Lundgren's Laponia (Winter Ed. 2020) - Review. 5 February 2021.

Today, I'm going to be doing a review of Lundgren's latest limited edition: Laponia, released for the Winter of 2020.  Yes, I know it's already sold out.  But with these limited edition products they don't sell to the US it takes me longer to find them, acquire them, and get them over here, so usually by the time I get most of them they're already sold out.  But, since I paid $53.44 USD for 4 cans of snus, or $13.36 per can, I'm still going to do a review of it.  Now, for some background information about this product!  The description says:  "The four national parks in Lapland that make up Laponia have a varied nature, with a special and rich flora. Laponia's flora has been the inspiration for Lundgren's Laponia's four different flavors of Fjällsippa, Frostbär, Skog and Renlav".

When you open the big white box, there's another box inside with a beautiful mountain photo on it.  This box feels as though it's a type of foam material.

When you take the top off that box, you're greeted with a small book about the products, and 4 cans of snus.  Each can weighs in at 17.6g and has 22 portions, for a weight of 0.8g portions.  The nicotine content is listed as 10mg/g (1.0%), or 8mg/portion.  Now, without further ado, let's get into the reviews!

Lundgrens Laponia Winter Edition 2020:  Skog

Flavor Description:  "Inspired by Lapland's coniferous forests. A little mint flavor has also been added there."

Lundgrens Laponia Winter Edition 2020:  Skog

Review:  When you open the can, the aroma that you'll notice seems to be mostly wood, perhaps a little spruce.  There's also a light freshness to it.  The portions of all of these are the perforated white portions.  The little holes allow a faster release of flavor, but the white portion material gives a longer lasting taste.  And no, don't worry, little tobacco bits don't come out in your mouth.  In the flavor, it's like a minty spruce.  It's mostly a wooden taste, but with a light freshness in the background.  The nicotine feels about regular strength, and the flavor lasts about 50-60 minutes on average.

Lundgrens Laponia Winter Edition 2020:  Renlav

Flavor Description:  "In Lapland, reindeer lichen grows, whose flavors have inspired the fourth snus."

If you're not familiar with Reindeer Lichen, or "reindeer moss", don't worry, I wasn't either.  I found this description from SurvivalSullivan.com which explains it better:  "You can eat reindeer moss raw if needed, but the acids can upset your stomach. Natives typically boil it until soft.  You can then mix it with berries, fish eggs, or lard to give it a better flavor and texture. You can also crush the lichen and made a medicinal tea.  Reindeer moss is used medicinally by natives to relieve kidney stones.  It can also be used to help ease diarrhea."

  

Lundgrens Laponia Winter Edition 2020:  Renlav

Review:  Again, I've never had reindeer moss, but I was rather excited to review, what could be, the first anti-diarrheal snus!  In terms of aroma, I pick up a smell of moss, a grassy present, and a hint of oak.  The portions, again, are the perforated white portion material.  The flavor is a mossy/grassy taste, but I pick up hints of oak and cedar in the background.  The nicotine strength feels about regular, and the flavor lasts about 50-60 minutes on average.

Lundgrens Laponia Winter Edition 2020:  Frostbär

Flavor Description:  "Inspired by the frost berries that grow up in Laponia. Field berries, blueberries and cranberries are noticeable with their sour sweetness."

Lundgrens Laponia Winter Edition 2020:  Frostbär

Review:  Spoiler alert, of the 4, this one was my favorite.  In the aroma, there's a nice berry presence.  I pick up blueberry, but also a hint of cranberry.  It's lightly sweet, but lightly tart.  The portions, again, are the perforated white portion.  The flavor is quite good!  Blueberry is most present, but I pick up tart cranberry in the back mixing in, along with a subtle sweetness.  The nicotine strength feels to be about regular, and the flavor lasts about 50-60 minutes on average.

Lundgrens Laponia Winter Edition 2020:  Fjällsippa

Flavor Description:  "Inspired by the "Fjällsippa" (mountain anemone)."

 

Lundgrens Laponia Winter Edition 2020:  Fjällsippa

Review:  When you open the can, you're greeted by a nice herbal character, along with a slight light leather hint, and a mild floral sweetness.  The portions, like the others, come in the perforated white portion.  In terms of the flavor, it's a pretty clear floral character, along with hints of herbs, and light leather/wood notes.  The nicotine feels about regular strength, and the flavor lasts about 50-60 minutes on average!  This one definitely had a really outdoorsy/woodsy type of flavor, and the floral notes added a nice sweetness to it to round it out.

Rating and Final Thoughts

So, three questions remain:  what is worth the money, was it any good, and which one was my favorite?  First, I'm a reviewer, so it was worth the cost just to get a review out there of it.  If I was not a reviewer, but still a snus collector, I probably still would have bought it just to have the package.  Was it any good?  Yes.  These days, most new products are nicotine pouches, or mint snus, and this product really broke up that monotony with something different.  Which one was my favorite?  Frostbär, without a doubt.  But, to rank them, Frostbär came in at 4.08/5, Fjällsippa at 3.58/5, Skog at 3.33/5, and Renlav at 3.33/5.  They were all very unique, but if I had to pick one I'd hope to come back, it would be Frostbär!  All in all, a fun little limited edition release, and glad I got to try it out!