Well I am new to the board and snuff taking in general and I have a couple of questions about the differences between dry and moist snuff. There is plenty of information on and off the board on how to moisten snuff and even a current thread on drying it out, but I can’t find any information on when a snuff has reached the point that it is too dry or too moist for that matter. If it is too dry what does it look like and why should I be (or not be) concerned. Can a snuff be too moist? What would it look like, other than at the extreme of turning into a brown soup. How does snuff that is too moist or too dry affect the taking of it. I suspect there is an element of both personal choice and commonsense here but would be interested to hear some views on it.
I’d say for the most part that it’s a matter of preference. Fine and dry snuffs (e.g., White Elephant, High Dry Toast) are difficult to take for many people, because it goes too far into the airway. On the other hand, coarse and moist snuffs (e.g., Taxi Red, Schmalzlers) are difficult for some to take because they are heavy and fall right back out of the nose. Other than that, a snuff might be too dry if it just isn’t the snuff it used to be, whether it be that it lost its scent or has become sneezy or whatever. As far as snuff being too moist goes… no idea. The only way I know it’s a problem is when it’s too late to do anything about it. I guess if you go into your snuff stash and one of your tins has rust holes and mushrooms in it, maybe something went wrong haha.
Actually, the corrosion did happen to me, and it’s gotta be because it was too moist. Then again, I don’t know wtf happened because it’s not particularly humid where I live. Maybe it was just a random event of a moist snuff being left in its original tin too long (Tupperware and electrical tape around the lid didn’t save it!). http://snuffhouse.com/discussion/11357/my-first-encounter-with-tin-corrosion-sg-guarana#latest
Haven’t run into the mold problem yet!#:-S
@SeanOCDPx thanks for these insights they are really helpful. I will bear this all in mind for storage of my snuffs.
It’s all up to personal preference, try a few different types of snuff until you know what you like. The thing with delicious moist snuffs is, that they dry out after a while and lose alot of their characteristics, when you don’t store them properly. You won’t have a problem with snuffs being too moist unless you live in a rainforest in my opinion. You’ll notice that a snuff has dried out too much, when it simply doesn’t taste as good anymore compared to a fresh tin. I’d recommend buying smaller tins at the beginning to prevent this from happening too often. For me, most snuffs should be consumed when they are fresh, as I don’t like hoarding big amounts of it. Except for naturally dry snuffs of course, like HDT or IHT 22. Maybe buy two tins of McC O&G and compare the last pinch of one tin, with the first pinch of the fresh tin, you’ll notice the difference and know what I’m talking about. If you want to try out a really moist and messy, dark snuff, try the Poeschl Suedfrucht Schmalzler, it’s amazing!
@Michael, that is a great idea to try two tins of the same type back to back. It will take me a bit of time to go through them and that should, as you suggest, show the difference in moisture content. It seems very much as I suspected too that there is an element of personal preference in when snuff is too dry as well as the loss of scent characteristics.
I have read a couple of reviews on the Schmalzer you recommend and it is high on my list of things to try next. Already contemplating the next order. Thanks again for the great info!