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"Columbus discovered tobacco before he discovered America. On the maiden voyage of the Santa Maria he and his crew landed on a Caribbean island, greeted by a people of natives who were chewing and smoking a peculiar leaf plant. tabago. The Portugese envoy to France, Jean Nicot (who would end up giving name to nicotine) introduced snuff to the French court by easing the headaches of the queen, Catharina De Medici. From there, snuff spread like wild fire throughout the continent and it became the craze of all the royals in Europe. That is also when the term for taking a pinch of tobacco first appeared - 'tabac á priser' - the term 'pris' lives on in Sweden to this very day.
This new custom eventually spread to Sweden as well, a rough land in the North which all together lacked the fine tastes and stylish ways of France. 200 years ago, fresh foods was an uncommon luxery in Sweden (and all over the world for that matter) and could only be enjoyed by the privileged. The aquired tastes of the common man were salt and sour, often in combination with some for of vodka. It was then evolved the french nasal snuff into a moist, aromatic ground snus. From the early 1800's onwards the snus consumtption in Sweden went from 0 to 1 kg per person and year. Snus producers were plentiful and the snus recipes even more so. Snus was flavoured with figs, cloves, malt, juniper berries, wine, syrup and more.
It should be added that the snus made then was based on swedish grown tobacco which generally was of somewhat poor quality. Furthermore, the snus was allowed to 'mature' in a slightly heated enviroment for 6 months (fermentation) which made germs and other microorganism flourish. In short, the snus of the 1800's didn't taste as it does today. However, no rule without an exception. One manufacturer diverged from the traditional methods and focused on a snus with a clean taste of tobacco, salt and water. It could be manufactured in one week and be sold as fresh goods. That manufacturer was named Ljunglöf, the snus was called Ettan and the year was 1822."
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