Hi everyone,
I got into snuff with Amazonian hape, specifically from Four Visions market. For anyone who isn’t aware, this is a “shamanic” snuff made with mapacho (nicotiana rustica) and mixed with ash and herbs, usually applied with a tool called a kuripe.
It’s strong and very alkaline, but also expensive (like $60/oz!). The kuripe also doesn’t work very well for me personally - lots of snuff ends up coming out in a cloud of dust (so I eventually switched to the boxcar method).
So I explored some “strong” commercial brands and discovered I really don’t care for moist or coarse snuff, and found scented or spiced snuffs (like Indian brands) to be pretty off-putting.
I stocked up on some fresh tobacco leaves from Leaf Only to see if I could better emulate the quality and other properties of hape, and after a little bit of experimentation, I’ve got a really simple method that requires minimal equipment and I actually like the results better than anything I’ve tried!
Equipment
- Scale with milligram or at least 0.1g resolution
- Oven
- Oven tray(s)
- Mixing bowl
- Electric blade coffee or herb grinder (I am using a vintage Melitta brand blade grinder that works incredibly well but is no longer made. The blade shape is similar to a “Z” flipped on its side. This inexpensive grinder has a similar shaped blade)
- Small, sealed storage containers for finished snuff (I like 10ml plastic screwtop vials with an o-ring, or just store them in a ziploc baggie for larger amounts)
- Optional: Humidifying container (like a well-cleaned Rubbermaid) with a digital thermometer-hygrometer and terra cotta shards, boveda 72RH packs, or sugar-salt jars for moisture
- Optional 90 or 100 micron sieve
Formula: Per 9-10g Whole Leaf
- 0.5-1.2g potassium carbonate* as an alkalizing agent (approx. 5-12% of final weight, could go up to 20% for extreme strength but not necessary)
- 0.1-0.3g sea salt (1-3%, maximum I’d consider is probably 5%)
*Note: I found a 50/50 blend of potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate also works, but the sodium carbonate has a strong baking powder flavor until it is humidified and rests. Pure potassium carbonate doesn’t appear to have any downsides but the snuff may last longer with a blend of the two alkalizing agents acting as a preservative and pH buffer, so this is something to consider if you’re making larger batches. You can also use 20% or more wood ash (more on this at the bottom of the post) as an alkalizing agent, instead of or in addition to potassium carbonate. Some hape supposedly uses 50% but I find 20% adequate and wouldn’t go above 30-33%.
Steps
- Remove large, woody stems before weighing leaves (optional but recommended)
- Heat moist, whole leaves in an oven at 250F for 20-30 minutes on a tray, until reaching a crunchy, crispy texture (you can also use 200F for longer) but preventing burning or color change
- Remove any remaining large stem pieces by hand (optional but recommended)
- Crumble dried leaves as finely as possible by hand in a mixing bowl
- Dissolve potassium carbonate and salt in a clean container by adding a small amount of boiling water and stirring (fully dissolving 1.2g potassium carbonate and 0.3g sea salt requires about 5 ml of boiling water - for larger amounts the water requirement may go down as there is some rapid heat loss occurring with such a small amount of water)
- Add salt solution to crumbled leaves and mix thoroughly by hand. This is also the best time to add ash (mixing with a small amount of water first should help)
- Allow rehydrated leaves to rest at least 1-2 hours, up to 24+ hours. For prolonged rest periods, store in a sealed container to prevent moisture loss.
- Heat leaves in oven again, 250F for 20-30 minutes (or 200F for longer) until dry and crispy
- Use a blade coffee or herb grinder for 30-60 seconds or as long as required to chop leaves to a flour-like or dust-like consistency. If you aren’t achieving an ultra-fine consistency, the leaves simply aren’t dry enough or you didn’t remove stems properly.
- You can optionally sieve it with a 90 or 100 micron sieve (I’ve got this one on the way in 15cm) but if you do a good job removing woody stems and thoroughly drying the leaves, it is definitely not necessary. The blade grinder gives an extremely consistent, fine texture.
- Rest the snuff overnight or longer in a sealed container, or for several days to a week or longer in humidifying container at 60-80% relative humidity (if you’re storing longer than a week, keep RH to 70% or less to prevent mold, and check it regularly)
I am blown away by the quality, complexity, and other properties of snuff made this way. I had considered getting a Harbor Freight rock tumbler which would be excellent for huge batches, but there’s really no need for personal use. Likewise, you really can skip the sieving step unless you want to incorporate stems into your blends, which is doable (and they should ideally be oven-dried separately for longer and processed separately if possible).
As for wood ash, below is a photo of a little device I made to create wood ash on a charcoal grill. You load branches and leaves into the metal can, place it over hot coals, and the screen beneath the metal can is to retain as much ash as possible. Be sure to use metals that can withstand heat (I would avoid aluminum for various other reasons) and put them over the fire for 5-10 minutes before your initial use, to help disperse any coatings or contaminants.
So far I’ve done a blend of partially dried white pine and virginia pine, and two entire 20 oz cans full only yielded approximately 2 grams of ash! This is fine because I don’t intend to add ash to all the snuff I make, but it does a good job of emulating an authentic hape.
I’m also looking for a more heat-resistant yet fine mesh screen, as the heat eventually makes these metal screens unusable.
