Important threads on r/DIYSnus

Here we have 3 lb Virginia flue cured, 3 lb fronto, 1 lb dark fire cured. All are “low grade”

Cost me $75 before shipping. We stripped the midrib out and put them on out patented “just a screen on the bottom” tray and run a fan and dehumidifier in the basement to dry em out.

Soon we will put them in the industrial flour mill and make enough flour for the next 8 months of production.

Anybody have a good source for food grade sodium carbonate? Been Googling, but I can't seem to find any good options that are explicitly food grade.

Hi everyone. I just found some tobacco from a cigar kit I never got to roll and wanted to know if some Nicaraguan Viso some aged Nicaraguan Ligero from Estali and a Dominican Binder tobacco could make a good snus? I even have some connecticut shade wrapper. Any advice on a recipe would be great. Thanks!

How much more nitrosamines does it really have? I’ve read conflicting data on it especially compared to pasteurized versus American dip using it. I like to mix it with other kinds but I have made it before out of straight fire cured. Some of my clones have been pretty close to Cope.

So ive been making a general mint clone pretty much, in an instant pot for a year. I like it. Do 100g of tobacco at a time with 90 to 95g of water and some salt. I do 4hrs at hugh pressure then let rest for 2 hrs.

I want to do bigger batches though. Maybe 200 or 300g at a time. Should my cook time be the same or more?

I made a post a couple of days ago, I went and acquired the actual rum thats used in La Morenita, an 8yr El Dorado rum.

In the last post, I had mentioned 2 batches of all rum, and a second one with the Liquor Quik as well as a smaller amount of rum.

After using both the past week, I'm not too keen on the Liquor Quik anymore, the El Dorado has aged really nicely, and its been about 2 months in the fridge.

I went ahead and combined both to make a larger amount. I also added 20ml more of the Rum, and also about 1/2 a ml of lye water too keep the strength roughly the same. I realize that the potency of the alkalizer does diminish a bit after 2 months.

The finished ball, (who doesn't like a big ball of snus?) is over 900 grams, and I will let it sit in the fridge another two months if possible and then freeze. I do pull out a tins worth to see how flavor holds.

Hello!

It’s been awhile since my last post. Thought I would share some recent cooks these past couple of months.

This time I ordered from Total Leaf Supply.

Virginia Flue Cured (BK)

Brazilian Dark Fire Cured Foiano Wrapper

Ecuadorian Habano Marron Ligero Wrapper

Blind Monkey Binder

Paraguay Doble Solid Leaf

The Ecuador Habano was by far the most expensive.

I also acquired the actual Rum used in La Morenita Loose. (see pictures)

It is an 8 year El Dorado Rum.

Also pictured is some Liquor Quik available on Amazon.

First batch was some Paraguay Doble and Virginia. This one I used only the El Dorado Rum. It’s been in the fridge a couple of months, and the flavor has really developed. It’s nowhere near in aroma to actual La Morenita. But you can definitely smell and taste the rum. I had to be careful to not add too much rum like I did in previous cooks, doing so made the snus a little too bitter, it also changes the consistency of the prilla.

Basically I start with a basic snus recipe:

8g salt

6.5g alkalizer (sodium carbonate)

60g Paraguay Doble

30g Virginia/10g Virginia stem

110g water

I usually always lose 10-20g of water after cooking at 85C for 24 hours, so I add the difference of missing water with rum as well as an additional 10g to bring the total weight back to 235g. It’s really a personal preference, you could add more or less to achieve acceptable results.

2^nd batch was the Ecuadorian Ligero and Virginia and stem, same recipe as above, with the Ecuadorian being the difference. Here I will mention the Liquor Quik, the rum version. This Liquor Quik has no alcohol, but contains flavors and Propylene Glycol. The bottle says to add somewhere 1-3% of this Liquor Quik by volume or total weight. I still started with some El Dorado rum like the first cook, but used about 3% of finished weight.

The other thing I forgot to mention was after both cooks  I add:

0.375% xanthum gum

0.4% ammonium chloride

As well as 3-4% propylene glycol

For the Ecuador Ligero, I used the Liquor Quik in place of the propylene glycol

After sitting for a month in the fridge, the both batches were still a bit gritty, probably from the stems. So I added about 10g of vegetable glycerine to each batch. Eyeballed a little more xanthum gum, PG and VG.

The picture of the cans of open snus are as follows:

Top left- Ecuadorian Ligero/Virginia

Top right- Paraguay Doble

Bottom left- Brazilian Dark Fire Cured/Virginia

Bottom right- Blind Monkey/Virginia

The bottom two I have not mentioned yet, the Brazilian DFC/Virginia was a 70/30 split. The last one is Blind Monkey/Virginia. I ended up adding rose water and bergamot to the Blind Monkey and decided to combine both batches the DFC with the Blind Monkey. It muted the DFC somewhat and turned out to be the best decision.

The Brazilian DFC is a good choice! I could have kept it by itself, but wanted to see how the two combined would be. The consistency of these was a lot more soft and fluffy (I didn’t add any stems to this) reminds me of the texture of Roda Lacket, and even the La Morenita or Islay Whisky when you first open the tin. I doubled these last two batches and stored them in the freezer. Yield was (7) 200g bags, with the leftover remaining in the fridge.

The Rum batches I am leaving in the fridge for another month or two to see if further flavor develops.

In closing, I am quite pleased with these batches. Since the price of the Ecuadorian Ligero was $40 a pound, I will probably pass on buying it again. I also want to lower the alkalizer from 6.5g to 6g, and get some Rustica to make up the difference in strength. The burn is pretty noticeable at 6.5g but seems to have mellowed some with time.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and hit me up with any comments or questions!

Hello, we kinda like the buzz - burning feeling.. we readed here to do it with pepper or chili. We couldn't find which timing of the recipe to put it in and which quantity (how much gramms for 100g of tobacco)

Thanks

Hey

How long do I need to steam-cook snus in an electric cooker and not pressure cooker , considering the total batch weighs 400 grams and I'm using a roasting bag instead of a mason jar? Is 6 hours enugh??

I can’t stand the taste of homemade pasteurization so I have tested this method that preserves the subtle tobacco notes, improves wettability and keep tobacco safe and long lasting.

Ratios: 10g tobacco flour, 4g liquor of at least 60% ethanol, 0.5g salt.

Preparation: mix it and seal it for at least 12 hours, then puncture the wrap and let it stay for another full day till the ethanol smell is gone, after that adjust with water and alkaline salts.

The tobacco will turn black as proteins denature just like pasteurized snus, I can’t really call this snus but the flavor is amazing, the only difference from pasteurized snus is that it will be much more drippy and crumbly (which I actually prefer) you can partially fix this by adding some more extra licorice extract, glycerin or soluble mucoadhesive gums and adding less overall moisture or grinding it more finely. The ethanol that stays is only in trace amounts, if you don’t like the tastes of whisky or any other liquor you can mix ethanol and water and let it even longer to let everything evaporate

For those who have tried it are you using real coffee beans, instant, or something else? If you use an espresso type grind and then alkalize will the allalizer increase the absorption like the nicotine? How much do you think would give it a perceivable flavor in 100 grams?

Preaching to the choir I know, but just wanted to stop in and say cheers to everyone!

Just a basic blend but I keep coming back. Still have not played around with other flavors ha. Does anyone add a small amount of ground coffee?

2/3 low grade fronto
1/3 low grade virginia

51% Water
41% Tobacco
4% Sea Salt
2.8% Potassium Carbonate
1.2% Licorice Root Powder

Greetings!

The old dip guide on my channel was made in a huge hurry, and was so grainy and crunchy that it was honestly embarrassing to think about. The new one is much more clear, touches upon many questions and some theory that others don't cover, and is all around better.

Why does this matter to DIY snus?

Dip is sort of an alternate evolutionary path, a relic of the pre-pasteurization Swedish method of making snus, and knowing how to make dip is a great thing to have in your toolbelt for recreating some older recipes, including many that are very elaborate or have their unique flavors destroyed by pasteurization by pressure cooker or sous vide (early, early experiments with making Strengbergs Grov have confirmed this for me). Plus, it's interesting!

Also, I know some of you are interested in dip, and while the situation has improved (sometimes people will tip me off to TikTokers showing how to make dip using my recipe, and while I think they intend for me to fly off the rails, I smile instead knowing I have added something to the culture of the world), there are still many erroneous or misguided recipes for dip out there. Honestly, dip is simple stuff, and anyone with some dark fired floating around should try to make some!

Give it a shot!

I’ve made two batches of snus so far, and they both turned out really well, but I’ve been having a hard time getting the flavoring to really come through. It was barely perceptible with both batches.

The most recent batch, I tried to emulate snus at home video:

1. 2 shots of vodka
   
2. 30 grams of juniper berries
   
3. 24 drops of bergamot EO
   
4. 2 drops of lavender EO

I let this steep for a week and then I strained it and added about 23ml of this tincture to a 100 gram batch of snus right after I stirred in the alkalizer.

Then I let it mature in fridge for a week.

Just tried it and it’s great snus for the most part, but I really can’t taste much flavor. Did I use too little you think?

Hey y'all!

I'm currently growing my own tobacco and planning to use some of it for snus in a few months. One flavor that I'm a huge fan of is Tyrkisk Peber (for those of you who don't know, it's a salmiak candy with a spicy taste). I would like to know how you guys have recreated that taste profile, but I know that I'm gonna need licorice powder, ammonium chloride, chilli extract and very likely also anise.

I would also remind you that I have never made snus before

Alright, so I've been kinda struggling to get flavors to cut through the rich flavor of my tobacco blend. I've been missing that outdoorsy flavor of Lundgrens so picked up some Black Spruce essential oil to see how that goes and it absolutely slaps. All oils are steam distilled.

This was a 200 gram batch.

- 20g Rustica

- 40g Virginia

- 40g Burley

- 100g water

- 8g Sodium bicarbonate

I didn't measure the rest but after the cook...

- a sprinkling of licorice root powder

- 2 drops blood orange EO

- 2 drops bergamot EO

- 4 drops of black spruce EO

- small amount of PG

- kneed super well

Reminds me so much of Norrland. Next I'll try some lavender with it. I had used a tiny amount of xanthan gum in the past as a binder but it's really easy to get too much and then the batch can be a bit too gummy and loose in the mouth prematurely. I find PG by itself to be much better for the texture. It bakes super well with only a tiny amount.

Every-time I use my kitchen aid grinder to make snus I have a decent amount of powder and I’m super curious if anyone ever used and leftover powder for snuff. If so, how?

Hi all, I'd like to get creative and try throwing together some new varieties. We have a large amount of Juniper in the area. Anyone have experience with using Juniper berries? Do you harvest them early season or when ripe? Any other tips welcome.

Which one is better, considering that I use an electric cooking pot and not a pressure cooker?