Taboca White Extra Strong portion snus, That Snus Guy’s first snus review on SnusCentral in almost 3 years!!

Greetings Snus Lovers!

It’s great to be back here at SnusCENTRAL again after almost 3 years. While it had been quite some time since I had seen by beloved Snustopia last time, I must admit that I missed the gang here at Snus CENTRAL during my hiatus. I even missed Moe UNZ and was both surprised and elated when I saw him at Snustopia International Airport last weekend. I guess Larry had told Moe to go get the Snustopian from the airport and Moe took that as come to Snustopia and get me in the airport!

Once we got here and in the bunker, Larry was ecstatic to see me again and furious at Moe for not understanding his orders but, unbeknown to Larry, I was glad to have the company on the flight back! Moe really knows his stuff when it comes to running the store and it was his request that the first snus review I write when I get back to the bunker should be on Taboca White Extra Strong portion.

That and it was the only snus he had on him for the trip so, let’s get started with our first review of 2012, Taboca White Extra Strong portion snus!

In the past 5 years of reviewing snus, I have always been intrigued by the different brands of snus that actually come under the Taboca family. While most Snus Lovers will surely know the three Taboca types; Original, White and White Extra Strong, most will not know that they also produce the Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta snus brands! But, when Taboca was still produced by Taboca AS, there was also a Taboca loose snus as well as a Montecristo loose.

The loose varieties were discontinued when Taboca AS/Scandinavian Premium Tobacco was sold to two different Norwegian companies in 2010. Taboca AS was founded in 2004 in Gotland, Sweden and began producing Taboca snus as their primary brand. In 2010, the company changed it’s name to Scandinavian Premium Tobacco and added the Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta brands, made with Cuban tobaccos, to their portfolio.

“Hey Snus Guy, are we going to hear about Taboca White ES or are you going to continue on your dissertation on the history of Taboca AS?” Right! Sorry, I did get a bit off track but it’s important that you know that in the realm of Swedish snus companies, Taboca/SP Tobacco is a relative newcomer but, they do produce some of the most unique snus brands around! So, lets get back to the review!

Taboca White Extra Strong portion snus is the newest addition to the Taboca snus line. It first arrived on the snus stage in mid 2011 and was created to be a very unique snus brand. Taboca White ES is classed as a white type portion which, for those new snus lovers, means that the last step of adding a small bit of water to each portion prior to packaging, has been omitted.

This leaves the portion material it’s original white color and a bit dry. While it’s dryer than an original type portion, the material that SP Tobacco uses in Taboca White ES is soft and comfortable in the lip. For this review, I’ve kept a portion in for over 2 hours with no discomfort whatsoever.

Each can of Taboca White ES contains 20 portions and has the highest Nicotine content of all the Taboca brands. The can is unique to the old Taboca metal cans where…….”Oh no, he hasn’t lost his OCD about the cans!” I know, I know….I still do have an affinity for snus cans but, these cans are much different than the old Taboca cans! Where back a few years ago, Taboca was using metal cans for the Taboca line, which were quite cool but, didn’t have a catch lid which was really quite annoying. The new Red plastic can stills retains the sharp lines of the metal ones and also adds a huge catch lid.

In essence, the entire top of the main lid pops off and a catch compartment that’s as round as the lid, and deep enough to hold about 10 used portions. This is why I said that this can was unique! On the flip side though, It can be a bit frustrating in the dark since the catch lid is really just as round as the main lid and when you think you’ve opened the can, you’ve actually only opened the catch lid. Ok, I’m done obsessing about the can, let’s get into the flavor of Taboca White Extra Stark portion!

SP Tobacco describes Taboca White Extra Strong as “using only spring water and hand-picked tobacco gives distinct fresh flavor with hints of bergamot and citrus”. While this is a pretty accurate description of the basic flavors in Taboca White ES, I taste a bit more than this. Since this is a White type portion snus, the overall strength of the flavors is light. While you can definitely taste the earthy tobacco flavors, you can also get a bit of black pepper in the background.

This comes out as a bit of a burn in the back of the throat, not like heat from a pepper, just a slight burn one may get from a peppercorn. Another thing I taste in Taboca White ES, that I’ve also tasted in most of the snus brands that SP Tobacco makes, is the citrus but it’s not the normal Bergamot, it’s a bit sweeter! What I taste is the slight bite of the Bergamot, which is a cross between a grapefruit and a lemon, and the slight sweetness of orange.

Like I said, this citrus flavor is in all of SP Tobacco’s snus and it’s really quite nice. Overall, the flavor of Taboca White Extra Strong is a unique blend of earthy, peaty and peppery flavors of the blend of different tobaccos mixed with a bit of salt and a slight citrus sweetness that goes well with the flavors of the tobaccos. But this is what I taste, I’ll let you be the judge! So, what to drink with Taboca White Extra Strong portion snus? Let’s take a look!

As you may, or may not remember, I don’t drink alcoholic beverages so, doing a wine or beer pairing I let my subjects in Snustopia do that testing. In the past, I would give you pairings with Diet Coke and energy drinks and maybe the odd tea suggestion. Well, during the past few years back in my homeland, I have become a bit of a tea connoisseur or, as Moe UNZ put it at the Teavana in SIA (Snustopia International Airport), a tea snob!

So, knowing this, what would go well with Taboca White ES? As I wrote this review, I was sipping my personal blend of Black teas (English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast) in Iced form, I thought that the strength of this blend actually drowned out the flavors in the snus so, I tried a great green tea grown in South Carolina. The green tea actually went rather well. Not only because the overall flavors of green tea are inherently lighter than that of other teas but, the light grassy flavor of this tea actually highlighted the snus’ sweetness and was a great combination! White teas go well if you’re looking for a tea that will just highlight the citrus and tobacco flavors since the grassy aftertaste that green teas have is not there in White teas. But, like I said before, this is what I like, give each one a try and see for yourself!

So Snus Lovers, My overall recommendations for Taboca White Extra Strong portion snus by SP Tobacco is this; for those snus lovers that like the unique tastes that Taboca is known for but, would like a muted down version, Taboca White ES would be perfect for you.

Those new to Swedish snus would do well with Taboca White ES as it’s flavors are unique to Swedish snus brands and the salt flavor that most new snus users have a hard time with is really light. My suggestion is to grab a can or two in you next order and form your own opinions.

The best place on the web to grab a few cans of Taboca White ES is from the SnusCentral shop where Moe UNZ will carefully pick your order and make sure it gets to you in a timely manner. Truthfully though, the shop here at SnusCentral has some of the best prices on the internet and one of the best customer service teams if there ever was an issue. On top of that, if this is your first time ordering you can click on the banner below, put in the code at check-out and get 10% off your order! Just tell Moe that “That Snus Guy” sent you.

Well Snus Lovers, I hope you found this review of Taboca White Extra Strong portion snus by Scandinavian Premium Tobacco informational and fun. For any questions, comments or suggestions or, if you’d like to recommend a snus you would like to see reviewed, just visit my reviews section in the forums section of SnusCentral.org. A quick link is at the bottom of this review. If your not a member, become one! It only takes a minute and you’ll be able to interact with the whole SnusCentral family!

As always Snus Lovers,

Happy Snusing!

Rob Jarzombek a.k.a. That Snus Guy

Snustopia in Exile! Forum home of That Snus Guy.