General Mint White portion snus, reviewing General Mini Mint’s big brother!

Welcome back Snustopians!

Today I thought we’d take a look at a snus that’s actually been anticipated by Snustopians for quite some time, General Mint White portion snus. I know what you’re all thinking, “What do you mean by anticipated Snus Guy?” Well, as you can tell by the title of this review, General Mint is actually the big brother of General Mini Mint and not just because it’s a General product or because it’s mint flavored but, because it’s really just General Mini Mint in a bigger size! Ok, before I get you all confused, let’s start our trip thru General Mint White portion by Swedish Match and you’ll see why.

Bullet Proof by General, reviewing a new, unique snus can for your arsenal!

Greetings Snustopians!

Well folks, it’s the beginning of 2010 and with the New Year comes some great new products from the different snus manufacturers in Sweden. We, as snus users, typically think of fall when we hear about a new snus flavor coming out and we would be correct if Bullet Proof by General was a new snus flavor by Swedish Match but, this is not the case here. Bullet Proof is actually a snus can, a rather special snus can, and has a pretty unique story behind it. So, let’s begin our tour thru this new container to keep your favorite snus in, Bullet Proof by General!

“That Snus Guy’s own” Vanilla Berry loose snus, reviewing the snus flavoring process!

Welcome back Snustopians!

I thought today we’d continue our tour of the fascinating way that snus is made by sharing with you another experience both Larry from SnusCENTRAL and I had while touring the Swedish Match factory in Gothenburg, Sweden. Not only did the wonderful folks at Swedish Match let us tour the factories, they also showed us the different processes that are involved in creating the flavors we all like and how new ones are developed. In this review, we’ll be looking at the flavoring process but not in a way that you would think. I think, by now, you know how they did it just by the title of the review! Yes Snustopians, Swedish Match actually let Larry and I create our own snus flavors and this review will be on a snus called “That Snus Guy’s Own” Vanilla Berry loose snus! “Snus Guy, they let YOU create a flavor? Really?” Now, be kind! Remember, I just review the flavors! But it was pretty cool to do and see so, without any further self promoting from me, let’s review the flavoring process and how my snus turned out!



If you asked me before the trip how snus was flavored, I would have said that artificial flavors were used and that the final product was developed by some scientists in white lab coats and poured into the flavoring drums. But now that I’ve personally experienced the process, I know that this way is not entirely true. While there are white lab coats and a scientist or two, Swedish Match gets a lot of input from their customers while researching new flavors. And as for artificial flavors, there are a lot of natural flavorings and extracts used in the making of Swedish snus! “So Snus Guy, are you saying that ALL Swedish Match snus is flavored with natural flavorings?” Not really and here’s why!

As we were being told about the flavoring process by Conny Andersson, probably the most passionate person I’ve ever met regarding flavors and how they intermingle and react with tobacco, I began to realize that some flavorings, in their natural state, may not be practical to use like mint leaves or raw ginger for example. Some are just not strong enough to taste without using massive amounts of it like Vanilla beans or just do not exist naturally like Tutti-Frutti. “Tutti-Frutti Snus Guy? We think you may have stayed too long near the Probe Whiskey vat!” Actually, it’s one of the flavorings I used in my snus but, I’m jumping ahead!

You see, sometimes artificial flavors and extracts are needed in order to create the flavor combination you want. It’s like baking a cake. Let’s say that you want to create a lemon flavored white cake with mint frosting. Some people use natural lemon juice and lemon zest to flavor the cake but, the high temperature can cause the lemon flavor to bake out. Some people really don’t like the texture of chunks of lemon zest in a cake and it can turn the color of the cake yellow. Here, lemon extract is used to get the flavor since the extract will withstand the heat and provide the lemon taste, without the chunks and coloring! With the frosting, mint leaves just plain don’t work and Mint extract would be the practical solution. “We get it now Snus Guy! So, how did you do it with your snus?” Let’s go into that now.

The first step in flavoring anything is getting a good base. With Swedish snus, the base is quality tobacco. Like we talked about in the last review of the manufacturing process, Swedish Match uses handpicked tobacco from many different places in all their snus. In my snus, we used Ettan loose as a base because its flavor is just pure tobacco and salt with no other flavorings. The next step is to decide what exactly you want your finished product to taste like. Here, we see the different types of flavorings we had to use. At first, I just added the things that I thought would make a good tasting snus. Boy was I wrong! I added Vanilla beans and rum extract, thinking this would really taste good! Well, I forgot that one of the things I like about loose snus is the smell. My first attempt at snus flavoring was horrendous but I did learn something. Never jump right in and I realized why it takes snus manufacturers so long to develop new flavors! My second attempt turned out much better because I took the time to think how I wanted the snus to taste and smell! It was here that I designed “That Snus Guy’s Own Vanilla Berry Loose snus”!

Yes, I know it sounds weird but, let’s see if I can do it some justice by reviewing the flavor for you! Since the base is Ettan, the dominant flavor is pure tobacco but it’s the only remaining element from Ettan that’s in Vanilla Berry. My goal for Vanilla Berry was to make a loose snus that would have the flavors I would like to see in a snus which is Vanilla and Red Berries. Kind of like a cross between Offroad Vanilla and Röda Lacket but a little sweeter. What I did was added real vanilla beans and the ingredient we talked about before, Tutti-Frutti flavor!

Tutti-Frutti is a flavor that has the scent of a mix of red berries with a light, almost non-existent, black licorice smell. The taste is really close to Juicy Fruit gum but when it’s added to tobacco, takes on a completely different flavor! The Ettan has a leafy, peaty almost leathery taste by its self. When you add the vanilla and Tutti-Frutti flavors, the vanilla gets mellowed while bringing out a bit more of the licorice flavor in the Tutti-Frutti! “So, you basically made a Vanilla and Black Licorice flavored snus, Snus Guy?” Not really. The licorice flavor is still barely noticeable like it is in Röda Lacket but with the vanilla and berry flavor mixed in; the entire combination is pretty complex! Imagine sitting in a just raked pile of fall leaves while eating a bowl of mixed berry sorbet with a portion of Grov Svart in your lip and you pretty much have Vanilla Berry! I know, long way around a simple explanation but this still goes to the tremendous amount of work that goes into creating snus flavors! I only had an hour to make Vanilla Berry so, just think what the guys at Swedish Match will go thru when it’s time to make a new flavor! So, let’s take a look at what drinks would go well with Vanilla Berry!

I’m telling you, Monster Energy Drink was phenomenal with Vanilla Berry! It actually added the one element I needed that wasn’t on the flavor table, bitterness! The Monster’s bitterness mellowed out the fruitiness a bit and allowed the vanilla to come thru. Diet Coke just drowned out the Tutti-Frutti flavor but did help the tobacco flavor a bit. The second best thing though was Sweet tea! The sweet tea brought the vanilla flavor out as well but helped it to mix in with the other flavors and added the sweet element that I was looking for.

I know that here, Snustopians, I usually tell you where you can buy the snus we reviewed and what my recommendations would be but, since I highly doubt that “That Snus Guy’s Own” Vanilla Berry loose snus will be in your favorite snus shop anytime soon, all I can tell you is this; those Snustopians that want to try your hand at flavoring your own snus, should use a snus that is just pure tobacco flavor, like Ettan. Remember that some natural flavors, like mint or ginger, have another set of challenges if you use them like weird texture issues and the possibility of going bad sooner that the expiration date on the snus can and that artificial flavors can be your best bet! Another thing is to use your imagination to make the flavor that you like because; you have to be able to describe it to people!

The final thing Snustopians is, have fun with it! Thanks to my friends at Swedish Match, I now have a snus flavor I can call my own and had a blast making it! I hope this inspires you to try your hand at it and that I reviewed the process and my snus well enough!

If you do give it a try, leave me a note in the comment section! Who knows, I may ask you if I can review it!

Until our next review Snustopians, as always,

Happy Snusing!

That Snus Guy

Swedish snus! The first American review of the snus manufacturing process!

Welcome back Snustopians!

I’ve been sitting here in my office at the Ministry of Information all week, recalling all the beautiful things I saw in Gothenburg and the wonderful people I met, trying to figure out how I would communicate all of this to you. While it all seems like some wonderful dream, I was having a hard time believing it actually happened! As you all know, it’s been my ultimate dream to be able to go to Sweden and actually see, with my own eyes, how Swedish snus was made so I could tell everyone here in Snustopia and it finally came true via the great folks at Swedish Match. But how can I make it feel like you all have been there and put what I’ve learned in a format that everyone could understand? That’s when it hit me! Why not take everyone on a virtual tour!

“Hey Snus Guy, are you going to make us wear those goofy looking 3D glasses or have us buy some expensive helmet to do this?” Well…….while I wish I had the funding to do that, I think putting this article in my typical review format, and include pictures for each step in the process, we can forgo the expensive equipment and still get the point across! So, if everyone’s ready, grab a glass of your drink of choice, a comfy chair and a tin of snus and we’ll begin our tour of the way real Swedish snus is made!



Before we begin, I’d like to thank all the great people at Swedish Match AB’s Gothenburg and Kungälv factories as well as the guys from the Stockholm Headquarters for a fun and extremely informative tour! Without their willingness to share the Swedish Experience with me, this review would not have been possible. Tack så mycket! With that said, since the factories I toured were Swedish Match’s, we’ll be referencing their brands in this tour but, the basic manufacturing processes, save a few proprietary ones, can be said of most Swedish snus that follows the GothiaTek standard. Ok, let’s begin!

As with all Swedish snus the first, and most abundant, ingredient is tobacco, but not just any tobacco. Swedish Match uses a blend of tobaccos from around the world in their snus. Tobaccos from Nicaragua, South Africa, Spain and America are used just to name a few. Once these tobaccos are air-dried, blended and packed, they are shipped to the factory where they are taken to the grinder and ground to the specifications of the snus they happen to be making. The picture to the right shows the bales of tobacco being prepped prior to entering the grinder! “Hey, is that you Snus Guy smelling the tobacco? How does it really smell?” Yes, the one in the middle is me. The guy on the right is Larry Waters from SnusCENTRAL.org and the one on the left is Andreas Riksén, Master tobacco grinder and our guide thru the grinding process. Andreas is very passionate about what he does, as are all the great folks at Swedish Match, and allowed us to feel and smell the raw tobacco, something that outsiders rarely get to do! I know, you asked about the smell. That’s something that may surprise you!

Unless you’ve been to an actual tobacco ageing barn or have smelled tobacco prior to processing, it can be very hard to describe all the scents that raw tobacco has. As I stood there, holding the big chunk of tobacco, a myriad of scents began to come out. The first scent was of a pile of autumn leaves, like the kind you would rake up in a big pile and jump into when you were young. The next scent was of raw leather, like a new leather glove or shoe. The final scent was of peat. Peat has an earthy, mossy scent that, when combined with the others, creates a true fall foliage smell that reminded me of when I was growing up in Northern Illinois and playing in the leaf piles my Grandpop would rake up, without the “Hey you damn kids! Get outta there, I just raked those up!” we’d normally hear! This scent is pretty much prevalent throughout the entire factory but was the strongest at the grinder.

Once the tobacco bundles, which are about as big as a small deep freezer, are unboxed, they travel up a conveyor to the grinding mills. The grinding mills look just like a flour mill and pretty much work the same way. Since this step was proprietary, I couldn’t take any pictures with exception to the one on the left. The guy in the picture is Joakim, one of the team from the Stockholm office, and he takes this very seriously as you can see by the “Area 51” reference he’s pointing to, so a small flour mill is the best way to describe it! Once the tobacco is ground, it’s moved to a sifting box that shakes rapidly and separates the ground tobacco into sizes. If it’s not the right size, it goes back into the grinding mill until it is. Like I said, the tobacco grinding process is very similar to the flour milling process. From here, the tobacco goes to the steam pasteurizing area.

Here is where real Swedish snus begins! Up until now, tobacco was manipulated by human hands. From here on out, the process is hands free meaning, untouched by human hands until you Snustopians open a can of your favorite and use it! This is where we begin to see the GothiaTek process in action. “Hey Snus Guy, we’ve heard of the GothiaTek process! That’s where the snus has to conform to the same safety standards as food in Sweden, right?” Exactly! You guys have been paying attention! The GothiaTek process was created by Swedish Match and has pretty much become a standard in snus making throughout Sweden. Here, in the pasteurization room, a big rotating dryer actually uses heat and steam to cure the tobacco. American Smokeless tobacco, like Copenhagen and Skoal, uses fire curing to achieve its flavor where the steam does in Swedish snus. This is done at a lower temperature than fire curing and keeps the TSNA’s low.

The GothiaTek part is more of a health and safety process. In the factory there are 3 “zones” where you have to wear certain coverings like lab coats, shoe covers and hair nets. In the picture to the right, we’ve just come out of a “Yellow” zone. You may see someone in that picture you may not know. Although the four of us look like a screen shot from a Marx brother’s movie, the guy on the right, across from me, is Markus, another member of the team from Stockholm. “Yellow” zones mean lab coats and shoe coverings since we are near the machines but, they are sealed meaning you can’t touch the snus.

The area we just emerged from was the paper can manufacturing area for loose snus. This area was one of the most interesting for me since Swedish Match is the only snus manufacturer that still uses paper cans for their loose varieties of snus! Even though this part of the factory is proprietary, I can tell you that the cans start out as rolls of paper and come out cans. It was pretty interesting to see them made! The next part of the factory was the flavoring room!

The flavoring room is where, you guessed it, flavorings are added to the snus! Since this area of the factory holds the flavoring machines, it’s pretty quiet and plain. All there is in this part of the factory are large, insulated drums that mix the flavorings in to the snus. There are a few interesting things here though. The first thing is that the machines are actually made by the same company that manufactures Tanks for the Swedish military! This means, to me anyway, that these machines are built to a quality standard and will last a long time! But that’s not the most interesting thing. You see, the flavoring machines are actually on the 3rd floor of the factory! “Snus Guy, why would flavoring machines being on the 3rd floor of the factory be so interesting?” Remember when I said that after the grinder, the snus is never touched by human hands? Well, how do you think the snus gets from the flavoring machines to the packaging line? Probably the same way I thought it got there, by dumping it into a hopper. Well, I was wrong!

The way it gets to the line is when the snus is completely flavored, which can take a long time, it’s ejected thru the bottom of the flavoring machines, via a pipe system, down to the packaging line on the first floor. There are two dedicated packaging lines here at the Gothenburg factory as well as two at Kungälv, one for loose snus and another for portions. The only differences in the lines between the two factories are that at Kungälv, they package the portion snus with the “Star” pattern in the can like General Onyx and General White portion. This process is extremely protected and the only thing I can tell you is that it’s pretty cool. They also make all White portion snus there as well. Original portions, like Kronan, Ettan and General Original are made at Gothenburg. That brings us to the process that makes Original or Regular portion snus. I think you’ll be surprised!

Swedish snus is pretty much put into the portion material and packaged by machine. I know that was a no brainer but the speed and complexity in which they make a portion is mind boggling! It’s even more mind boggling when you consider that portions are made by the machine at a rate of about 2 per second and the error rate is around 2%! But understand that the errors also include under or over filled cans, misaligned labels and things that will not allow it to pass GothiaTek standards! “Snus Guy, if a can is not filled or a label is crooked, they consider it an error? Why not just add the missing portions or put a new label the can?” While it would be the easy way to reduce an already really low error rate, the GothiaTek standard is still in force here, any snus that doesn’t make the cut, gets destroyed, end of story. I know it sounds cruel but, if sacrificing a few cans is what it takes to be the best, I can live with that! “Snus guy, that’s pretty cool and all, but not that surprising. What are you leaving out?” Let’s discuss that now!

In all the reviews I’ve ever read since I began using Swedish snus, be it in a formal review, a forum thread or from people I’ve talked to that have used Swedish snus longer than I have, all agreed that the distinction between an original or regular portion and a White portion was the extra step of wetting the portion with a “snus juice” during the production process. I’ve even written many reviews on regular portions that have said just that. Well Snustopians, I’ve seen the regular portion production process and am here to tell you that the magical “snus juice” we’ve all been hearing about is………..water! “Snus Guy! It can’t be just water! The portions are just a brown as the snus and the juice tastes like snus, how can it be just water?” I was just as amazed as you are now but I’ve seen the process! But, at the end of the tour it all became clear.

The final process is the packaging and storing of the snus. This is done in a “Cool room”. Once the snus is packed in 10 can logs, it’s put in cases and moved into the cool room to rest for at least two days. The room is large but not as big as you may think. This picture is of Larry and I in the cool room at the Gothenburg factory. If I had to venture a guess, they wouldn’t give us the exact dimensions of the room, I’d say it’s about 20,000 Sq. Ft., and holds approximately 4 million cans of snus! “Whoa, Snus Guy, 4 million cans of snus in only 20,000 Sq. Ft. of space? Can’t be!” I thought the same thing until I began to do the math. If you figure there are 10 cans of snus in each roll, and 20 rolls in each box, that’s 200 cans per box! Depending on how many are on a pallet, perhaps 40, that’s 8,000 per pallet so, as you can see in this picture, there are 22 pallets just in this line. There are 176,000 cans just in this line alone so, you really don’t need a lot of space! “Snus Guy, you’re rambling again! What does this have to do with the portions and the wetting process?” You’re right. It was just really intriguing to see that much snus is such a small space! Let’s go on to the end process.

The end process is basically right where we were, in the “cool room”. The snus stays in the cool room for 2 to 4 days to rest. This is where, in the regular portions, the magic happens. During this time, the water melds with the snus to create a more flavorful snus and transforms the plain water into the “snus juice” we’re all accustomed to. This is also when the portion material turns brown from its original white color. From here, the completed snus gets shipped all over Sweden and other parts of the world, including the U.S.!

Well Snustopians, that’s pretty much how real Swedish snus is made. I know we kind of ran thru the process but in future reviews, I’ll be adding other things I’ve learned like the tobacco selection process, the way snus manufacturers select the flavors and the shapes of the cans and many other things!

I really hope you all found this virtual tour informative, fun and a little educational. All these pictures, and more of our trip to Sweden, can be found in the slideshow at the top left of this page! I really look forward to your questions and comments and will try to answer them all as soon as I can! So, until our next review,

Happy Snusing!

That Snus Guy

Mr. Snus Guy goes to Sweden! Reviewing the “Land of snus” and the way snus is made!

Greetings Snustopians!

Yes, it’s true! I’m leaving for Sweden, the “Land of snus”, on June 10th 2009! Why you ask? Well, as you all know, I’ve been scouting a spot for our next field trip ever since we ventured into Snuffland last year. I finally settled on Sweden for a couple of reasons. One, since I began reviewing snus back in October of 2008, I’ve always wanted to take the review process to the next level and actually see how Swedish snus was made. Not from You Tube videos but really be on a snus factory floor and physically experience the entire process from start to finish. I also wanted to see how the Swedish actually used snus and what the shops really look like. So, after a lot of negotiations, my good friend and colleague, Larry Waters from SnusCENTRAL.org, and myself will be touring the city of Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden and visiting some of the snus manufacturers!

“Hey Snus Guy, are you taking ALL of us with you?” Well, in a way, yes! While I wish I could afford to take all of you there, I will however, be posting pictures and videos of the trip here on Snustopia for all of you to see! In the upper left column, I’ll be posting pictures each day and below that will be a video of the day’s activities! We’ve also set up a Twitter feed as both Larry and I will be tweeting live from the factory floors, reporting what we see and information about the people we meet! I know it’s not the same as being there but, it’s close!

This is a pretty historic event since it’s not very often that Americans get to see just what makes Swedish snus so special! Both Larry and I will do our best to represent SnusCENTRAL and Snustopia in the best possible light and we both encourage you all to become members of SnusCENTRAL.org (if you’re not already) for a more in depth accounting of our trip. Larry will be interviewing some very important people and the videos will only be available at SnusCENTRAL.org!

We also ask you to follow us on Twitter so you can tweet questions to us and we can get you answers! I think it will be pretty cool since I know both new Snustopians and seasoned ones have a lot of questions and what better way to get the answers than to get them from the experts, in real time!

I hope you’ll join us for this wonderful event and like I said, check back each day (or more) for updated pictures and answers to any questions you post in the comments section below! Also, be sure to become a member of SnusCENTRAL.org so you can see the exclusive interviews!

As always,

Happy Snusing!

That Snus Guy!

General Silver portion snus, a strong review of a mild snus brand!

Welcome fellow Snustopians!

It’s been a pretty stressful week here in Snustopia and I’ve been using mostly Extra Stark snus to try and cope with everything that’s been going on! Why do I bring this up, you may ask? It’s because of all the Extra Stark snus I’ve used throughout the day that led me to try General Silver portion snus. “Hey Snus Guy, why would high Nicotine snus make you try General Silver?” Good question! Let’s begin our trip thru General Silver portion snus and you’ll understand why and possibly a few other things you may not know about General snus overall!

General Silver portion snus is another snus made by the fine folks at Swedish Match AB and is a regular type portion snus. As you all remember, regular portions go thru the additional step in the manufacturing process which adds a bit more moisture to the portion material and initial flavor to the snus itself. The portion material is the same material that is used in all General snus brands and is comfortable in the lip. The first unique thing about General Silver is the fact that that the portions are a bit less moist that it’s other regular type siblings. The difference in moisture levels is minute so it has no effect in flavor or comfort but, I just felt it should be known. I’ve had a portion in for over 2 ½ hours with no discomfort but, the portion did begin to slide at that time mark so, I recommend a 2 hour max!

The portions have about 1 gram of snus each and there are 24 portions in each can. The cans are made of black plastic and have the compartment for used portions in the lid. You may notice something different about the lid though. Actually, there’s something new about most of the lids in the General line!

If you’re anything like me, I just can’t bring myself to throw away my empty cans! Call it OCD or being a Pack Rat but, no matter what it is, I just can’t bring myself to do it. In this case I’m glad I do keep them! If you look at the lid for the used portion compartment, you’ll see the change. In the past, all General cans had the General logo embossed in the lid. Recently, Swedish Match changed the embossing on all cans, with Onyx being the exception, to labels. While there are some Snustopians that may not like the change, I personally like it! The embossed lids, while they do give the can a bit of elegance, can be hard to see and read since the embossing is the same color as the lid. The new labels make the can stand out more and are easier to read! “Ok Professor Snus Can! Less can review, more snus review already!” Right! Back to the snus!

Since we’re still at the part of the review that deals with the portions themselves, let’s discuss the Nicotine content. As I said above, I’d been using strong snus throughout the day for the better part of the past 3 weeks to help me cope with the chaos going on here. At night, I wanted to back off the strong snus so, I reached for my General Original can and accidently grabbed the Silver. What made me check the can was that after the second portion, I really didn’t have that jittery feeling I have when I use a General Original portion after using all those Extra Stark portions throughout the day! The reason is because General Silver portion snus has 6 mg of Nicotine per portion! I know, long way around the subject but, it’ll make more sense at the end of the review!

“But Snus Guy, how could two portions that have the same amount of snus have different Nicotine contents?” Great question! The reason for this is that General Silver actually has less tobacco than say General Original. You see, the Nicotine is in the tobacco. I know everyone knows that but, in order to make a regular type portion that has less Nicotine; you need to use less tobacco. You just can’t take the Nicotine out of the tobacco like you can take the caffeine out of coffee. To maintain the same size and weight, you have to add a filler of some sort. In Swedish snus, the filler needs to be food grade in order to maintain the strict Swedish food inspections that snus must pass.

In General Silver, the filler is vegetable fiber. Now, don’t get worried that there is grated Artichoke or pulverized potatoes in it or that they are trying to pull something! In fact, most Nicotine free snus like Onico or Elixyr Free use vegetable fibers like Sugar Beet or Carrot fibers as fillers. It’s pretty common and it doesn’t change the flavor in any way. I’m on my 3rd can and I wouldn’t know it unless I read about it so, trust me, I wouldn’t steer my fellow Snustopians wrong! Now, let’s go on to the flavor!

Swedish Match describes the flavor of General Silver as “A slightly peppery snus with hints of citrus zest and balanced tobacco notes.” I taste something different. Let’s begin with the scent of the snus right out of the can. General Silver is another snus brand which does not have a strong, ammonia type of smell. Actually, the scent I get out of the can is very similar to General Original portion which is an earthy tobacco scent. The taste, on the other hand, is almost the opposite of what Swedish Match describes.

The flavors I get are predominate tobacco taste with subtle hints of pepper and citrus. Actually, the citrus is almost nonexistent. The Tobacco, pepper and salt take center stage with General Silver. The only similar flavor I can compare it to would be a peanut shell! “Peanut shell, Snus Guy? Nobody eats peanut shells!” Actually, some folks do and prior to my allergy, I was one of them. I used to eat peanuts, shell and all! That’s the flavor of General Silver. An earthy tobacco taste with salt and a little pepper flavor. The flavor does last a good bit of time but can go bitter after 2 ½ hours so, I still recommend a 2 hour max. Ok, what drinks go well with it? Let’s take a look!

Like I said in the beginning, I used General Silver as an end of day snus since I was using Extra Sterk snus during the day so, I decided to first give General Silver a try with some decaffeinated drinks. First up was coffee. Decaf coffee went really well with Silver. The coffee helped to bring out the tobacco flavors while the snus took some of the bitterness out of the coffee. Decaf iced tea went well too and actually brought out a bit of the citrus flavor. Not much but a bit. Believe it or not, Monster Energy went really well with Silver. The two flavors complimented each other but the best thing was the low Nicotine content in the snus didn’t really give me that nervous feeling I would normally get with a snus that has a higher Nicotine content. The drink I recommend though is Decaf or caffeinated coffee. So now, let’s go to the overall recommendations!

My overall recommendation for General Silver portion snus Snustopians is this; Since General Silver is a lower Nicotine content snus in a regular sized portion, Snustopians looking for a true Swedish snus to begin with would do well in trying a can of Silver. Its lower Nicotine content will allow you to ease into Swedish snus. Snustopians that are like me, using Extra Sterk snus throughout the day and looking for a weaker snus to relax with at night that still has a true tobacco flavor, will like General Silver as well. On the other hand, Snustopians that like the kick of the standard 8 to 12 mg of Nicotine in a snus or, fans of the Extra Stark/Sterk/Strong snus brands will probably find General Silver much too weak but, I’ll leave that decision up to you!

Currently, General Silver is only available in Sweden thru online snus shops. I say this because most General snus is beginning to become available in tobacco shops in the US but General Silver remains like General Onyx and only available online. Snustopia’s favorite snus shop, The Northerner, carries General Silver for about $3.71 a can and if this is your first time purchasing from them, just click on the banner to the right and get 10% off your first order! I encourage all new Snustopians to give General Silver and The Northerner a try! Just tell them That Snus Guy sent you!

Well Snustopians, I hope you enjoyed our tour of General Silver portion snus by Swedish Match AB and found it fun and informative. I look forward to reading and answering all your questions and comments and will answer them as soon as I can!

Until our next review, as always,

Happy Snusing!

That Snus Guy

General Ekstra Sterk Loose snus, a review of General’s newest “available in America” snus!

Greetings my fellow Snustopians!

Today, I thought we would journey into the world of General Ekstra Sterk loose snus. Why, you may ask? Simple really, I know I’ve already done a review on General Ekstra Sterk portion snus so, you would think that the loose version couldn’t be much different. In all actuality, they are pretty close in the taste department with a few subtle differences. We’ll get into those in a bit but the main reason I wanted to get a review out for it is the fact that Ekstra Sterk loose will be released for sale in snus shops on the web soon! I’ll explain towards the end but, without further ado, let’s get into the review of General’s newest loose offering, General Ekstra Stark loose snus!

You’re probably asking yourselves, “Snus Guy, what’s with all these recent snus varieties being released for Americans?” Well, it looks like Swedish snus is becoming more and more popular in the states. Swedish Match, the makers of the General brand, is seeing this and, bringing Swedish snus to American snus lovers! I’m sure there is more to it than that but, SSNN (Snustopian Satellite News Network) really has been out of the loop on this one! Guess I’ll have to have a talk with them! Anyhow, I do have a Field Trip planned for us soon that will get these answers. More about that in another review but, let’s get back to Ekstra Sterk loose!

As I said before, General Ekstra Sterk loose is another offering by the folks at Swedish Match. Ekstra Sterk loose is a medium grind snus meaning that it packs pretty well and the pris holds its shape longer than a finer ground snus like Skruf Stark loose. Hand baking is relatively easy with Ekstra Stark loose provided you know how to do it. As you all know, I am hand bake challenged so, for this review, I used an Icetool to give you how the pris feels. Knowing this, making a pris by hand will yield a completely different type of feel as well as a different length of time the pris lasts before mudslide. Ok, enough about methods. Let’s get back to the snus!

The pris can get a bit hard if compressed too tightly with the tools so, I recommend a medium pressure on the plunger prior to putting the pris under the lip. Ekstra Sterk loose also has higher moisture content which, among other things, makes the pris last as well as making it comfortable. I got a pris to last about 3 hours before mudslide but, like I said before, hand baking will yield about 1 ½ hours to 2 hours before this happens. I recommend a 2 hour max with the tool and about 1 ½ hours with a hand baked pris. “Hey Snus Guy! Are you holding out on the Nicotine content? Is it the same level as the portions?” I’m glad you brought that up actually! The answer will surprise you.

When I got my can of General Ekstra Stark loose, I automatically assumed it would be just like the portion version in every way. I was really wrong. Like I said in the beginning, there are subtle differences in taste but, the Nicotine level is different as well. Where General Ekstra Sterk portions have 15 mgs of Nicotine per portion, Ekstra Sterk loose has 13 mgs of Nicotine per gram. Now don’t assume the worst like I did, let me explain a few things first. If you go off total weight, there are 22 portions in a can of Ekstra Sterk portions and there is 45 grams of snus in a can of loose. Each portion has a little over 1 gram of snus in them but, when you make a pris of loose, you typically use about 1.3 to 1.5 grams of snus. I know I do! So, when you look at it that way, you’re getting the same Nicotine content with the loose as you would with the portions but there’s another difference, the release!

Loose snus, as we have discussed before, does release Nicotine faster than portions do. Why, you ask? Really simple, the tobacco makes direct contact with your gums in the loose type. With portions, the material acts as a bit of a barrier so; it takes a little longer for the Nicotine to hit the gums. That’s also the reason why there is a saltier taste in portions over loose. The salt interacts with the tobacco to allow the Nicotine to release. That’s the way I look at it anyway so, don’t fret Snustopians, just remember that you can control the amount of Nicotine you get with any loose snus just by adjusting the size of the pris! So, on to the taste!

One would think that Ekstra Stark loose and portion would taste exactly the same. If you think that, like I did at first, you would be wrong but not entirely wrong. While other snus flavors, like V2’s Phantom blue for example, do have a distinct difference in taste between the portion variety and the loose, this is not the case with Ekstra Sterk. An overview of Ekstra Sterk portion’s flavor would be pure tobacco with a lemony, not citrusy, background and slightly salty with peppery notes and a bit of smoky flavor, the only thing that would be different in the loose variety would be the absence of the salty taste, less smoke flavoring and a more defined tobacco flavor! “Snus Guy, this is not your normal rambling on flavors! What gives?” Well, I forgot that some Snustopians may not have read the original Ekstra Stark portion review so, if you click on this link "General Ekstra Sterk Portion snus review", it will take you to the review and you can get a better understanding.

Another thing about the flavor difference is the length of time it lasts between the two. I said in the portion review that I got about 2 ½ hours from a portion before it began to get bitter. With the loose, I got 3 hours before mudslide began to take over but, there was still flavor and, no bitterness. I still recommend a 2 hour max with Ekstra Stark loose for full enjoyment! Now, what to drink with Ekstra Stark loose?

Loose snus always proves to be a challenge to drink with for new Snustopians! It takes a bit of practice to be able to take a drink without either completely destroying the pris or, swallowing half of it but, there are a few tricks you can use! The first one is pretty obvious, using a straw! The biggest complaint I hear, and have experienced in the beginning, is drinking from a glass.

Be it a cup of coffee, A glass of iced tea or a pint of Guinness, it can be a challenge to learn how to drink from a glass with a pris of loose under your lip! The only method I can offer is this; when going to take a drink, don’t suck the drink from the glass or cup, just raise the vessel and tip out the drink in your mouth. Doing this will allow the upper lip to relax and thus keeping it from crushing the pris! As you use loose more, you’ll find better ways but, this is the method I use and I use loose almost 40% of the time! “Hey! Professor Snus Guy! We appreciate the how-to-use-a-glass sermon but, you’re going off topic again!” Oops, sorry! I just wanted to hit this topic a little so I don’t get angry emails from new Snustopians. Ok, back to actual drinks!

I’m not going to bore you with the Diet Coke test because I think it goes well with General Ekstra Sterk Loose. Monster on the other hand, overpowered the taste of the snus. I prefer iced tea with Ekstra Sterk. Southern Style Sweet tea pairs well with it but, I did have iced Earl Gray as well and it tended to be a bit too strong. As I said in the taste review, Ekstra Sterk looses’ flavor isn’t quite as strong as it’s portioned brother so, stronger flavored drinks tended to bury the snus’ flavor. Stick with lighter flavored drinks and you’ll be able to enjoy both!

My overall recommendation for General Ekstra Sterk loose snus my fellow Snustopians is this; Those Snustopians that like the portion version of Ekstra Sterk, will find the loose version just as likeable. Snustopians that are fans of strong snus and loose snus will really enjoy it as well. New Snustopians that are currently using Copenhagen or, a tobacco flavored Smokeless will immediately fall for Ekstra Sterk loose as well. Since both versions are getting ready to be released in the states, I do recommend Cope users give it a shot!

Like I said, General Ekstra Sterk loose, or lös, will be available soon at snus shops like The Northerner with other new General brands. The average cost for General Ekstra Stark loose runs about $3.49 a can depending on where you buy it but remember Snustopians, if you click on The Northerner banner at the top of the page and it's your first order, you can get 10% off!

Well Snustopians, I hope you enjoyed our tour of General Ekstra Sterk loose snus by Swedish Match and found it helpful. Please leave any questions, comments or suggestions in the comments area. I look forward to reading and answering them as soon as I can.

As always,

Happy Snusing!

That Snus Guy

General Wintergreen portion snus. Review of a Swedish snus for American tastes!

Welcome back Snustopians!

This past weekend I decided to take a walk around my favorite part of Snustopia, Skruf Square, to relax and decide which snus we should review this week. As always, I stopped by my tobacconist to see what new snus came in and, lo and behold, I found a snus that Snustopians from America will really be interested in reading a review about, General Wintergreen white portion snus!

I know what you’re all thinking! “Snus Guy! Why would Americans be so interested in General Wintergreen? Is it made there?” No, it’s made in Sweden by Swedish Match. It’s the taste that Americans will really like and most will identify with. Identify how, you ask? Let’s get into the review of General Wintergreen white portion snus and you’ll see!

General Wintergreen white portion snus is another fine snus manufactured by the folks at Swedish Match, the same people who make General Mini Mint! You may be asking yourselves why I mentioned Mini Mint. I did this because General Wintergreen, like General Mini Mint, was created specifically for the American market meaning, to date, it’s only available in American tobacco shops or, from the Swedish Match snus store online. As I did in the General Mini Mint review, I’ll include a link to the Swedish Match store locator at the end of the review! “Ok, enough history already Snus Guy, get back to the review!” Sorry, got a bit wrapped up but it is important to know this! Now, back to the review!

General Wintergreen is a white type portion snus. As you all remember, white portions are white in color and get this way because they do not go thru the additional wetting step that regular portions do. They have 1 gram of snus per portion and there are 24 portions in each can with 8 mg of Nicotine per portion.

The portion material is the same soft tea bag type material that Swedish Match uses in all its white portion snus and sits really comfortably under the lip. I’ve had a portion in for over 2 hours with hardly any discomfort from the material. My time recommendation is about 2 hours max. I also offer this observation about it though. Even after an hour, the snus will wrinkle the inside of your lip. I’ve found that most snus that contains any kind of mint will do this. Although not irritating, some Snustopians have questioned me about it. If this bothers you, try doing what I do. I alternate sides when using mint flavored snus after each portion and this seems to not wrinkle my inner lip as much! Just some food for thought.

The can that General Wintergreen comes in is the exact same one that General Sterk comes in, complete with the used portion compartment in the lid. The only difference is the label. You’re probably thinking that the can is really not that special and, you would be right. The taste is what makes General Wintergreen special. “Special how, Snus Guy?” I’m glad you asked that Snustopians!

General Wintergreen’s taste is pretty unique. When most people think Wintergreen, the first thing that jumps to mind is Wintergreen Life Savers. I asked a few Snustopians here to smell an open can of General Wintergreen just to get their opinion on what they smelled. 3 of the 4 did indeed smell Wintergreen Life Savers but the 4th Snustopian smelled the exact same thing I did, the American Smokeless brand, Skoal Wintergreen! But this is not a bad thing and next you’ll see why!

While the scent is very close to Skoal Wintergreen, the taste has its differences. The first thing you taste in General Wintergreen is, indeed Wintergreen Life Savers but the more you have a portion in, the more it develops the flavors reminiscent of Skoal Wintergreen. General Wintergreen has the same burn in the lip as Skoal does as well! Wintergreen though, is not the only flavor I taste in General Wintergreen. I can actually taste the tobacco and salt in it as well! In Skoal Wintergreen, all I could taste is Wintergreen. The hint of tobacco and the slight saltiness really plays well with the Wintergreen and helps to eliminate the bitterness you typically get with Skoal Wintergreen. I’ve had the flavor last about 2 hours when the taste is pretty much gone. I recommend an overall max of about 2 hours in regards to feel and flavor.

“Snus Guy! You’re making a lot of connections with Skoal Wintergreen here! What exactly are you driving at?” Well, here’s where I explain the whole “taste that most Americans will identify with” thing! Since the flavor of General Wintergreen is really close to the flavor of Skoal Wintergreen, it would be very easy for new Snustopians that were using a wintergreen flavored American smokeless tobacco product, to easily switch over to General Wintergreen. In addition to that, Snustopians that used to smoke menthol cigarettes seem to like the Wintergreen taste as well!

So, what drinks go well with General Wintergreen? “We know Snus Guy, Diet Coke and Monsters do well!” :) Actually, Diet Coke and General Wintergreen created a taste I never thought it would! The two together tastes very similar to a Diet Coke with lime! Monster Energy Drinks really didn’t do well actually. The Monster made the snus taste bitter and gave the drink an off taste. The best drink was a true Southern Style sweet tea! The sweetness in the tea enhanced the wintergreen flavor and helped to bring the tobacco flavor out. Sweet tea Snustopians, I really recommend!

Before I give you my overall recommendations for General Wintergreen white portion snus Snustopians, I have to admit something to you. I had my reservations about General Wintergreen when I first smelled the can. The reason I don’t really care for Skoal Wintergreen is the fact that Skoal Wintergreen was really over flavored to the point it made me sick. After I smelled General Wintergreen, all the memories of that incident came flooding back. Being the sacrificing soul for my fellow Snustopians, I gathered all my courage and tried it. It was then I learned that I had nothing to be concerned about!

My overall recommendation for General Wintergreen white portion snus Snustopians, is this; New Snustopians who currently use an American Smokeless tobacco product and want to transition to a safer, cleaner way to use smokeless tobacco but still want a familiar flavor, can’t go wrong with a couple of cans of General Wintergreen! Seasoned Snustopians that like wintergreen flavors can’t go wrong either! If you really don’t care for wintergreen flavors, you may not want to try General Wintergreen but, I leave this decision up to you!

As I said in the beginning, as of the writing of this review, General Wintergreen is only available at American tobacco shops and Swedish Match’s Snus Shop. Today, General Wintergreen is now available online and at Snustopia's favorite snus shop, The Northerner, for about $3.72 USD a can and, if your a first time customer, simply click on the banner to the right and get 10% off so, you really can't go wrong by trying a can or two!

Well Snustopians, I hope you enjoyed our trip thru Swedish Match’s General Wintergreen white portion snus and found it useful and informative. As always, I welcome your questions and comments and will do my best to answer them all as soon as I can!

Until our next review,

Happy Snussing!

That Snus Guy

Kronan snus. The first review of "lower priced" snus brand families!

Greetings fellow Snustopians!

While I was sitting in my study this past weekend watching SSNN (Snustopia Satellite News Network) to see how the economy was doing, (yes, my friends, Snustopia is in the same boat as the rest of the world when it comes to the economy) something hit me!

I’ve been reviewing a lot of very popular snus this year that can be a bit pricy if that’s all that you’re ordering! Grant it; even a can of Nick & Johnny West is still cheaper than a pack of cigarettes in most places! So I decided that I would do my next review on an entire brand of lower priced snus and the brand we’ll be reviewing today is Kronan.

I know what you’re saying, “Hey Snus Guy! You’ve reviewed value snus before! Remember the Phantom Blue and Offroad reviews? Why pick Kronan?” You’re right, we did do some reviews of lower priced snus but, I want all Snustopians to know that there are other low priced snus brands available out there besides Offroad and Phantom! Throughout the next few months, we’ll review other low priced snus brands but, Kronan is the one that most snus shops include as a free or “Mystery” can with larger orders and is in most sample boxes. So, with that information in hand, let’s begin our review of the Kronan family of snus!

First, I want to reiterate something before we begin. Like I said in the Offroad Cranberry review, low price does not mean low quality. All Swedish snus must pass a strict and controlled process that’s overseen by the Swedish equivalent of the U.S. FDA. Since snus is an oral product, it must pass the same quality and safety standards that food in Sweden does! In essence, a can of Kronan or any other lower priced snus will have passed the same quality and safety standards as a can of General Onyx. I only say this because in the beginning, there was some concern about it. Now that we have that out of the way, On to the review!

Kronan is another snus manufactured by the folks at Swedish Match and comes in 3 different types; loose (lös), regular portions and white portions. Kronan is actually a pretty unique snus in a couple of different ways! First, most snus brands that come in different types tend to have different tastes between them. Offroad Cranberry comes to mind as an example. There is a distinct taste difference between the loose and the portions. Kronan’s taste really doesn’t vary throughout the different types. The only variant would be the intensity of the flavor.

“Well, don’t keep us waiting Snus Guy! What’s Kronan taste like?” Swedish Match describes the taste as “A traditional tobacco taste with mild citrus and flowers”. I, on the other hand, taste something completely different. While there is a distinct, full tobacco flavor along with a slight lemony taste, flowers I don’t taste. This is not a bad thing though.

The flowery flavor I get from Kronan is of Dill! “Dill, Snus Guy? You mean like a Dill Pickle?” Well, yes and no. I mean fresh Dill. It’s not strong though, just a hint. Here’s the overall flavor I get, in laymen’s terms. Imagine a slice of roasted lemon sprinkled with salt and dill then add the earthy flavor of quality tobacco and you have the taste of Kronan! Where’s the Dill pickle reference come in, you ask? The scent from the can!

The scent I get from Kronan is not like the smell from a jar of dill pickles with the famous talking Stork on the label! More like the smell you get from a fresh kosher dill pickle from a true delicatessen. A distinct, earthy tobacco scent, with a bit of sourness and a hint of dill. Pretty unique I think! So, let’s go to mouth feel, beginning with the portions.

Since the portion material in both the regular and the white types are the same material as used in other Swedish Match portion snus I won’t go into the makeup of it and just focus on the flavor release and mouth feel.

Both portions have a really comfortable feel under the lip. I’ve had both portion types in, not at the same time, for over 2 hours with no irritation at all. The regular type will get your inner lip a bit wrinkly due to the added moisture but, no pain is associated with it. The white portion’s flavor lasts a bit longer than the regular portion does though. I’ve had a white portion’s flavor last for about 2 ½ hours while the regular will usually go flat at the 2 hour mark. The trade off though is that the regular portion will give you flavor in an instant where the white portion takes about 10 minutes to get going.

Kronan loose (lös) is a mid-coarse grain loose snus. Coarse refers to the cut of the tobacco. The really good part about Kronan loose is that it’s really easy to hand bake! As you all know, I’m hand bake challenged and for me to say that a loose snus is easy to hand bake, it really is! Coarse cut tobacco is usually the easiest to do this with but, the amount of moisture plays a role in it as well.

I know mid-coarse really doesn’t explain the cut so, let’s use a comparison snus. Skruf Stark loose is a fine grain snus. Phantom Blue loose is a coarse grain. Kronan lös’ grain falls in the middle. Coarse enough to hold a pris well but not as fine as to cause immediate mudslide!

Lip feel is really comfortable and the flavor lasts a good long time but the flavor is a bit more subdued than the portions! I’ve had a pris in for over 2 ½ hours with the flavor still going strong! Depending on which method you use to make the pris, mudslide times vary. With my 3 ml Icetool and medium compression, I’ve had a pris last over 2 ½ hours with very little mudslide. Hand baking a pris yielded only about 1 ½ hours before complete mudslide. Like I said, I really can’t hand bake so, those Snustopians that have that skill down pat, will more than likely get a pris to last much longer!

Now, on to the drinks! I really had a hard time trying to pair drinks with Kronan. The flavor is really unique and I wanted something that wouldn’t mask the flavor. Diet Coke did well but it just didn’t have what I wanted. The acidity in the Diet Coke kind of killed the slight sourness but, did bring out the tobacco a bit more. Coffee was a disaster! Coffee and the dill flavor just didn’t work. Iced Earl Grey did a bit better but the best thing I have had with it was lemonade!

No, I didn’t slip on a spent pris of Kronan loose and bang my head! Lemonade brings out the citrus flavor and enhances the dill a bit more. The sweet and sour of the lemonade along with the slight sourness of the snus helped to bring the tobacco to the front as well! If you haven’t thought to try lemonade with snus that has citrus and tobacco flavors, you really have to try it! Trust me, you won’t be sorry!

My recommendations for the overall Kronan brand, Snustopians, are this; Kronan is a uniquely flavored, family of snus at a great price. Snustopians that are new to the world of Swedish snus and want to add a can of a lower priced snus to their order won’t be disappointed with a can of Kronan white. If you’re new at using loose and want to try your hand baking while still getting a great mild flavor, Kronan loose is a good choice. For new Snustopians, I recommend sticking with the white portions at first and move to the regular portions simply because the flavor is a bit more subdued in the white. Experienced Snustopians looking for something less pricy but still has a great flavor should give each type a try!

Kronan’s prices range as follows; Kronan white portion snus averages around $3.70 USD a can, Kronan regular portion snus and Loose (lös) snus run about $3.30 USD each so, you really can’t go wrong by giving it a try! You can even save more by clicking The Northerner banner to the right. If this will be your first order, just enter the code on the banner and save 10%!

Well Snustopians, I hope you all have enjoyed our review of the Kronan family of snus. As always, I look forward to hearing your questions and comments and will try to answer them as soon as I can!

Until our next review,

Happy Snussing!

That Snus Guy

General Ekstra Sterk Portion snus, a suprisingly strong snus review!

Welcome back Snustopians!
I must first admit that, I’ve been a bit nervous about reviewing General Ekstra Sterk snus! As you all know, I do quite a bit of research before and during a review and, before actually tasting this snus, I went to a few forums, just to see what was being said about it.

Overall, the consensus was that General Ekstra Sterk was really, really strong! Since we began our journey thru snus and Snustopia, I’ve felt my tolerance to nicotine actually fall a little so, I worried what the “Strongest snus in the world” would do to me and, would I be able to give the same unbiased reviews you all have come accustomed to reading from me!

The answer……..you’ll have to read on to find out!

General Ekstra Sterk portion snus is another fine offering from the folks at Swedish Match. Ekstra Sterk was first launched in Norway at the end of October 2008 and is advertised as “The strongest snus in the world” for a good reason! Each original portion contains 15 mg. of Nicotine!

I know what you’re thinking; “now that’s ALOT of Nicotine, Snus Guy!” It is but, it’s not what you think. There are some snus manufacturers out there whose only goal was purely to see how high they can get the Nicotine level to in their snus, no matter what it did to the taste. That’s not the case with Ekstra Sterk. Swedish Match not only raised the Nicotine level but, enhanced the flavor as well!

“Snus Guy…..You’re starting to sound like an advertisement for General! Less praise, more review!” Sorry, I got off track so, on to the taste!

I’ve heard that some snus lovers liken the taste to a mix of General Sterk and Onyx. I, on the other hand, get a completely different one! While Ekstra Sterk does maintain the salt and peppery citrus taste that we’ve all come to associate with most of the General portion brands, this snus has something different. “What could it be?” you may ask. A smoky component that really brings out the tobacco flavor! This is from a “Smoke food flavoring” that has been added to the recipe.

“Smoky flavor? Do you mean like actual smoke?” No. I guess the best way to explain it would be like this; if you remember back to my review on General Onyx, I had compared the taste of it to, a grilled Lemon with salt and pepper. Take that same analogy and, add hickory smoke and, a light, pure tobacco flavor to it and, you have the taste of Ekstra Sterk! It’s quite good actually.

The portions are a bit unique as well. While most General portions are 1 gram of snus each, Ekstra Sterk’s portions are a little more than 1 gram. This means instead of the usual 24 portions in a can, there are 22 in a can of Ekstra Sterk. As I said in the beginning, General Ekstra Sterk Portions are “Large, original” type portions. The material used is the same material that is used in General Original portions and, pretty easy on the gums.

I said in the Claq Qui review, higher Nicotine snus tend to leave a slight burn in the back of the throat and, can be bitter so, you would think Ekstra Sterk would have more than a slight burn since it has 15 mg. of Nicotine and, be quite bitter. Not so with Ekstra Sterk. Actually, there’s very little burn and, only gets bitter after about two hours of being in.

You’re probably sitting there saying “great taste review Snus Guy but, how about the Nicotine?” Well, it’s surprising really! One would think that there would be an immediate kick that would send your head spinning but, in my experience, not so! While you can definitely feel there is more Nicotine in Ekstra Sterk, it’s not what you would expect. Since the Nicotine in snus is released over time, the immediate kick one would expect is not there. What you get is a bigger release over time which, if you’re a new snus lover here in Snustopia, can feel like the first cigarette in the morning but, lasting about 30 minutes.

As for the length of time for a portion, I’ve had a portion in for over 2 hours with very little flavor loss but, can get a little bitter at the two and a half hours mark. For the new snus lover, I’d recommend General Ekstra Sterk portions as the first thing in the morning snus but, would take care until you get used to the higher Nicotine amount!

What to drink, you may ask? Look at pairings this way. Since Ekstra Sterk has a smoky flavor, drinks that go with smoky foods, go well with Ekstra Sterk. As you all know, Diet Coke is the first thing I try with ANY snus! It’s ok but, Southern Style Sweet Tea really goes well! Ekstra Sterk’s taste reminds me of barbeques we used to have when we lived down south. Sweet tea was always at every one. Lemonade is another great drink that pairs well.

If I could still drink beer, Guinness or another dark beer would go great! The smokiness and tobacco flavor would really come out with them. A nice Weiss bier would bring the citrus out as well!

Overall, General Ekstra Sterk Portion snus is a definite “must try” snus for all Snustopians! I really do recommend you try a can and experience the World’s Strongest Snus for yourselves. The average cost for a can is $3.75 USD at most online shops and, worth the purchase!

As always, I welcome your questions and comments and, will do my best to reply to them all!

Happy Snussing,

That Snus Guy!