also some Nicotiana Rustica. But I think you are correct and any N. tabacum portion would be normal. It’s all in the uptake rate, and size of dose that are the variable factors.
No offense meant when I said people were kidding themselves, I just couldn’t think how to put it. Really, what I mean is that sometimes things get reputations and the mind is a strong factor which is why placebos work. I think it was Pieter who flagged this snuff up (if he wasn’t the first he’s certainly written quite a bit about it). He’s a well respected member who, consciously or not, we all take seriously and so on and so on. I’ve shovelled heaps of NTSU in too and I don’t get anymore nicotine than with a standard SP. This theory works both ways so I accept it may be me - I am afterall a ferocious nicotine junky. Please accept my sincere appologies if my comments seemed disrespectful - just poor phrasing on my part.
Possibly because it is such a course grind the nic is slower as there is less overall surface area to be exposed. FIne grind vs course grind SNUS seem to behave in a similar manner. Disclaimer: I have not yet experienced NTSU or any other South African Snuffs so I am uninformed as far as personal experience goes. Ken
maybe it’s my ntsu that is like this but mine seems to be about half huge chunks of tobacco with some super finely ground bits. Possible that it’s actualy two diffrent grinds a rough cut grind and a fine grind put together if so it would hit fast and stay long. I remember reading some older snuff booklets that described certain snuffs as being a combination of gros and fin maybe ntsu is like that. Of course every coarse ground snuff I’ve had does have smaller pieces but it seems more extremely in my ntsu. (it’s more obvious when you let it dry out.)
In an attempt to figure this out, I did the same test as with american scotches… I tried it! Nic hit, yes, it is indeed quite strong, as NTSU goes, but I’ve decided that NTSU should go in your nose after doing this, based on the premise that NTSU smells heavenly (well, an acquired taste of heaven) but tastes…well I don’t taste a damn thing. Scotches, too, smell wonderful, but, to me anyways, taste HORRID, confirming my suspicions. Sweets are another story… NTSU should be placed in your nose. That’s my theory. edit: in all fairness, my NTSU is a bit on the dry side.
OK, the following is said with great respect. This is my view; stated simply; Pieter, a prominent member, writes about the high potency of this snuff and how it effects him. As we are all different he puts down in complete sincerity the way that NTSU affects him, describing a very strong nicotine buzz. Several members then try NTSU - some are experienced snuffers, some are not. For whatever reason a mystique arrises where everyone is re-inforcing the view that its hyper strong snuff. In terms of whats going on its like those tests where they put the same apple juice in different bottles and the glass, homey looking one makes people feel its a great product. Or the old fable where the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes. No one has set out to be dishonest or kid themselves or others, for whatever reason a little urban myth has just sprung up. NTSU is no stronger than any other snuff. When I first got mine I must have taken half the pot looking for the buzz. Absolutely no offence meant, its just my homespun theory is all.
I have to agree with snuffster on the strength of NTSU, I’ve shoveled emormous amounts of NTSU up my nose and have never had any kind of nic buzz from it. I would have to say that this stuff can’t compare to DW or scotches as far as nic hit is concerned
I feel that the “buzz” or “hit” is quite different between different grinds, say, Dholakia White and NTSU (or Taxi). I certainly feel the nicotine potency when snuffing the Farmyard Africans, but the effect is much slower than with the DW. It’s not unlike the relaxing feeling that snus gives me – more mellow and longer lasting. I don’t think I’m imagining this.
A “buzz” is also a different experience for everyone, based on your own tolerance, your physiology, and so on.
@matsnuffs: scotches taste horrid to you, but there are 1000s of people who don’t think so. That doesn’t make them right, of course, but I wouldn’t make the conclusion that something isn’t meant for oral use just because you don’t like the taste. Oral consumption of scotch snuff in the U.S. is far more common than nasal consumption.
We are so lucky that we are all different in a big way! My very recent “buzzer” is Ntsu Menthol with a dash of WoS Honey Menthol and Burgundy. Yes, I know it’s like drinking fine whisky with diet Coke but the buzz, for me, is like nothing else I’ve had before. Dholakia White? Just another snuff for me, almost no buzz at all. I have a 10g sneeze box which, once it’s empty, won’t be replaced. I even get a better buzz from Manjul than from DW. Oh, and thank you snuffster for promoting me to a “prominent member”. Much appreciated !!
@ snuffster: With all respect to your opinions, person, and experience: I think you are completely wrong. I, as a rule, never take anything on faith. I’ve experienced Ntsu personally. Its slightly more potent than Taxi Red, which I admit was unappealing until I figured out how to use it properly. I immediatley took Ntsu in Taxi fashion, as it is one of these South African Gwayi types. There are times when only one of those will hit the spot. I do find it best to prep myself for the experience by giving myself a good cleaning to remove old snuff which would inhibit absorption. Also holding off taking snuff for longer than normal beforehand to increase my nic craving enhances the experience. Secondly, it is pointless to compare this to Dholakia White or a Scotch, or even confuse the words “hit” and “buzz”. A “hit” is an intense but brief experience one gets with a fine grind, or as you say taking a pull on a cigarette. A “buzz” is a lingering semi-intoxicated state which is generally less intense than a “hit”. This experience comes from course grinds (with Ntsu being the most potent) amd also similar to dip, snus, or even after one has been smoking a pipe for 20-30 minutes or so. As with anything tolerance plays in, and the more nicotine hardend will feel less, yourself included, no doubt. @ Mike B.: “meant” is a loaded word. Scotch snuff is “meant” for snuffing not dipping, simply because it is snuff. True, more people dip it than snuff it, but that’s only because history has had a hiccup. I doubt if the initial users of snuff as an oral product liked the taste much either. They did it because it was cheap. Companies sweetened them to make them taste better. Within a generation, I’m sure we will regain the majority, and hopefully correct the American misperception of the word “snuff”. The next step is to find a new name for those other products, which are designed for oral use and call themselves snuff. “Lip tobacco” is the best I’ve heard so far.
@Xander: I take the point about “meant” being a loaded word–I’m sure that when Levi Garrett made his snuff it was with nasal use in mind. At this point in history, I think it’s wrong to say that they are meant for oral use OR nasal use. We’re a long way from 1782, when no doubt they were meant for nasal use, and who really knows if they changed the formula when they noticed people putting it in their mouths. Even if the formula on Garrett hasn’t changed, I’m sure many scotches have come on the market when oral use predominated. Dental was meant for oral use, and it’s fairly old. In my mind there is such a huge contrast between English snuffs and American scotches that it’s hard to imagine the currently available American product being designed for nasal use, even if it was. Taste is subjective, of course, and I’m sure this forum has a few scotch lovers that would far rather have a snootfull of Rooster than any McChrystal’s or Samuel Gawith snuff. I know that over time you can develop a taste for it, and maybe some like it right off the hop. There are some American snuffs I can easily understand using nasally–the plains, starr, maccoboy, checkerberry–and I use even the dreaded Bruton in the nose when I need a dose of the spirit. The others I had to develop a taste for (I nearly chucked out the Rooster and Garrett that arrived in the first package I got from nicotine rush). Though price has to some extent kept the scotches alive (societal conventions around women and oral tobacco being another), I have no doubt that many people actually like the taste of scotch snuffs in their mouths. I hated it the first time just because I didn’t know how to keep it off my tongue–it’s awful when it gets all over your mouth. When I learned to control it, though, that hickory taste is quite pleasant. It’s bitter sometimes, but it’s not horrible in my mind. Getting back to NTSU, I can’t speak to it’s flavour when fully fresh because like a wuss I aired mine out for a day when I got it. I tried Taxi Red, and it’s both flavourful and powerful. Pieter no doubt knows about the history of tobacco use in South Africa, but I wonder if use might be shifting there as well. I believe he is right when he says it was meant for nasal use, I’m just not sure if oral use is becoming more common.