snus newb

[pcguy]

I recently quit smoking and took up snus to accomplish it.

My first snus was of course the readily available here in the states camel snus. Which I quite liked initially, even the sweetness to it. Then I found buysnus.com and promptly ordered several different kinds of the real thing. The first thing I noticed was how intensely salty snus seems to me.


I have found that the general onyx and offroad cranberry seems way too potent for me (white portions on all my ordered snus so far)

When in my teen years I tried redman chew and instantly threw up turning green

I found that while still salty, I can easily tolerate the goteborgs rape no 2, and the jakobson ice fuit, Also seem ok with catch eucalyptus. I still get the camel snus due to free coupons and find it still a big part of my consumption.

Before I realized I didn't really like the offroad cranberry much, I placed a second order which was a roll of samples, and the offroad limited tin. Starting to think that may have been a mistake. Is it normal to take quite some time to get used to the plainer pure tobacco flavored snus?

[cocsp2002]

I placed my first order back in June, and on the advice of some guys here on the forum, got mainly tobacco flavored snus since most snus are tobacco flavored.

The advice was try the natural stuff to experience the saltiness and see if you like it, then move on to the flavored stuff. Prior to snusing, I smoked and dipped. I dipped things like Skoal Mint and Grizzly WG, so I was definitely apprehensive at first, and was pleasantly surprised upon tasting unflavored tobacco snus. Turns out, I prefer my snus unflavored and my dip flavored, although since snusing, I find that dip is much too strongly flavored.

Maybe you'd like something like General WG, or Offroad American WG; best of both worlds? I think that the saltiness is something you'll get used to, personally. It's added as a flavor enhancer; it's supposed to make the flavors in the snus more prominent. To be honest with you, I don't notice the saltiness much anymore, except for the "sticky" quality that the salt creates when it absorbs the moisture where it touches.

Incidentally, I found that I don't like portions as much as lossnus, which is a very fine grind and tends to be somewhat moister than portions, and definitely moister than white portions. I think the flavor is more dominant in los. You may want to order one can of los - something like General (which is the most popular brand worldwide) or Ettan (also from Swedish Match) which I like a lot. Younger snusers in Sweden are also partial to Roda Lacket. Although, if you order los, you may want to splurge the $1.50 on a prismaster, as most people aren't very good initially at hand baking their pris, and give up los since it makes a mess in their mouth. If you try it, I encourage you to give it a fair shake; once you find your technique, it can be the best way to enjoy your snus!

Hope I haven't overloaded you in one post! Also, welcome to SnusOn! The more the merrier!

[Starcadia]

Re: snus newb

Before I realized I didn't really like the offroad cranberry much, I placed a second order which was a roll of samples, and the offroad limited tin. Starting to think that may have been a mistake. Is it normal to take quite some time to get used to the plainer pure tobacco flavored snus?

Welcome and congratulations.

You'll find that personal taste is across the board and that you're probably going to have to experiment to find what you like. I know that feeling of being confident about an order and then questioning it. I wouldn't be surprised if that's fairly common.

I sought out the more genuine tobacco flavors immediately, even though I don't really like the flavor of pure tobacco in dips and chew, or even the smell of smoking tobacco. I've enjoyed a strong tobacco flavor in cigarettes and pipe tobacco too. (If you've smoked a pipe, chances are you're going to like the same qualities in snus.) [no citation] Also, I've found that even throughout the basic tobacco snuses, each one has distinct flavors which more or less set them off from the rest, at which point it becomes a more subtle matter, but that's part of the fun.

Good luck on your adventure. Even if you placed a wrong order, it'll help you narrow down your tastes, because you WILL try all of them. LOL. So come back often and let us all know what you like, and chances are you'll get too many answers.

[lxskllr]

Real Swedish snus was a bit of a shock to me after having used Camel for a couple of months. You have to get rid of any preconceived notions of what snus should be, and take the Swedish stuff on it's own merits. I really grew to appreciate the natural flavor of Swedish snus. Even the highly flavored snus' (Catch Eucalyptus, LD Black, Rapé #2...) have an organic flavor, and subtlety that Camel can't really touch. Camel tastes ok I guess, but after using Swedish for over a year now, I can't really go back.

[snusjus]

I would recommend trying anything that is Skruf brand; they tend to have a nice subtle sweet flavor that is unlike any other snus!

[pcguy]

thanks for the feedback

As for the strong tobacco flavors, perhaps I will come around in time. So far my favorites are the rape no. 2 and the ice fruit. I may come around on the general onyx at a later date. Will see what I think of ettan when the new order arrives.