Gutkha

[Boston Mike]

Gutkha from India. Betel, catechu, lime and tobacco mixture from India. Anyone here try it? I was using RMD gutkha for a while before I found snus. A taste that really takes a bit to get used to, very addictive, good nic hit. I smoked two packs of Marlboros a day for thirty years, have used dip on and off, and have been hooked on snus for about a month or so now, but gutkha is the only one that has had me hiccuping from the nicotine.

[timholian]

Never heard of it but it sounds interesting. Do you spit it like dip?

[bakerbarber]

I wouldn't use that crap.

It's kinda sketchy as far as what's added to it.

I'll take a Northerner energy portion first any day.

[Boston Mike]

You are meant to chew it and swallow. The little chunks of betel are like rocks. They soften and break up as you work them with your teeth. The tobacco is a fine powder. Strong stuff. Betel and catechu have narcotic properties like nicotine. I find it clears the mind and relaxes more than tobacco alone.

[Boston Mike]

Oh...no doubt...it is sketchy as hell. The clerk at an Indian grocery hooked me up. He taught me to make my own with betel nut, Indian flake tobacco, and calcium hydroxide (pickling lime).

[skyline142]

Huh, im curious. You could always smoke some buds if you wanna clear the mind. Also, the flavors of snus is so good with some bud. :P Hahaha.

[Boston Mike]

Easy with the "bud" talk...but I am with ya. Right now, Skruf and Diesel.

[internope]

Gutkha from India. Betel, catechu, lime and tobacco mixture from India. Anyone here try it? I was using RMD gutkha for a while before I found snus. A taste that really takes a bit to get used to, very addictive, good nic hit. I smoked two packs of Marlboros a day for thirty years, have used dip on and off, and have been hooked on snus for about a month or so now, but gutkha is the only one that has had me hiccuping from the nicotine.

I hope that nobody minds if I respond to this old thread.

I have been dabbling with tobacco-free supari (betel nut) from India for a couple of years now and just recently started using smokeless tobacco. Many Indian grocers will have the supari products out on the shelf, and the tobacco placed discreetly behind the counter. It seems there a few different forms available. You can purchase the plain dried betel nut whole, sliced in thin strips, or broken into little nuggets. You can also buy it in various prepared forms - little packets of nuggets that contain flavorings and sometimes other ingredients like coconut, dried date, anise seeds, and candy, or in tins of Paan Masala that contain nuggets coated in powdered quicklime (chuna), dried piper betel leaf, and flavoring. The kind with lime will give a short lived warm, mild nicotine-like buzz from the arecoline, a chemical similar to nicotine that is absorbed in the presence of the alkaline from the lime. Betel seems to have little affect unless you have some lime or baking soda to release the chemical.

In the Indian areas of NYC there are paan stands where you can get betel leaf quids with sweets alone, or with supari, or mixed with tobacco. The price is around $1 or $2, and the guys in the stand will prepare the leaf in front of you to order. I have not been to India, but I understand that these stands are all over the place there.

The Indian mouth tobacco flake that I bought recently must be intended for use with lime or lime with betel, because it didn't have much of a nicotine punch until I tried it with a tiny bit of lime and water added. The lime is pretty rough on the mouth, and I can't help but wonder if that is part of the reason that both betel and gutkha have such a bad reputation health-wise.

I just finished a dip of Baba 120 tobacco containing tiny silver flakes and saffron. Tastes like I bit off a piece of a cigar and sucked on an incense stick. I don't think I'll be making a habit of it, but I will probably keep the little can around for when I want something different.

[Monkey]

I have tried the fresh catcheu and betel leaf with lime that I put together myself and it is ok. I wouldn't use the dry stuff as it is and really have no desire to do it again. It was an experience but the lime really messes with your mouth.

[Jwalker]

It sounds like it makes more sense to just chew betel nut since there's not much tobacco in gutka, I'm not sure how bad it is but all the news is about like 20 year olds getting mouth cancer and stuff then it says like there're 70,000 cases of oral cancer in india which seems low considering that hundreds of millions gutka chewers there, hopefully they aren't ten years away from 1,000,000 cases a year or something horrible like that though.