Portion Snus

The number one site for information on the portion version of Swedish snus! On SnusPortion.com, we will try to educate you on what a portion of Swedish snus actually is, the history of portion snus, how it’s made and discuss the difference between a regular portion snus and a White portion snus. We’ll also see which of your favorite brands come in a Maxi portion, regular portion, white portion, mini portion or all four! So, without further delay, let’s find out just what, exactly, a portion of Swedish snus actually is!

The History of Portion Snus

Before actually explaining what exactly a portion of Swedish snus is, perhaps we should explain why it came to be first. As you all know, or don’t know, Swedish snus was first introduced as a loose (lös in Swedish) version in the 1700’s. Until the early 1970’s Swedish snus only came in a loose version and was used primarily by men. In 1977, the first portion snus was introduced, Tre Ankare. But, why was portion snus introduced, you may ask? Simple really, portion snus was not as messy! Until the invention of a snus that was portioned into individual serving sizes, a person had to open a can of loose, “pinch” a “pris” (what we still call a portion of loose today) and place it in the upper lip! For Swedish society, this was a definite faux pas, especially in public! But, even back then, there was a certain stigma attached to smoking and Swedish society had to make a choice; live with smoking or, figure out a way to make snus more acceptable and accessible to the rest of society.

The Swedish Tobacco Company (Now Swedish Match) answered that call by introducing Tre Ankare Portion snus. Since the late 1970’s, portion snus has been the most popular version of Swedish snus and women now make up a large percentage of users! Today, with the smoking bans across Sweden rival those of California; portion snus is becoming more and more popular. Even more popular that cigarettes! Now that we have the history out of the way, let’s take a look at just what, exactly, a portion of snus is!

There are many different aspects in the world of portion snus and, we hope that this will help you in your quest for the portion snus that’s right for you! If you visit www.northerner.com, you can find all the different portion snus the Swedish snus world has to offer. Their site is extremely easy to navigate and be sure to check out our snus tests to see what others think of their favorite snus!

The Making of Portion Snus

The manufacturing process for portion snus is really quite fascinating and quick! What happens is that snus is fed into a hopper in the top of the portioning machine while a roll of portioning material is fed into the side. As the snus is pushed thru a feeder, the machine turns the strip of material into a tube and seals the seam in the middle. Next is the cutting die. Here, the material and the snus meet in a pair of round dies that injects the gram of snus into the tube; the two dies meet to cut and seal each end and eject them into their cans. It pretty much works like a hard candy making machine but really impressive to watch! So, let’s talk about the different types of portion snus.

Portion Varieties

Portion snus comes in 4 varieties, Maxi, regular, White and Mini. While there are 4 different types, there are basically 3 different sizes, Maxi, large and Mini. Let’s take a look at each size and we’ll also identify which sizes come in what types! I know it sounds confusing but, we’ll try to clarify it as we go. Let’s start with the largest in the portion family, the Maxi portion!

Maxi Portion

Maxi portions are, obviously, the largest portion in the portion line. Any portion snus with over one gram of snus can be classified as a Maxi portion but typically, they have an average of 1.5 grams of snus. The physical size of a Maxi portion is the same length as a regular portion but, they are thicker and are much more noticeable when in the lip which is why they have fallen out of favor in recent years. Maxi portions do have one unique thing about them though; they are almost always higher in Nicotine than regular portions. While there is high Nicotine, regular sized portions on the market, Maxi portions are naturally higher simply due to the amount of snus in them.

As of the writing of this article, there are currently only two brands of Maxi snus on the market, General Maxi, made by Swedish Match and Granit Maxi by Fiedler and Lundgren. General Maxi has 14 portions per can and 14 mg of Nicotine per portion. Granit Maxi has 20 portions per can and 12 mg of Nicotine per portion. You can see the difference in the Nicotine amounts between the two but the two have the same sized portions. How can we tell, simple! General maxi has 14 portions in a can but a total weight of 24 grams of snus per can. Granit has 20 portions per can and has 30 grams of snus per can. The major reason why there is a difference is the kind of tobacco used to make it. That though, is a discussion for another time so; let’s go to the next type of portion, the large sized portion.

Large sized portions are, without a doubt, the most popular portions out there today. Pretty much all Swedish snus manufacturers make a large sized portion snus. Within the Large portion family, there are 2 basic types, regular or Original and White. The easiest way to distinguish between the two is by looking at the material. Regular or Original portions have a brown looking material and are moister that White portion material. White portion material is, obviously, White in color and tends to be dryer than the regular portions. This doesn’t mean that the material is different though. The same material is used in all portions no matter the size and type. The brown color is actually staining from the tobacco due to the additional step in the process that regular type portions go thru that White portions don’t. This additional step adds a bit more moisture to the portion that aids the flavors to mix together and bring them out quicker once it’s in your lip. There is a bit of a myth as to what kind of moisture is added to the portions so, let’s discuss the “mystery juice” now!

The popular theory was that a type of tobacco juice was added to the portions prior to being packaged in the can. People new to snus or, those that haven’t see a portion being produced, thought the tobacco juice is where all the flavoring was added since when you put a regular type portion in your lip, you almost immediately begin to taste the flavors in the snus, that and the fact that the portion material was stained brown. In actuality, the famous “mystery juice” is just purified water! The reason for the brown staining and the quicker flavor release comes from when the water is added, the cans go into a “cold room” to condition for a few days. During this time, the water penetrates the material and mixes with the tobacco and flavorings to create a type of tobacco juice that stains the portion material, giving it the brown color and thus allowing us to make the distinction between a regular portion and a White one.

White Portion

The White portion is the same size as a regular or Original portion and contains the same amount of tobacco as well. While there is a confusing element with White portions, the only major difference between regular and White portions is the fact that the White portions do not go thru the additional wetting step. The confusing element is that there are some White portions that are black in color! What’s confusing is the fact that some new snus users can get the black portion snus confused with the regular type snus, not the White. The easiest way to distinguish the difference is this; if the portion is not brown in color, it’s a White portion! There are other differences though.

Since White portions don’t go thru the extra step in the manufacturing process, the material tends to be dry. What this means is that in a small number of White brands, the portion can be a little uncomfortable in the lip for the first few minutes unlike the regular type. Most manufacturers of White portion snus use a soft, teabag type of material in the production of all their snus and are reasonably comfortable under the lip from start to finish. The other difference is that White portion snus tends to take a little longer to release its flavor. The flip side of this is that the flavor in White portion snus lasts longer! A portion of regular portion snus can last for up to 1 ½ hours before the flavor goes off. With White portions, the flavor can last for over 2 hours! As for the Nicotine levels between the two, there really aren’t any that are related to the size and type. Manufacturers did however; choose the large version to create a High Nicotine race though. Nicotine levels in this variety range from 6 mg to 17 mg per portion but, like we said, it’s due to the large portion’s popularity and has nothing to do with size like with the Maxi. So, let’s look at the final type of portion snus, the Mini portion!

Mini Portion

Mini portions are exactly what the name implies, they are small portions. Mini portions typically are about half the size of a large portion and have between .3 and .6 grams of snus. Almost all Mini portions are of the White type or, a new version, Dry type with a handful being the regular or Original type. The Nicotine level in Mini portions also varies between 3 mg and 6 mg per portion. While we’ve already learned the differences between regular or Original and White version are previously, with Mini portions this remains the same but we need to explain what Dry portions are.

Dry Portion

Dry portions are relatively new in the portion world and in some Swedish snus, can be a bit of a misnomer. There are some Mini snus manufacturers out there that use both “Dry” and “White” in the description of their Mini portions. This can be confusing to new snus users since they tend to think that the portion is White and the snus is a powder. Dry White mini portions are dry in the sense that the portion material is dry and the snus has less moisture than White portions. Dry mini portions means that the snus has no moisture what so ever! Wise, Kock and Vin, Oomph and Northerner Energy snus are examples of Swedish Dry mini snus. Camel SNUS and Marlboro Snus are examples of not only dry Mini snus but American snus in general.

Dry portions can also be a bit uncomfortable in the lip until a bit of moisture can get to the portion its self. Most people will put the Dry portions on their tongues prior to placing in the lip so the needed moisture gets to the portion and the material gets a bit more comfortable.