What Is Kardus Snus?

As we eagerly await next weeks announcement as to what the new Kardus Superior Blend Snus is going to be I received a number of messages asking ‘What is Kardus Snus?” Swedish Match sent me an info sheet covering the last 5 years offerings and here it is…

The plant

Kardus

The tobacco plant is an annual herb that develops is full root system during a single season to absorb all the nutrients and moisture it needs. The plant is highly sensitive, and several variables can affect the quality of the harvested product. The touch of the individual tobacco farmer is extremely important. Snus tobacco requires heavy, nutrient rich soils and a warm climate. Experienced growers also know to ‘top’ the plant, cutting the flower stem as the plant matures. This gets the plant to concentrate its growth energy into the leaves. When and how the plant is topped—either when the plant has reached a set height, or after a set number of leaves have formed—affects the development of the tobacco leaves. The tobacco is then harvested, and for Kardus this is done only by hand where the entire plant is harvested at once using a machete, called ‘stalk cutting’.

Curing

Curing, describes how the harvested tobacco is dried. This step is needed for the tobacco product to ripen and develop its fragrance and flavors. One of four curing methods are used to bring out different characteristics in the product. Kardus uses only sun cured and air cured tobaccos. For air curing, the grower ties the tobacco plants to wooden racks, which are then hung up in a drying barn. The drying process takes from four weeks to several months, during which the tobacco leaves change in color from greenish-yellow to brown. Tobaccos are generally sun-cured in warmer climates, but the methods are also often deeply rooted in tradition. As in India, where leaves are threaded one at a time onto jute strings and tied to special racks out in the fields. These leaves are ripened under the sun for 25 to 30 days.Grading

Grading is done to identify the different characteristics of each tobacco. The first grading is done on the plantation by the grower. This is often just based on how the leaf looks. The raw tobacco buyer does a second grading based on tied bunches of leaves according to six criteria—body, wax, oil, color, luster and aroma. Swedish Match then selects from the large variation of grades. We also look to the proportions, so as to blend a golden yellow to lighten an otherwise more brownish grade. These selected grades and their mutual proportions then combine to create what is called the starting grade. The tobacco grading process for Kardus products are extremely time-consuming.

Refining

The next step the tobacco takes is to the packing factory. The bales of tobacco are opened and the starting grade is studied in detail. The tobaccos are laid out on a processing line, in the same order of grades as gives the starting grade. This order is repeated to match the amounts of tobacco needed. The processed tobaccos are then cured again to add stability for storage. This is when the leaves are transformed from living plant parts into the raw tobacco product. At this stage, the tobacco leaves can have different moisture levels—varying as much as three to four percent. After this process, all the tobacco in each starting grade should have the same moisture level.

Selection

Kardus is combined from several different harvests, for much the same reasons as for cognac. This is needed to create the complex and nuanced flavors that make the snus into the distinctive, enjoyable product it is. For Kardus, there were over 50 different harvests from around the world. But only four were selected in the end. The process of deciding on just these four, and eliminating all the others, takes many months. Developing the recipe is central to this process. Kardus is composed in a process involving innumerable combinations, making snus from these and testing them based on both objective and subjective criteria. Objectively, nicotine content and other chemical attributes are looked at. Subjective criteria include flavor, consistency and fragrance. Lively discussions often arise, mostly concerning the subjective considerations, not least since these are what finally determine the grades that are selected.

Cutting

Kardus is cut, as opposed to nearly all other Swedish snus (which is ground). This has to do with the cut edges and oxidation. Grinding and cutting the tobacco gives it different characteristics, much the same as the difference between cut or pressed garlic. The cut structures transmit the inherent flavor nuances in a way that grinding cannot achieve. Tobacco is cut in three primary ways: fine cut, cross cut and long cut. The tobaccos used in Kardus are cut using the long cut, which gives a structure reminiscent of the long threads in pipe tobacco. This cut holds together well in the mouth, much better than you would expect. Snus that has been cut this way would seem more difficult to place behind the lip, but it is actually easier, so that beginners can do it by their second try. And taking the snus out isn’t any trouble, either.

Preparation

After it is cut, the tobacco is taken to the snus blender. At this point regular salt is added, as a conservative and flavor enhancer. Without the salt, the snus easily tends to flatten in taste. But no flavors are added to Kardus—everything to bring out the pure tobacco flavor. Then the tobacco is put through the ‘sweating’ process. Raw tobacco tends to be bitter, and doesn’t taste very good as is. The sweating process makes it milder and better tasting. Sweating also pasteurizes the tobacco, eliminating any bacteria it contains. Now the tobacco can be called snus and it’s time for judging its fragrance. Most people can assess the quality of regular snus, like a can of General. But Kardus is a very special snus. A handful of people, with more than 100 years combined experience in making snus at Swedish Match have the ‘right nose’. They look for fragrances that are different than the expected. No machine can replace the human element in this process. The snus is inspected and placed in refrigeration to ripen for a week. After ripening, the experts check the fragrance yet again to make sure nothing unexpected has happened during refrigeration. As well, they check the tobacco’s consistency.

Packing

Unusually, Kardus is packed by hand. The product is measured and placed in the box and pressed down. With too little pressure, the snus would be exposed to too much oxygen and would age faster. Too much pressure would clump the cut tobacco together. Kardus stays fresh as long as regular snus. Aging the snus for a little can, given the exact right conditions, actually improve the flavor experience. Before it is transported, Kardus is placed under refrigeration. Only one person is responsible for transporting the product from the production facilities in Göteborg to the selected tobacco sales outlets and gourmet restaurants. And Kardus gets transported only under perfect conditions in a specially made cooling box. And all those who order Kardus have approved refrigeration facilities.

Kardus Superior Blend 2009

This complex, nuanced, and exotic blend came from a particularly aromatic and flavorful tobacco grown in the light clay soils at the Andean foothills in Salta Province of Argentina. Its full-bodied aroma can be described as sweet and fruity, with a hint of tea. Our Kardus 2009 also had a very special tobacco from southwest Guatemala, which was air-dried in specially built barns made from eucalyptus wood adding nuances of chocolate, nuts and fruit. Combined with the Argentinean Salta tobacco, this brought out a tropical flavor. To complete our 2009 Kardus Superior Blend we added a dark Guatemalan rum aged 23 years in American Oak. Seen by many as one of the finest rums in the world, this added a caramel touch topped with hazel nut and nutmeg.

Kardus Superior Kardus Superior Blend 2008

Our 2008 vintage blend had cut, air-dried tobaccos from Hungary and sun-dried Kurnool tobacco from India, whose flavors were accentuated with a Scottish Highland single malt whisky. During tasting events, we often heard that the blend had the nuances of a fine quality single malt whisky.

Kardus Superior Blend 2007

The 2007 blend consisted of fine-cut tobaccos from several parts of the world including the Argentinean variety Criollo Misionero —a dark, air-dried leaf grown in the northern Misiones Province. Other tobaccos in this blend came from Brazil, Hungary, India and South Africa – all contributing to the special Kardus character. This vintage had a mild and pure tobacco flavor with a hint of fruit and a distinct sharp sense of salty sweetness. The aroma was somewhat smoky in character with a hint of cocoa, coconut, and freshly cut grass flavored with sweet tones of vanilla and flowers.

Kardus Superior Blend 2006

The 2006 Kardus Superior Blend put together tobaccos from seven countries. This included a South African air-dried tobacco that added a mild seasoning. Adding the ecologically grown, sun-dried Criollo Salteño from Argentina gave this Kardus vintage its dark, full-bodiedcharacteristics. All together, this created a distinct tobacco flavor recognizable from the previous year’s Kardus Superior Blend—a fine balance with a smoky flavor touched by dried fruit and oak.

Kardus Superior Blend 2005

Our 2005 blend brought together tobaccos from specially selected plantations in Vietnam, Hungary, Spain and India. This vintage has a smoky, spiced, tobacco flavor reminiscent of dried fruit, figs, and plums. It had that distinct sharp sense of salty sweetness with a tone of cocoa. Its fragrance included touches of raisin, distilled wines, vanilla and hay.