SnusX Bucket - bulk snus, add your own flavours (formerly 'Make your own snus')

[Stubby]

I see my name has come up here.... but I'm not quite sure... what the subject is. Having just walked in from a long work week (are there any others) I'm not gonna try to hard.

It's my understanding that the wet portions are sprayed with tobacco juice, whatever that may be. It doesn't increase the nicotine content, but being wet it does release the flavor and nicotine faster then whites. V2 has stated on the snuson forum that they get the high nicotine by using the higher nicotine parts of the plant and higher nicotine content plants. I have to assume that the tobacco itself is a small part of the overall cost of snus. The loose is 16 mg a gram.

I've been getting back into the RYO portions again and really enjoying it. Even doing the hand baking thing. I thought about getting some extra sterk loose and doing little .5 gram portions. 90 portions per can. How crazy is that? I would go with Oden's as I prefer it over thunder.

 

[exogenesis]

So they they get the stark snus by using a greater leaf to stem ratio,
& / or blend in the higher nicotine Rustica species ?
You're right the tobacco must be quite a small part of the overall cost of snus.


Still thinking that until they come up with a stark bucket-o-snus (loose please !),
that the fortification of one half by the other half's juice should be workable.
Although thinking about it you might only get a factor of 1.5x max out of
that, ...still its better.

Yes TV, I guess you could go mad & say supplement one bucket from
two others, but I reckon TF strength (ie doubled-up) would be enough

 

[TropicalBob]

The Make Your Own Snus tub arrived!

And it's a freaking bucket, like a child might use at the beach. About 480 snus portions.

The smell from the bucket of dry snus was so obnoxious that my wife left the area and made sure I didn't air out this stuff in HER area (the kitchen).

My first test was to soak a dry portion in strong coffee. Did not work well. The coffee did not lend sufficient taste and I soon had only the pure tobacco taste (not as disgusting as the smell).

The next test was with Creme de Cacao liquor. Now, this I like. I still have it in place. The chocolate liquor lasted many minutes, before fading into the background of the tobacco.

These do not have a nicotine level publicized, as far as I can tell, but they are likely a "medium" or "average" strength. I'm not falling out of my chair from overdose, but can tell I'm getting nicotine from the snus.

I'll pick up some commercial flavoring later on and run more flavor tests. This has great promise. Note that I did not buy any of Northerner's flavorings, since they seemed a bit expensive (especially shipping), and I can obtain flavorings locally.

 

[Caesarea]

Said to be 8mg, TB. think it will be good!
I fancy English Toffee flavour - as long as I don't forget it's snus and try to chew it up and swallow it!
Looking forward to your flavour experiment results.



C.

 

[exogenesis]

Got a feeling the instructions say 'leave for 3 days in fridge' for soaking with flavouring,
maybe you get a longer under lip flavour that way ?

Perhaps something inbetween a quick soak & 3 days is enough, how long
were you soaking for TB ?

btw can you taste the salt like normal snus ?

finally (honest) some other 'kits' say add sodium bicarbonate to the liquor to
up the pH (not sure how much), that may make them feel stronger at least.

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

finally (honest) some other 'kits' say add sodium bicarbonate to the liquor to
up the pH (not sure how much), that may make them feel stronger at least.

Hmmm. I hadn't given the pH much thought in regard to the DIY kit. I guess that might be something to consider, since my tiny mind was thinking about the normal loose 'baccy we get. Since this is dry, the pH probably does need adjusting. Squeezing some liquid of the prepared snus in a vial with Cresol Red and checking with a comparator should work. Make a small batch and add sodium bicarb 'til the pH is.....what..8.6?? Then ratios for larger batches can be figured.

 

[exogenesis]

onlinesnus:

The salt <sodium chloride> is added for two reasons, partly for its taste enhancement abilities, and it also has a preservative effect and contributes to prolonged durability of the snus.
Sodium carbonate is used to give the snus its characteristic taste and aroma, which leads to the fact that the pH of snus is slightly alkaline.

i.e. they use disodium carbonate, rather than sodium bicarbonate, but
same effect, just need a bit more.


swedishmatch:

Swedish snus includes finely ground tobacco with a total nicotine content of about 1.5 to 2.5 percent and it has a pH target value of about 8.5. These levels are traditional for Swedish snus and have remained unchanged for years. However, the pH level of the products declines as they age, meaning concurrently with the storage time. The pH level never increases

Of course the SnusX Bucket probably already has the pH adjusted.


Someone's done a test of 11 various snus:
SnusOn.com - Snus Forum :: View topic - pH List of Snus

average 8.4, range 7.5 to 8.8


Think I'll do some quick pH meter tests, got various other ones (I don't like),
but then they've been in the fridge for a couple of months.

 

[TropicalBob]

I've only been soaking to saturation. After all, they just arrived and I wanted to try a few right away. Inside the tub is a small plastic container for the snus to be carried in a pocket.

These things stink so bad that I'm airing them out for a few days, hoping that will go away. Right now, one is soaking in pure vegetable glycerin. I'll try others today soaked in Key Lime flavoring and Kahlua flavoring. A sublingual vitamin solution is on the test list, too.

The basic taste is similar to Ettan. I use Ettan sparingly, when I feel I need something the sweet snus don't give me. These are very Ettan-like .. except they stink worse.

No salt taste to me. But I love salt. I love sweet. I can eat both salt and sugar straight and be happy. So salt does not bother me.

 

[exogenesis]

Kahlua sounds really nice,
tried smearing key lime on snus portion before, tasted terrible to me,
maybe I used too much.

Guess the stink is an amount thing, 24 portions in a can, 480 ish in the bucket
= 20 x the stink

Really hoping they've left out or reduced the salt (might be a lot easier to
create long-term vapable juice from).

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

Think I'll do some quick pH meter tests, got various other ones (I don't like),
but then they've been in the fridge for a couple of months.

That's my big question for hoarding...er...stocking-up for the long term if/when our government sees fit to tax the poo out of my on-line tobacco purchases. I guess the pH could be raised when needed, but I'd still like to know. Drying is probable, but that wouldn't be a problem.

 

[TropicalBob]

These Make Your Own Snus are already dry, TV. I just wish they were processed the way Ooomph does its tasteless Wine&Dine dry snus.

This is not what Vaporer has been doing. This is not like "roll your own" or anything. You are buying a tub of unflavored, dry, pure tobacco portion snus. Your only job is to flavor to taste.

I did the test this afternoon on pure vegetable glycerine, which, after all, is a sweetener. The snus was REALLY sweet and the sweetness lasted 15 or more minutes. I haven't yet tried the Kahlua or Key Lime, the only two flavors I have on hand before I visit Michael's. I used those in e-liquid experiments.

The stench from these is just godawful. Like an unwashed fishing village dock after a few days of intense summer sun. I've put the entire tub, opened, in an apartment refrigerator to see if that stink will go away.

With shipping factored in, these snus are six cents each.

And I think they'll fit an 801 cart core. As a snus, the nicotine level is fine for me. I have no intention of adding e-liquid as moisture unless I intend to vape the snus portion.

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

Ahh, so it's already made into portions? Guess I was "out there" again .

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

Uh, yep...portions......don't know where I crossed my wires on that one .

 

[Dredbull]

Ugh Misread this entirely.

I was all gunho about ordering some dried tobacco and oils and a grinder and making snuff.

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

Ugh Misread this entirely.

I was all gunho about ordering some dried tobacco and oils and a grinder and making snuff.

Yeah, sheds a new light on the subject, don't it. Now I gotta re-sync my gears..........Ok, I call a do-over........

 

[exogenesis]

Yes I guess being already dry(ish), they store better longer (hence no need for salt?),
suspect cooling then exposing to air would rapidly damp them down.

They said maybe there's a bucket o loose in the offing (as well as possibly sterk version).

I wonder if they're actually as dry as say snuff, would need to weigh dry & reweigh to find out.

pH meter gone up swanny, bgr, scratch that then.

Doesn't addding glycerol 'slow' the apparent nic. uptake rate TB ?,
when I tried adding significant say PG containing spearmint concentrate
(to wet snus) the 'oomph' went out of them.

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

Hey exo, here's one I posted at the watering hole I found on another...uh...site. Just food for thought.

"A Danish friend of mine kept ranting on about these. I'd like to give it a try.

I found this recipe through a Blackle search but haven't actually tried it myself nor, really know what to expect. Nevertheless I offer it in good faith.

Batch of Snus in 4 simple stages

1. Boil 400ml of water for every 250 grams of snus powder, along with one bag of salt (72g). Make sure that all of the salt dissolves. When the salted water has cooled to approximately 50 degrees (centigrade) can you can start mixing in the snus powder. Allow the mixture to stand for one hour without stirring. The container you use can be either plastic, glass, ceramic or a stainless bowl. Cover the container with aluminium foil, making sure that light cannot enter.

2. The container with the snuff powder mixture should now be set in an environment of approximately 50 degrees (centigrade), where the mixture will sweat for 5 days (and nights). If you do not have access to a boiler-room or heated cabinets, you can, in the worst case, use the kitchen oven, although this may prove unpopular amongst your hungry family members. You can also build a heat-box with an ordinary box lined with styrofoam. Depending on the ambient temperature and the insulation in the box, you can then use an ordinary tungsten lightbulb of 25-60W to heat the inside.

You should stir the mixture daily and if it becomes dry, simply add 100ml of boiled water.

3. After five days, open the container and mix in a bag of soda (sodium carbonate 22g). Simply pour the powder onto the snus mixture and be sure to distribute it evenly. Mix in a bottle glycerol/propylene-glycol. You can now add in the flavouring if you do not want plain-flavoured snus. Take care with the amount you use and test it on a small batch if you don't want to risk flavouring the whole batch.

4. Your snuff is now completed and ready to be packaged. If the humidity is too high high, lay the snus on a newspaper covered with paper towel to let it dry for approximately 2-4 hours depending on room temperature. Pack the snuff in tins or boxes. Remember that storage increases the aroma. In order to always have fresh snus, be sure to store your tins in the fridge or freezer."

It may not answer any questions and I sure can't say for accuracy, but like I said, food for thought. Shame about the pH meter .

 

[TropicalBob]

Exo: I'm really unable to tell much about the nic uptake. I don't feel much, even with clobber-me 17mg snus, which I no longer use.

I do know the VG-soaked portion was tasty. It still stunk a bit, but tasted pretty good. Now, I know that both smell and taste perceptions vary among individuals. That said, to me, these snus are wretchedly stinky. I'm only hoping they air out the stink before I have to put the whole mess in a cedar box.

My preferred nic level for snus is 6mg to 8mg. The Oomph ones are particularly potent and fast-acting at 6mg, so strength is not everything. I made it through that tin of Oden's (yuck, just major yuck) and Thunder Frosted (good, but too strong) and the only snus to overdose me to upchucking was Oomph Wine&Dine.

So I think the Make Your Own Snus portions are fine from a strength standpoint. Once I sort out the person-who-didn't-bathe-for-a-week smell, these will likely be fine -- at six cents each!

 

[Skrymr]

Exo: I'm really unable to tell much about the nic uptake. I don't feel much, even with clobber-me 17mg snus, which I no longer use.

I do know the VG-soaked portion was tasty. It still stunk a bit, but tasted pretty good. Now, I know that both smell and taste perceptions vary among individuals. That said, to me, these snus are wretchedly stinky. I'm only hoping they air out the stink before I have to put the whole mess in a cedar box.

My preferred nic level for snus is 6mg to 8mg. The Oomph ones are particularly potent and fast-acting at 6mg, so strength is not everything. I made it through that tin of Oden's (yuck, just major yuck) and Thunder Frosted (good, but too strong) and the only snus to overdose me to upchucking was Oomph Wine&Dine.

So I think the Make Your Own Snus portions are fine from a strength standpoint. Once I sort out the person-who-didn't-bathe-for-a-week smell, these will likely be fine -- at six cents each!

How is the smell after infusing moisture and flavor into them?

 

[TropicalBob]

Too limited in testing to say definitively. A single portion soaked in Creme de Cacao was not bad; same for the VG soak.

I'm letting the bucket spend some quality time in the refrigerator, with the lid off, to see if it help.