XQS Nicotine Pouches - Review. 28 December 2020.

Today, I'm going to be reviewing four nicotine pouch products from XQS in Sweden!  XQS was, years back, one of the first companies to start making tobacco/nicotine free products.  They've recently expanded to producing nicotine pouches as well.  I've only seen these for sale so far on SnusBolaget for Sweden, but I imagine eventually other stores will start picking these up, including those that ship to the US.  Each of these products are similar in weight and nicotine.  I counted 20 portions in each can, and weighed the can at 7 grams, which would be 0.35g each.  They all have a 20mg/g strength (2.0%), but with the lighter portion weight that's 7mg/portion.

In terms of all of these products, there are a few things that are similar - the portions, the nicotine strength, and the longevity.  I'm going to discuss those before we get into the reviews, so I'm not having to be too repetitive.  In terms of portions, they're all quite light, moderately soft, and semi-dry.  The nicotine strength on all of these is 7mg/portion, and it feels to be around the regular strength level.  And the flavor on all of these seems to fluctuate between the 35-45 minute mark.  Now, onto the reviews, and we'll discuss what makes each one different:  the aromas and the flavors!

XQS Cactus Sour

Flavor:  "A unique, crunchy and sour taste of cactus. A fantastically fresh taste experience."

Review:  I've never eaten a cactus before.  Nor have I smelled one.  The aroma kind of reminds me of a tart green apple.  The flavor is pretty similar.  It's sweet, but not overly sweet.  The taste seems to be like the smell - a semi-sweet/semi-tart flavor reminiscent of green apple.  

XQS Blueberry Mint

Flavor:  "A sweet blueberry taste combined with a cooling mint makes this taste make you think of blueberry ice cream."

Review:  This one has a pretty nice aroma to it.  The blueberry is present, natural, and mildly sweet.  It's not overly minty but does seem to have a hint of menthol in the back.  The flavor is pretty tasty.  It's mostly blueberry, which comes through in a gentle way.  It's natural, lightly sweet, and clear.  I don't notice a lot of mint in the flavor, but it does have a fresh presence to it.

XQS Black Cherry

Flavor:  "A really rich, berry and delicious taste of cherries that have ripened in sunshine."

Review:  Cherry is not a common flavor, so I was pretty excited to try this one.  When you open the can, that's what you get - a direct, natural, semi-sweet aroma of cherry.  The flavor is pretty much the same.  A nice, mildly sweet taste of cherry.  This one is pretty enjoyable!

XQS Pipe Candy

Flavor:  "A must for the sweet tooth. A sweet taste reminiscent of soft caramel chews."

Review:  This one was my favorite of the bunch.  It took me a few days to dig through the flavor to pick out what I thought it tasted like.  The aroma seems to remind me of a mix of cotton candy and caramel.  The flavor is pretty much the same.  It took me some time to figure it out, but that seems to be what keeps coming to my mind.  Pink cotton candy with a touch of caramel to it.  It's very interesting.  It reminds me a lot of this flavor I used to use when I briefly tried vaping several years ago.

Rating and Final Thoughts

Ranking them from top to bottom, Pipe Candy was my favorite, at 3.63/5.  Then, Black Cherry, at 3.46/5.  After that, Cactus Sour came in at 3.29/5, and Blackberry Mint came in at 3.21/5.  I don't really use nicotine pouches myself, but honestly, I'd use this Pipe Candy one again.  It was really tasty.  As far as complaints go, really the only one I have is with the portions.  They're incredibly light.  I wish they were more full and plump.  But the rest is top notch.  And the can designs are great, very eye catching.  If you like nicotine pouches, you may enjoy these.  Especially try Pipe Candy and Black Cherry!

XQS Nicotine Pouches are available from SnusDirect.com.