VELO Names Its Mints Like Weather Reports. Here's the Forecast.

Back in January, my ZYN vs VELO comparison gave VELO exactly four paragraphs, and several of you noticed. So here are all eight VELO flavors we stock. The first thing people ask is why one brand needs four different mints, and the answer is that each one is a different pouch.

Since this post first ran, we've also put up a guide to buying VELO in the US, which explains the two VELO lines and lists all eight cans by strength.

The mints, from mildest to coldest

Crispy Peppermint is the mildest of the four, though mild is relative with VELO. It's sharp peppermint with a clean cool, more of a steady bite than a freeze, at 10mg. If you want an everyday mint that isn't too intense, start here.

Peppermint Storm is one step up. The mint is brighter and the cold is steadier, and it's still 10mg. It sits right between Crispy and Freezing. That might sound like one mint too many, but it's a good pick if Crispy is too mild for you and Freezing is too much.

Freezing Peppermint is the cold one: peppermint up front, then a strong menthol cool that keeps going after you expect it to stop. It's also the only VELO that goes all the way up the strength range, with 10mg, 14mg and 17mg versions. The 17 is the strongest pouch in the line, half a milligram above the strongest ZYN we stock, and it's on our list of the strongest pouches we sell.

Polar Mint is the odd one out, because it's spearmint instead of peppermint, over a deep menthol cool. It comes in 8mg and 14mg. I've said it's one of the two best straight mint pouches under 20mg we sell, and I still think so.

A note on strength: VELO prints it as dots on the can, and the dot system confuses everyone. Ignore the dots and go by the milligrams listed on every product page. (If you're not sure how peppermint, spearmint and menthol differ, our guide to the three kinds of mint sorts it out.)

The fruit flavors

People don't ask about VELO's fruit flavors much, but they should. Berry Forest is dark forest berries, mostly blueberry with raspberry and blackberry behind it, and a clean menthol cool on the finish. It's 10mg, and it's the most grown-up fruit flavor VELO makes.

Purple Grape is deep concord grape with a soft cool and no menthol freeze, which makes it stand out in a line this cold. It comes in 10mg or 14mg.

Tropical Ice has pineapple, mango, coconut and papaya under a soft mint finish, at 10mg.

Wintery Watermelon is juicy watermelon with a clean cool. It only comes in 14mg, which makes it the strangest can in the lineup, since it's the most summery flavor at the second-highest strength.

Who VELO is for

There's nothing gentle here. The lightest can is 8mg, most of the line is 10, and the strongest is 17. VELO doesn't make a beginner pouch and doesn't pretend to. If you're new to pouches, read our beginner guide and start with a low-strength ZYN Mini. VELO makes more sense once 6mg isn't doing much for you.

If you already use pouches, these are my picks:

• An everyday mint: Crispy Peppermint at 10mg, steady and sharp.
• If you prefer spearmint: Polar Mint at 8mg, which is also the gentlest can VELO makes.
• For the most cold and the most strength: Freezing Peppermint. Try the 14 before you go to the 17. I mean it.
• For fruit: Purple Grape if you're done with menthol, Tropical Ice if you're not.

Every flavor and strength above is $9.99 a can, and they come in 5, 10, 25 and 50-can packs if you find one you like. You'll find all of them on our VELO page.

WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.