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Göteborgs Rapé is a popular brand of Swedish snus – a pasteurized smokeless tobacco product. Its original recipe was created in Gothenburg during the late 19th century.
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History
Its origins are atypical for Swedish snus brands, as the recipe evolved through trial and error among sailors on merchant ships mooring in the port of Gothenburg. Unable to afford high-quality ingredients, these seamen added different spices to their loose smokeless tobacco, hereby creating their personal snus blends. A few of these blends were sold locally under 'brand names'. Göteborgs Rapé was made from selected hand-ripped tobacco giving the snus "... a mild and sweet tobacco flavor with tones of juniper berry and fresh herbs". Although popular, it was initially rarely sold outside the Gothenburg region.
In order to create funding for the country's defence and one of the first pension reforms, the state monopolized the entire Swedish tobacco industry in 1915.
After the take-over, the state monopoly, controlled 103 brands of snus, of which no less than 25 were from Gothenburg. In order to slim the portfolio, the recipes where put in front of a jury.
A tasting was conducted and in 1919 only five remained. These became registered brands, one of which was the Göteborgs Rapé.
Since 1919 Göteborgs Rapé has been a factory produced snus with no hand ripping taking place.
Product milestones
As of 2010 the Göteborgs Rapé had a 14% market share of the Swedish snus market.
Name
Göteborg is the original Swedish spelling of the country's second largest city, Gothenburg. (Swedish pronunciation: [jœtɛˈbɔrj]) The word rapé (English pronunciation [ɹaˈpeɪ]) comes from the French word râpé, meaning shredded.