Oden’s Extra Stark Original portion snus, reviewing the second flavor in the “Strongest snus in the world” line!

Greetings Snustopians!

I was sitting in my office this weekend here in beautiful Skruf Square, pouring over some of the past reviews we’ve done together, when I had realized that we haven’t reviewed an Extra Strong / Sterk / Stark portion snus brand in quite awhile! If memory serves me correctly, the last one we reviewed was Oden’s Cinnamon or Kanel so I thought to myself, there’s been a lot of talk out there on the other Oden’s Extra Strong portion flavors but not too much on Extra Strong Original portion! Until today!

Today we’ll be touring thru the third flavor in the Oden’s Extra Strong portion line, Original. I know what you’re thinking. “Hey Snus Guy, how could a relatively new brand of snus have an original flavor? Wasn’t Cinnamon the first flavor out?” Well, while I’m not entirely sure that Cinnamon was indeed the first flavor Gajane introduced in the Extra Strong portion line, I can shed a little light on the whole “Original” flavor name.

You see, in the beginning, snus manufacturers introduced snus as simply “snus”. Everyone knew that the flavor would inherently be of tobacco, salt and possibly bergamot. For example, Ettan, one of the oldest snus brands, first introduced snus back in 1822 and was flavored with just tobacco, salt and water. As snus began to evolve into the flavor assortment it is today, many manufacturers that began to add flavoring to their original recipes, needed to make a distinction between the “Original” flavor and its new flavor mixes. Thus, the “Original” flavor moniker was born. So, “original” on some cans of snus simply means plain tobacco flavor with a bit of salt. This is the case with Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus! I know, I took the long way to answer the question but, I hope this clears any confusion up. Back to the review!

As I said in the beginning Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus is another Extra Strong snus made by the folks at Gajane. The portions are made with the same tea bag material that Gajane uses in all its portion snus but the Original portions are a bit different than the Cinnamon portions. While the Cinnamon and Licorice portions seem to be overly wet, the Original portions are not. They are all classed as regular type portions which, as you all remember, go thru the additional wetting step to add a bit more moisture and flavor to the snus but, unlike its brothers, are not as wet. This makes Original’s portions stay in place longer but, delays the flavor release. Each portion of Extra Strong Original has a little less than 1 gram of snus and there are 24 portions in each can.

The Nicotine content in Extra Strong Original is the typical 17 mg per portion that all of Oden’s Extra Strong portions have making it still, to date, the strongest snus in the world! As I explained in the Oden’s Extra Strong Cinnamon, although there is a high amount of Nicotine in the Oden’s Extra Strong line, I really didn’t get the woozy, head spinning feeling one would expect with a high Nicotine snus. Rather, I got a real sense of calming with it! Although I still don’t recommend chain snusing it!

The can that Oden’s Extra Strong Original comes in is the same black plastic can that Cinnamon comes in with the Oden’s logo engraved on the lid. Unfortunately, there is no used portion compartment in the lid but, the engraving is pretty cool looking! I have noticed that the portions in Oden’s Original do tend to be inconsistently filled. What I mean is that some of the portions seem to have less snus in them. If I had to estimate a percentage of portions that are smaller, I’d guess probably around 10%. It may not be an issue with most Snustopians but, I figured I let everyone know!

The mouth feel with the portions are pretty comfortable no matter how they are filled. I’ve had a portion in for over 2 ½ hours with very little discomfort. Unlike Extra Strong Cinnamon, there is virtually no sliding or excess dripping of the snus with Original! Next up, the flavor!

I was actually pretty surprised with the flavor in Oden’s Extra Strong Original! “Surprised Snus Guy, you? We don’t believe it!” Yes, I know there is not too much that can surprise me but, Original did just that! But not like you would expect. While the flavor of Extra Strong Original is just as one would expect a snus that’s flavor is labeled “Original” would be, which is plainly tobacco and salt, it was the intensity of the flavor that actually surprised me!

The flavor is basic. By basic I mean just pure tobacco flavor with a salty element and a hint of black pepper but, unlike the Cinnamon, or even Licorice, where the flavor is immediate and intense, the flavor of Original is subtle and quite mellow. But just because the flavor is subtle, doesn’t mean it its short lived! The flavor seems to last for a long time! I’ve let a portion sit for over 3 ½ hours before the flavor died out. I still recommend the 2 ½ hour max for the best experience with flavor and comfort! So, what would go well to drink with Extra Strong Original? Let’s take a look.

As you may remember from our trip thru Oden’s Extra Strong Cinnamon (Kanel), I was a bit timid in trying one of my staple drinks, Monster Energy drink, so I decided to give it another go with the Original. While it still seemed to raise my heart rate a bit, the flavor was too strong for the snus. It seemed to drown out the subtle tobacco flavor. I got the same thing with my other staple, Diet Coke. I next tried a Black iced tea and it seemed to do the same thing! Here’s where I got confused. In all my time reviewing snus, one of these three drinks would always prevail against a lightly flavored snus. I gave one more thing a shot.

I normally drink coffee hot with a bit of sugar. I tried it with Original and I did taste a bit more of the tobacco flavor but, it’s beginning to turn warm outside here in Snustopia so, I tried it with an iced coffee. Wow! What a difference! The iced coffee I tried it with was just a plain Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee with a bit of sugar but it really brought out the tobacco flavor and the bit of sugar helped to balance out the salt. If you’ve never tried an iced coffee with a tobacco flavored snus, I highly recommend you try it, especially with Extra Strong Original.

Another great pairing I found with Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus was iced Green tea. Not the flavored Green Teas that are out there, like Sobe or Arizona, just plain iced green tea. Since the tobacco flavor is light in Oden’s Extra Strong Original and the tea flavor is light in the green tea, both helped to enhance each other’s flavors.

So what’s my overall recommendation for Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus, you may ask? Well Snustopians, my overall recommendation is this: Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus is indeed just as strong as its siblings and has the same Nicotine effects as they do as well. There’s no head spins like you would expect from a snus with the highest Nicotine content on the market. Knowing this, I recommend that Snustopians who are big fans of the Extra Strong / Sterk / Stark snus give Oden’s Extra Strong Original a try but be warned, unlike it’s flavored siblings, Original’s flavor is pretty subtle.

Snustopians that want to try their hand at the Extra Strong / Sterk / Stark snus, but are a bit standoffish due to the effects, will like Oden’s Extra Strong Original because the Nicotine effects are not that strong. First time Snustopians, or Snustopians that have not yet strayed into snus with Nicotine contents over 9 mg, may want to consider starting off gradually and may find Oden’s Extra Strong Original much too strong to start the next level in the snus saga!

Speaking of which, like I did in the Oden’s Extra Strong Cinnamon review, I strongly advise against chain snusing Oden’s Extra Strong Original! As I did in the Cinnamon review, I sacrificed myself for all Snustopians and can tell you first hand; this is not a good idea! Even though there are no head spins, there can be some stomach issues related to using a high Nicotine snus back to back for a day so, please exercise caution when using Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion as well as any high Nicotine snus! I know, I know, that sounded like a public service message but, my Ministry of Information insisted on making sure we keep our fellow Snustopians informed!

Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus averages around $3.42 USD at Snustopia’s favorite place to buy snus, The Northerner. The Northerner carries all of Gajane’s brands along with all your other favorites and offer fast delivery and great customer service! If it’s your first time purchasing snus from them, just click on the banner to the right, and get 10% off your order! Just tell ‘em That Snus Guy sent you!

Well Snustopians, I hope you enjoyed our tour of Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus and found it fun and informative. I look forward to hearing your comments and questions and look forward to answering them as soon as I can!

As always Snustopians, until our next review,

Happy Snusing!

That Snus Guy

Oden’s Kanel (cinnamon) portion snus by Gajane. A review of the current “King of the Extra Sterk snus”!

Welcome back fellow Snustopians!

Today we’ll be reviewing the latest leader in the Extra Strong/Ekstra Sterk/Extra Stark snus race, Oden’s Kanel (Cinnamon) Extra Stark portion snus by Gajane!

While I was going thru our last few reviews, I realized that the last review of an Extra Strong snus we did was General Ekstra Sterk! So I figured that since there have been two additions to the race since Ekstra Sterk was introduced, I’d better review Oden’s Kanel before Snustopians started revolting! I also wanted to get a review out for it while it was still new to most snus lovers! There is another reason why I wanted to review Oden’s Kanel that I’ll divulge at the end and it will surprise you!

Oden’s Kanel Extra Stark portion snus is produced by a new snus company in Sweden called Gajane. The word “Kanel” means “Cinnamon” in, no, not Swedish but, Norwegian! I know what you’re saying “Snus Guy! Is this snus made in Norway?” Nope, it’s made in Sweden. Let’s review the Extra Stark/Ekstra Sterk/Extra Strong race before we go forward and you’ll see why they chose the Norwegian word for Cinnamon!

The Extra Stark/Ekstra Sterk/Extra Strong race, as you may or may not know, started with General Ekstra Sterk portion snus. The reason why General developed a “High Nicotine” snus was based purely on the demand for one! Outside of Sweden, Norway is probably the largest market for Swedish snus in the world so, when that market called for a snus with a stronger Nicotine content, some snus manufacturers answered the call by creating high Nicotine snus and labeling them as “Norwegian Editions” or, using Norwegian words to describe the snus.

General Sterk and Ekstra Sterk are “Norwegian Editions” and Gajane named Oden’s Cinnamon using the Norwegian word for cinnamon, Kanel. To my knowledge, these are the only two snus manufacturers to use this classification to date. Yes, I know that Americans were clamoring for a high Nicotine snus as well but, America is still a virgin market for Swedish snus where Norway is established. I guess we have the Norwegians to thank for the Extra Strong/Ekstra Sterk/Extra Stark lines! So, now that we’re armed with that knowledge, let’s get on to the review!

Oden’s Kanel comes in two types, a regular portion type and a loose (lös) type. Today though, we’ll be reviewing the regular portion type. As I said, Oden’s Kanel Extra Stark portion snus is a regular type snus meaning that it has gone thru the additional wetting step. The portions weigh in at just under a gram per portion and there are approximately 24 portions per can with a whopping 17 mg of Nicotine per portion, which makes it the strongest snus on the market, to date! Unfortunately, the can’s lid does not feature a used portion compartment but does have the Oden’s logo etched on it!

The material used for the portions is the typical tea bag type and is very much like the material V2 uses in their portion snus. Since these are regular type portions, the material is pre-moistened which makes them pretty comfortable under the lip. Over an extended period of time though, they can be a little irritating though. By “extended” means that I’ve had a portion in for about 3 hours when the portion began to get a bit irritating. Although the flavor doesn’t last that long, I recommend leaving a portion in about 2 hours max. Now, let’s go on to the flavor!

As you all know, I usually begin each flavor review by saying how the manufacturer describes the taste of whatever particular snus we happen to be reviewing. Knowing that, Gajane describes Oden’s Kanel as a portion snus of high quality tobacco with an exciting taste of cinnamon. When I opened the can, I was pleasantly surprised to smell a very distinct scent of cinnamon which was surprising. Why is it surprising, you ask? Because, most snus I’ve smelled will usually have a very light hint of ammonia. The only other snus I’ve smelled that didn’t have it was Gotlands Green! Ok, I went a bit off topic so; let’s get back to the flavor.

Since the cinnamon smell was so distinct, I expected the cinnamon taste to be overwhelming. I was surprisingly wrong! Although Oden’s Kanel portion’s predominant flavor is indeed cinnamon, it’s not overwhelming. The downside to this is the fact that the only flavor I can detect is cinnamon. “Snus Guy! What kind of cinnamon flavor do you taste?” I’m glad you asked!

The cinnamon flavor I taste is much like that of those little heart shaped cinnamon candies one would get for Valentine’s Day, complete with the little bit of heat that’s associated with them but with less of the sweetness. Although, I attribute the burn in the back of the throat to the high Nicotine! Oden’s Kanel portion snus flavor really doesn’t have any tobacco taste even after 2 ½ hours. Actually, after about 2 hours the flavor goes kind of flat. Knowing that, I still recommend keeping the portion in for a 2 hour max.

Now, let’s talk drinks! “Hold on a minute Snus Guy! You forgot something! What about the Nicotine feeling and the surprise you had mentioned in the beginning!” Well, I didn’t forget! I wanted to save it for the end but, since you brought it up, let’s review it now.

Oden’s Kanel portion snus has 17 mg of snus per portion which really does make it the strongest snus on the market to date but, the surprise is the most important part! If you’ve read the General Ekstra Sterk review, you’ll know that I really didn’t feel the head spin or wooziness that other Snustopians did. With Oden’s Kanel on the other hand, I did! This snus can truly be crowned “King of the Extra Sterks” when it comes to strength!
To close this part of the review, I offer this warning. I really do not recommend using Oden’s Kanel as an “all day” snus or chain snussing it. I sacrificed myself for Snustopia and tried both. After the 6th hour of chain snussing Kanel, it felt like I was kicked in the gut so, unless you like that sort of feeling, I took the hit so you don’t have to!

Now, let’s discuss drinks! My staple Diet Coke did do well to enhance the cinnamon flavor. Monster Energy Drink or any energy drink for that matter, tasted good but I could feel my heart getting ready to beat out of my chest so, I really caution snus lovers on that combo! What really did go well were drinks that had fruity flavors like Sprite, 7 up and fruit flavored iced teas. I liked it best with peach flavored White tea! The mild peach flavor in the tea went extremely well with the cinnamon taste in the snus and the light tea flavor in the drink let me taste a hint of tobacco flavor. I really recommend this drink if it’s available near you!

My overall recommendation for Oden’s Kanel Extra Stark portion snus is this fellow Snustopians. Fans of the Extra Sterk/Ekstra Stark/Extra Strong race will love Gajane’s entry. Beware though, although the description states there is tobacco flavor in Kanel, I had a hard time finding it. The cinnamon is the main player! Experienced snus lovers looking to try a higher Nicotine snus can’t go wrong with Oden’s Kanel! New snus lovers on the other hand may want to start with the first in the line of strong snus, Skruf Stark, before trying Oden’s Kanel. Once you have an idea on how your body will react to that level of Nicotine, give it a try. Again, I really don’t recommend chain snussing Oden’s Kanel but, 4 to 6 portions a day should be fine! That’s my limit!

Oden’s Kanel Extra Stark portion snus is relatively priced for an average of $3.42 USD a can, as of the writing of this review. If you click on The Northerner banner at the top of the blog, and this is your first order, and get 10% off!

Well my fellow Snustopians, I hope you found our trip thru Oden’s Kanel Extra Sterk portion snus by Gajane fun and informative. I encourage you to leave your comments and questions and I’ll do my best to answer them as soon as I can!

As always, until our next review,

Happy Snussing!

That Snus Guy