Snus Review: Göteborgs Rapé Havtorn (White Portion)

Göteborgs Rapé has been around since the early 1900's, but by then, the only format it was available in was loose. In 1970, the year of the invention of the snus portion, an original portion variant was added to the Göteborgs Rapé line. This was the first brand to come out as a white portion in 1997, and has since replaced the original portion variant of the line.

Today, Göteborgs Rapé is one of the staple of Swedish Match's snus arsenal, holding a 14% market share in Sweden as of three years ago. Being born and raised in Sweden, I've noticed the popularity of it here, especially among younger men. It also seems to be a favorite with women.

Havtorn is a new limited edition white portion with the taste of sea buckthorn, that will only be available in the summer of 2013 (so if you enjoy it, stock up, because you never know if it will ever be back again).
I have to say I am positively surprised, although; as always with Swedish Match products.

The snus comes in the regular Göteborgs Rapé can, with the only difference being a slight blueish magenta tint on the labels, and with a dash of orange, simulating a sunrise or sunset, together with the text of the brand of course. It looks pretty sweet. Other than that, if you have had a can from Swedish Match, you know how they will look, it's the regular size of the catch lid, which holds about five used portions (with force you can squeeze some more in there though, with the quite disgusting possible risk of the lid coming off and getting used snus in your pocket). The snus comes in the now regular star formation, seen with all white portion brands from Swedish Match. It really adds to the freshness that the white portion in my opinion has.

The smell kind of reminds me of the regular Göteborgs Rapé, which is a pine-y, forest-y and fresh kind of scent. Havtorn has those attributes, but a lot more subdued, and it does smell fruitier and more sweet. In one way it reminds me a lot of the original, but in another, it differs a lot. The smell is allover pleasant though, with a nice sting. I guess it does smell like sea buckthorn (Havtorn in Swedish), but to be honest, I have never smelled one, and I can't even remember if I have ate one either.


The flavor is interesting. For some reason, with my first portion of it, I was surprised that it lacked the salty flavor that usually comes through quite a bit with other Swedish Match products like General, Grov and even the original Rapé. It tasted extremely balanced, like it melted in my mouth and disappeared. I remember several times I had to actually check with my tongue to see if I still had a portion under my lip. I have no idea why I got this sensation, but it has after about nine cans changed a bit.

Again, I can now taste the salt, and it is quite salty. I would say a tad less than the original, but still noticeable. It is also quite sweet, but not in a nauseous way. The sweetness feels very natural, and is not sugary or crazy, bu
t like the sensation of sweetness you would get from eating a real berry or fruit. Mixed with the tobacco, it's really good. The sea buckthorn flavor is not dominant, but mingles nicely in the background, cheering up the flavor of tobacco. I have no idea if this contains any juniper berries, but I feel there's a touch of that in there as well, but with a sweeter kick.

It has the normal drip of a white portion, which is quite little, but if you moisten it up, then it can get almost as drippy as a regular portion.

Like I felt when I first tried it, it feels very balanced. I don't know what it is, and maybe it's just me, but it feels like the salt level, the PH and overall flavor just matches my mouth, making no real contrast of having a portion in your mouth. It's not bad, but just a sensation I got off of it. The original Göteborgs Rapé is in comparison a little more zesty, and more flavorful in a way. The Göteborgs Rapé Havtorn does not leave a major impression, but it sits under your lip safe and tastes good while there.

The nicotine is what you would expect from a regular strength portion. One portion is 0,9 grams (21,6 grams total in the can), and the nicotine content is 0,8%, which would make it 8 mg nicotine per portion. It will not kick your teeth in, but will make you satisfied without not giving you any jittery overdose symptoms after having a few in a row, which might be the case with stronger variants. A nice level for everyday use, but maybe not enough for a hardcore smoker looking for something to completely kill cigarette cravings.

Overall, this is a very nice change of phase, and a nice limited edition. I love the original Göteborgs Rapé White Portion, and have been using it quite a lot recently. Do I prefer the new Havtorn over the original? Probably not, but seeing as it is a limited edition only, I'm happy to have bought a roll of it. A recommendation though if you don't have a thing for sweeter flavors as your main staple is to buy some regular tobacco flavored ones together with the Havtorn (if you have time before they discontinue it), as the flavor can become a bit tiring in the long run.

It's an awesome snus for sure, but in my opinion, something that is best used as a change up once in a while.