Ettan Lös (Loose) - Review. 7 September 2015.

Review Updated: 16 December 2020.

I've recently added a rating system to my reviews, so I've been going back and revisiting a lot of products I've reviewed in the past, mainly to give them ratings.   In the snus world, it seems there are some die hard Ettan fans out there. I personally have always been a Grov guy. Not that Ettan isn't a good snus, because it is, it's just not something I can personally use all the time; I tend to tire on the flavor if I use it too much.  This is also one of very few instances where I prefer the white portion version over the original portion version. 

Since Ettan is an important part of snus history, I figured we would take a quick look at its origins. Jacob Fredrik Ljunglöf (pictured here) began working at a tobacco factory in 1811 at age 14. 10 years later, he took over the same factory. In 1822 he launched "Ljunglöf's No. 1". We can also thank Jacob Fredrik Ljunglöf for the pasteurization process of snus. While snus originally took months to ferment, Ljunglöf believed that fresh tobacco would taste better. With his chemist friend Jacob Berzelius they developed a new way to produce tobacco where snus could be produced in a week. Ettan is still produced by his original recipe and is the oldest brand of snus still on then market. The original portion version launched in 1990, and Ettan White came in 2006. 

Product Details:

The flavor description of this snus says, "a full-bodied tobacco flavor and hints of smoke and peat".  Ettan Loose comes in a 42 gram can with a 7.5mg/g (0.75%) nicotine strength.  One of the great things about loose is that you can really make it as strong or as weak as you want it.  If you bake a half gram prilla, you're only getting 3.75mg of nicotine.  Want it stronger?  Bake a 2 gram prilla and you're getting 15mg of nicotine.  That's one of the fun things about loose - the strength is entirely up to you!

When you open a can of Ettan Los, the aroma that comes through is a very straightforward tobacco aroma. It's a very natural, mild, earthy tobacco aroma with just a slight hint of chocolate. The snus stays together really well in the lip, it doesn't break or mudslide easily. This is definitely a very durable snus. The flavor is a very gentle but present tobacco flavor - very natural and earthy. There's a taste of chocolate in the background but I don't pick it up as much in the loose as I do in the portion format, for some reason. I do get just a little bit of salt, and it really helps accentuate the flavor of the tobacco. The flavor, on average, lasts about 45 minutes and the nicotine strength feels to be right at the regular strength level.

Rating and Final Thoughts

I wasn't sure how my rating for this one would turn out, because I'm more of a Grov guy.  I can burn out on Ettan if I use it too much, because of that chocolatey flavor.  However, may rating still ended up at 4/5, which is higher than I thought it would be.  I think a lot of that is because it's such a quality product, that it would be hard to rate it lowly.  Prima Fint, my favorite loose, rated at 5/5, and this one was only 1 point under that one.  Ettan is a solid snus, and if you're a fan of the taste of tobacco, it's definitely one you should check out.

This product available for purchase at SnusMe.com!

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