Squeezyjohn Tobacco Ltd - SNUS!!!!

[squeezyjohn]

I'm glad people are enjoying it. It's great to get feedback similar to that which I feel about it.

The portions are simply made by putting the lös snus in to the portion pouches.

My own criticisms are:
I feel that better portions could be made by making a very dry crumbly snus - loading the portions and then spraying with the correct amount of flavouring mixture to plump the snus up inside a bit and leaving to age for a while in the refrigerator. As it stands the portions have very little aromatic flavour like the lös does.

The bitterness for me is slightly too much - and it shows itself in the lös after about 15 minutes in. I think no manner of masking the bitterness will remove this - it has to be by changing the tobacco composition which is 50% dark air cured ligero cigar tobacco and 50% virginia smoking tobacco.

The lös also does not bind particularly well for making a pris as Skell points out - it's a bit like Gellivare in the grind and it really needs some more dust fraction tobacco flour which my method of grinding doesn't really produce. I don't see that as a major failing though.

However I am satisfied with the flavour of this one. The liquorice softens the taste by adding a natural sweetness that isn't sugar based and is good for your teeth (it does not taste of anis on it's own). The ginger, cinnamon and tonka add a deep spiciness (the black pepper does nothing!) as they were added before cooking the snus. The mandarin and bergamot oils add a little citrus note but the rosewood oil makes it taste like earl grey tea more than the bergamot does (cheap earl grey nearly always is made with rosewood oil)

The strength is impossible for me to tell but it seems quite strong to me but without excess alkalinity - the dark air cured tobacco is very strong so that's probably why it hits the way it does - I didn't use that much potassium carbonate in this batch.

Anyway - thanks for your positive input guys. Enjoy it if you can!

Cheers

Squeezy

[squeezyjohn]

GN - absolutely ... but not yet.

You are a Swengali Snusmeister - and I will only try it out on you when I am very happy with the results. At the moment this is my first batch of snus that is possible to use - when I think you will like it then I will send some.

I am thinking of the questions as I type this reply!

Cheers

Squeezy

[Frosted]

I didn't get any bitterness at all with the portions squeezy.
As for the liquorice - I can't taste it but I guessed it's to smooth things out.

[squeezyjohn]

Hi Frosted - yes, the portions don't have any bitterness in them unless you squeeze them to hell with your tongue and teeth. It's got something to do with the actual particles of tobacco in the lös coming in contact with the tongue.

It's not too bad though - there are commercial snuses out there that are more bitter but in a slightly different way.

Cheers

Squeezy

[squeezyjohn]

By the way Frosted, Ansel & Skell - I would advise you to use it up as quick as you can and keep it refrigerated. There is no way of knowing the TSNA content in this - but one thing is for sure is that it will increase with time.

Cheers

Squeezy

[lxskllr]

The snus sounds great. Nice job Squeezy. I like seeing people create something unique and good. The implied fsck you to the powers that be is icing on the cake :^)

[squeezyjohn]

i want snus that has been stored in a walnut log and then baked with cardomom and seasoned with a peppering of citrus peel rather than just some synthetic or pseudo flavour.

Now that sounds delicious! When you've made it Ansel I'd love to try it!

[Skell18]

Hi Frosted - yes, the portions don't have any bitterness in them unless you squeeze them to hell with your tongue and teeth. It's got something to do with the actual particles of tobacco in the lös coming in contact with the tongue.

It's not too bad though - there are commercial snuses out there that are more bitter but in a slightly different way.

Cheers

Squeezy

I noticed the bitterness on throwing the prilla in as I put it on my tongue first then up into my lip. I didn't notice it getting much more bitter until the prilla broke up after 2 hrs.

[Vandit]

Sounds really nice, very complex flavours!

A friend of mine in Sweden was telling me about making your own (he does it himself)....I guess thats what you've done here Squeezy? How would I go about trying to make my own; especially here in the UK? Is there a thread or guide about it?

[squeezyjohn]

Hi Vandit,

The recipe for my snus is here in this thread http://www.snuson.com/forum/showthre...nus-ever/page2

That recipe goes in to quite a bit of detail about the particular way I flavoured this batch. The basics of snus making are:

1) start with raw unprocessed tobacco leaves (not tobacco prepared for smoking if at all possible)
2) Grind to a fine powder including the stems of the tobacco leaves
3) Mix with water and salt to make a snus-like consistency
4) Cook at 60-80º C for 2-5 days. There are many different methods on the internet but the snus itself has to be that temp.
5) Add a solution containing an alkali like sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate to freebase the nicotine. Regular baking soda (bicarbonate) won't do the job.
6) Add oils and essences to flavour the snus
7) Leave in a ventilated container in the fridge for a week or so to vent the ammonia fumes before using.

* as well as the flavouring oils - tobacco types used and cooking time/temperature make quite a big difference to the final taste.

There's much more info in the Make & Grow your own section of SnusOn - Google is also your friend if you are interested in this sort of stuff - particularly to translate articles from Swedish!

Cheers

Squeezy

[Vandit]

Many thanks, I really appreciate the detailed explanation, it sounds like a lot of fun and I imagine its really rewarding and interesting to try the snus when finished

I bet its also really exiting to try different flavours!

[squeezyjohn]

It certainly appeals to my inner nerd!

I'm currently tasting pure cigar tobacco snus before any flavouring has been added to see what flavours I think would work with it. It's incredibly pungent and has elements of cold cigar butt in the taste - it's certainly not for the faint hearted! I may be able to rescue it with coffee or fruit-cake type tastes but on the other hand I may have to throw the lot away if it's really horrible.

It's not always rewarding when it doesn't work! It can be incredibly frustrating!

[squeezyjohn]

I'm currently tasting pure cigar tobacco snus before any flavouring has been added to see what flavours I think would work with it. It's incredibly pungent and has elements of cold cigar butt in the taste - it's certainly not for the faint hearted! I may be able to rescue it with coffee or fruit-cake type tastes

At the risk of being pilloried for quoting myself in my own thread...

I think I've found the answer to the 100% cigar tobacco - maybe not for this batch but for the next one.

By taking this intensely dark and pungent snus and infusing it with coffee beans, 100% cocoa solids and a little vanilla it makes sense of that dark dark taste so it's more like very dark chocolate or an espresso (it's very strong in nicotine too). I don't think that you could ever make an every-day snus from these tobacco leaves alone, but I am now aiming to get a kind of after-dinner snus from this recipe.

I'll be very relieved if I end up sending this one out to people rather than chucking the lot in the compost!