This is how we make Oliver Twist chewing tobacco bits
From microscopic seed to smokeless tobacco
An Oliver Twist chewing tobacco bit begins its life as a microscopic seed. Tobacco seeds are sown in beds and set out manually. The tobacco is harvested just before the leaves are fully matured. Afterwards, the tobacco is hung to dry. The air makes the leaves change their colour from green to light brown. The dried tobacco leaves will be graded by size and quality, subsequently bundled and sold on auctions.
At Oliver Twist, we only buy selected American tobacco, i.e. whole, large leaves. The processing begins after a thorough entrance check in our production.
The first step in the production process is to remove the centre stem of each tobacco leaf. Then the bisected leaves are rolled into long strands by hand. This process takes place in the spinning room by our so-called “spinners”.
After further processing, the tobacco strand is cut into 1 cm long pieces and provided with a flavour in the saucery. Casing is the proper technical term for the liquid that provides our tobacco bits with their flavour. Previously, it was called sauce. Being the sauce master is a position of trust. It is the sauce master’s responsibility to guard the utmost production secret. Different flavours and English liquorice help give the different variants their character.
Every Oliver Twist chewing tobacco bit consists of a few square centimetres of a tobacco leaf. When you have finished using a tobacco bit, you can unfold it and see that it consists of just one piece of leaf neatly spun by hand.
The finished Oliver Twist chewing tobacco bits are vacuum packed in bags with 30 pieces each, weighing 7 g, and placed in a small box.
For the production of Oliver Twist chewing tobacco bits, we use only carefully selected tobacco
For the production of Oliver Twist chewing tobacco bits, we use only selected American tobacco. We carefully select our suppliers. Every single tobacco leaf used in our production of Oliver Twist has been picked manually and evaluated carefully to ensure a homogenous quality that lives up to our high standards.
All production stages are monitored and analysed
All production stages are monitored and analysed. Except for the tobacco itself, all ingredients in the Oliver Twist tobacco bits – and the wrapping film we use for vacuum wrapping our product – have been approved for food production.
Our products are made by hand
We have deliberately chosen to retain the old craft traditions. Therefore, our chewing tobacco bits are still made by hand. Among our staff are people who can spin (i.e. roll tobacco leaves into a strand), tobacco strippers (who strip out the centre stem of the leaves) and even sauce masters (who add the flavour to our chewing tobacco bits).
