Sattwa (Nicotine Pouches) - Review. 25 July 2021.

I've been reviewing snus and nicotine pouch products for quite a while now.  Snus for over 12 years, and nicotine pouches since they came on the scene several years ago.  It seems like a lot of countries are getting in on this growing category.  I've reviewed them out of Sweden, Denmark, the USA, Estonia, Poland, and more.  Now, I'm talking about Sattwa, nicotine pouches out of China!  Today we're talking about a lot of different flavors in their range.  They also make a Freeze and a Lime flavor, but I don't have those for this review.  What's interesting about this company is that they are one of very few phameaceutical companies in China that is legally permitted to produce synthetic nicotine.  So, these nicotine pouches are 100% tobacco free, whereas many others use tobacco derived nicotine.

Sattwa:  Formats (Containers)

Sattwa comes in a variety of formats and containers.  You can see in the photo that it comes in the usual round cans, but also in these neat little metal cans.  One is a smaller square, and one is a more oblong can.  I like the oblong square ones because they seem to have a different look to them than the small square ones.  In regards to the contents, they differ depending on the container.  The black round can (dry version) weighs 7 grams and has 20 portions weighing 0.35g each.  The white round can (moist version) weighs 10 grams and has 20 portions at 0.5g each.  The oblong metal can weighs 7 grams and has 20 portions weighing 0.35g each.  The small square metal can weighs 5.25g and has 15 portions, weighing 0.35g each.

Sattwa:  Formats (Moist vs Dry)

As far as the round can versions, they come in two formats:  moist and dry.  The black can contains the dry pouch variant.  The white can contains the moist pouch variant.  The dry pouches are a little dryer in the lip, with less flavor presence, and less longevity; they tend to last about 30-40 minutes, on average.  The moist versions are more comfortable in the lip, more flavor presence, and longer flavor longevity; they tend to last up to about 45 minutes, on average.

Sattwa:  Nicotine Strengths

Sattwa is available in a variety of strengths.  The lowest is 3mg, which feels pretty light and is for those with light cravings.  Next is 6mg, which is a little stronger, but feels a little less than regular strength.  Next is 7mg, which feels about average, and close to regular strength.  The highest strength is 14mg, which feels stronger than regular strength and close to the "strong" level.  I'm not sure if these strengths are mg/g or mg/portion, but based on what I felt using them I'd say it's probably in mg/portion.

Now, with all that being said, let's get into the fun part and get into the reviews for all these products!  I've covered mouthfeel, strength, and flavor longevity.  In the reviews we'll talk about aroma and flavor for each product.

Sattwa:  Apple Mint

Review:  For this one, I had the 3mg strength in the dry pouch format.  The aroma of this one is a mild aroma of green apple with a present menthol backing.  The flavor is mild, and subtle.  I pick up a light taste of green apple, along with a sweet, light hint of mint.

Sattwa:  Blonde Roast

Review:  In this one, I had the 3mg strength with the dry pouches.  This one has a mild, subtle black coffee aroma.  It has a light nutty hint to it, some smokiness, and some light chocolatey tones.  It's lightly sweet, but not overly sweet in aroma.  In the flavor, is pretty mild and gentle in presence.  There's a mild, subtle taste of black coffee to it.  It's slightly smoky, with mild tones of chocolate.  It has a light sweetness to it, but not overly so.

Sattwa:  Cinnamon

Review:  For this one, I had the 3mg, dry version.  In the aroma, I pick up a present aroma of cinnamon.  It's spicy, and has a light sweetness to it.  In the flavor, it's a mild, subtle taste of cinnamon.  It has a light spiciness to it, along with a little sweetness.

Sattwa:  Citrus Chill

Review:  For this one, I had a few different versions.  3mg (round can/dry version), 6mg (square can, dry version), and 14mg (round can, moist version).  In the moist version, I noticed a mild aroma of citrus.  It's mostly orange, with hints of lemon.  It has a tart aroma to it, along with some sweetness.  In the flavor, I pick up a subtle citrus taste.  It has a presence of orange, along with some lemon.  There's some tart notes, and a little sweetness.  The dry version is very similar, but much more mild in terms of aroma and flavor.  

Sattwa:  Cola

Review:  For this one, I had the 7mg moist version.  In the aroma, I notice a mild, lightly sweet aroma of cola.  It almost has a light hint of cinnamon to it.  In the lip, I notice a mild cooling presence, as well.  The flavor is a mild, but gentle taste of cola.  It's pretty refreshing in nature and a light sweetness, as well.

Sattwa:  Cool Mint

Review:  For this one, I had the 3mg dry version.  This one has a sharp, fresh, lightly sweet aroma of peppermint.  It also has a nice cooling presence in the lip.  In the flavor profile, I notice a subtle, midl taste of peppermint.  It has a light sweetness to it, and a mildly refreshing flavor.

Sattwa:  Licorice

Review:  For this one I had the 7mg, moist version.  In the aroma, I notice a nice, present aroma of black licorice.  I pick up some anise, along with a light sweetness.  In the flavor, I pick up a mild black licorice.  It's subtle, but not weak.  I pick up gentle hints of anise, along with a light sweetness.

Sattwa:  Mango

Review:  For this one, I had the 3mg dry version and the 7mg moist version.  For the moist version, I picked up a present, juicy, fresh aroma of mango.  In the flavor, I notice a tart, citrusy, tropical presence.  A fresh mango character comes through, along with a light sweetness.  For the dry pouch, it is more gentle and subdued in aroma.  The flavor is light, and faint in nature.  It doesn't have as much presence as the moist version does.

Sattwa:  Ruby Berry

Review:  For this one I had the 3mg dry version and 7mg moist version.  For the moist version, the aroma that comes through is a mild, natural, lightly sweet presence of strawberry.  I also notice a gentle cooling presence in the lip, as well.  In the flavor, I get a gentle taste of strawberry.  It's subtle, and lightly sweet in nature.  For the dry version, the aroma is more subtle and subdued.  The flavor has less presence, and is rather mild and faint in nature.

Sattwa:  Spearmint

Review:  For this one I had the 3mg dry version, the 3mg dry version in the rectangle can and the round can, as well as the 7mg version in the moist format.  For the moist version, I pick up a fresh, sharp aroma of spearmint along with a little menthol.  It also has a cooling presence under the lip.  In the flavor, I notice a fresh taste of spearmint.  It's lightly sweet, and mild in nature, along with a light sweetness.  For the dry version, it's more light and mild in the aroma.  The flavor is mild, and faint, when compared to the moist version.

Sattwa:  Tropic Breeze

Review:  For this one, I had the 3mg dry version.  In the aroma, I pick up a mild, tropical smell.  It has a little mango, and maybe some passionfruit.  In the flavor, it's a pretty mild, gentle, tropical taste.  It's lightly sweet, and I notice a presence of mango, along with a little passionfruit.  It's lightly tart in nature.

Sattwa:  Vanilla

Review:  For this one, I had the 7mg moist version.  In the aroma, I notice some menthol and mint up front.  Right behind it, there's a subtle aroma of vanilla.  In the lip, I pick up a little cooling presence.  In the flavor, the vanilla taste is more forward.  It's light, and subtle in nature.  I also notice a gentle minty quality wrapped around it.

Sattwa:  Wintergreen

Review:  Last, of course, is wintergreen.  I'm not the biggest wintergreen fan, so this one was fun.  But, it wasn't too bad.  For this one, I had the 3mg dry version (round can), the 6mg dry version (square tin), and the 7mg moist version (round can).  For the moist version, in the aroma, I pick up a mild, balanced aroma of wintergreen and mint.  It's a lightly sweet wintergreen, with hints of spearmint.  It has a gentle cooling presence in the lip, as well.  In the flavor, it's wintergreen forward, and fresh in nature.  I get subtle hints of spearmint in the background, and a light sweetness.  The dry version is similar, but the aroma is more gentle, and faint.  In the flavor, it's also more light, and has a subdued flavor profile.

Rating and Final Thoughts

There's a lot of ratings in this one, because it's a lot of products.  But I'll tackle each section.

Overall Notes:

Can Design - 4/5 - These cans have a nice, sleek look to them.  
Mouthfeel (Moist Versions) - 3.25/5 - These were pretty comfortable in the lip and had a nice presence of flavor.
Mouthfeel (Dry Versions) - 2.75/5 - These weren't as comfortable as the moist versions, and the flavor was more mild.
Nicotine - 3/5 - I averaged them out at 3/5.  I found them to have a pretty steady and stable delivery of nicotine.
Flavor Longevity (Moist Version) - 3.5/5 - Usually, dry pouches have a longer lasting flavor.  For some reason with these, I noticed longer flavor longevity with the moist versions.
Flavor Longevity (Dry Version) - 3.25/5 - These didn't seem to have a very long lasting flavor, especially when compared to the moist versions.

Rankings:

Pretty Good - Licorice/Moist (3.46/5), Cola/Moist (3.38/5), Vanilla/Moist (3.28/5).  Of all of them, these three were the ones that stood out the most to me.

Decent - Citrus Chill/Moist (3.21/5), Mango/Moist (3.21/5), Ruby Berry/Moist (3.21/5), Wintergreen/Moist (3.21/5), Spearmint/Moist (3.21/5).  These weren't favorites, but they were pretty solid.

Average - Cinnamon/Dry (3/5), Citrus Chill/Dry (3/5), Mango/Dry (3/5), Tropic Breeze/Dry (3/5), Ruby Berry/Dry (3/5).  These were okay, but I found I didn't like the dry ones as much as the moist ones.

Not The Greatest - Blonde Roast/Dry (2.92/5), Cool Mint/Dry (2.92/5), Wintergreen/Dry (2.92/5), Spearmint/Dry (2.92/5), Apple Mint/Dry (2.92/5).  Again, I'm not the biggest fans of the dry ones.  

Overall Thoughts:

All in all, I liked the moist ones better than the dry ones.  But, overall, the line was pretty solid.  I was interested to try something new out, especially from China.  For first products, I see a lot of potential, and I think the brand can certainly continue to go up from here.  I'm not sure where people can buy these, but if you're interested I'm sure there's a way!



Comments