The Hookah Diaries

REVIEW: Starbuzz White Peach and Sweet Melon Mix

2010-03-01T11:02:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Single Hose Kahlil Mamoon, Vortex bowl
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Cold Water
Coal Configuration: Three Chronic Hookah Natural Coals
Cut of the Tobacco: Moist, undyed tobacco. Cut is medium shred. Some tiny twigs, no thick stems.
Smell: Individually, White Peach smells like a candied peach, kind of like those peach gummy rings. The melon has more of a honey dew smell than a cantaloupe. Together, the smell is euphoric. I want to eat my shisha!
Flavor: The flavor is almost there, but not as great when they are seperated. It tastes like a mix of peach and melon, but very faint.
Smoke: Surprisingly, I didn't get as big of clouds as I usually get. I do not know why this was so.
Longevity: This lasted me about an hour.
Overall thoughts: This was okay, but I like the flavors separate better.

RATING: 6/10

REVIEW: Hookah Freak Grapeful Dead

2010-02-12T11:47:00.001-05:00

Bowl Used: Single Hose Kahlil Mamoon, Vortex bowl, diffuser
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice Water
Coal Configuration: Three Chronic Hookah Natural Coals
Cut of the Tobacco: Moist, clumpy tobacco. This is a typical Hookah Freak cut, almost similar to that of a cigarette tobacco.
Smell: The scent reminds of a mix grape koolaid and grapefruit juice. It is a medium bodied scent that stays on your nose for a while,
Flavor: The flavor is a minty grape flavor with undertones of grapefruit. Both the inhale and exhale brings me great flavors that are really enjoyable.
Smoke: This shisha is known for their thick pillowy clouds!
Longevity: This lasted me about an hour.
Overall thoughts: I really like this flavor. There's a coolness to it brought by the mint and a great mixture of grape and grapefruit.

RATING: 9/10

REVIEW: Chronic Hookah Natural Coals

2010-02-11T23:16:00.000-05:00

Coal Package: The package was a carboard box that held 48 pieces of square coals. They were tightly packed within a plastic bag and taped down. It was very neatly packaged.
Appearance: The coals are about one inch in diameter and a 1/2 an inch high. They are all evenly shaped. They do not transfer easily to your fingers and are a tightly packed coal.
Smell: Before heating, during heating and after heating, there is absolutely no smell to these coals.
Ease of Lighting / Source of Light: I used a single coil burner to light these. I heated them two minutes on each side until they burned red hot. They were very easy to burn for a natural and I was able to do other things (pack my bowl, set up my base) while they were cooking up.
Ash: These coals ash very little bit. About ten minutes in, there was not even a millimeter of ash covering the coals.
Duration: These coals lasted me over an hour and a half. I could have went longer if my shisha did!
Quality of Heat: There is significant heat coming from these little guys. I could have probably gotten away with using two and a wind cover, but decided to go with three for my first try.
Price: You can purchase these coals at www.hookahjohn.com or www.chronichookah.com for $8.00 for a 48-piece and $13.99 for a kilos worth.
Overall: Very impressed with these coals. I am very pleased to continue using them and will shy away from using my quick lights (saving them for lazy days). Comparing them to quick lights, they are completely odor and smokeless. They bring a great amount of heat to the shisha and does not distort the taste in anyway of the shisha itself. I would love to see these in a finger coal version to be able to cut my own pieces. I would of made them about 2-3 inch finger coals and used one or two for a session just to myself.

RATING: 9/10

REVIEW: Hookah Hookah Wintergreen

2010-02-09T19:40:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Single Hose Sahara Custom
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Room temperature water.
Coal Configuration: One 33mm and one 40mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Moist, clumpy tobacco. The cut is a typical Hookah Hookah cut. Just imagine cutting open a cigarette and using that as their tobacco. Very thin and medium length strands.
Smell: The scent is a heavy body of menthol that cools your nose with the first sniff. But don't sniff for too long, it loses it's scent quickly and turns into something completely different, kind of like a fermented, stale alcohol.
Flavor: The flavor was cooked quick. It was very mentholated, but that's about it. There was nothing 'winterfresh' about it. I was a disappointed because I was hoping for more like a winterfresh gum flavor and all that was there was the overpowering menthol. I wanted a spearmint/peppermint additive to it. At about 30 minutes in, the fermented, stale alcohol scent was brought into the flavor and I just had to stop after that.
Smoke: The smoke was semi thick. Nothing at all to complain about
Longevity: This lasted me about 45 mins.
Overall thoughts: If you like menthol, this is an okay flavor. I think it would do better as a mixture when you want to add menthol to any flavor to change it up a bit. I wouldn't buy this or smoke it again, unless mixed.

RATING: 2/10

REVIEW: Nakhla Mizo Watermelon

2010-02-08T23:49:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Single Hose Sahara Custom
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Three 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Moist, clumpy tobacco. The cut was random, there were some large pieces, some small. I had to cut down the larger ones. I saw some stems.
Smell: The scent is medium to heavy bodied, but smells like a candied watermelon. It isn't the fresh watermelon I was hoping for.
Flavor: The flavor that hit me quick, surprisingly, was this menthol flavor. It came as a shock to me, I didn't expect it but I assume ti was there for the "freshness factor" that they were trying to bring to the flavor. It wass a nice surprise, but not what should be there at all in my opinion. There is a light watermelon flavor, but it's completely overpowered by the menthol.
Smoke: The smoke was semi thick. Nothing at all to complain about. Had some good times with it!
Longevity: This lasted me an hour and 45 mins.
Overall thoughts: This is an okay flavor. I bought 250g of it because that's all it comes and I will consider trading it or finishing the remainder, but wouldn't buy again. The watermelon just ISN'T the star of this shisha and it should be. Why I'm getting menthol is beyond me!

RATING: 4/10

REVIEW: Hookah Freak X-Presso

2010-02-07T23:14:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Single Hose Sahara Custom
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Three 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Moist tobacco. The cut was that you'd find in a cigarette. It was just right.
Smell: The scent is medium bodied, but smells like a strong coffee. Don't take too much in though, it'll start smelling completely different.
Flavor: The flavor wasn't there for me. It left a bad after taste in my mouth, the type you'd get from drinking coffee. But I don't want an after taste, I was expecting a more crisper homey coffee taste.
Smoke: The smoke was thick. It was perfect. I would compare it to Starbuzz clouds.
Longevity: This lasted me an hour. The scent and flavor (whatever flavor that was there) left after about 45 minutes into the session.
Overall thoughts: Not very happy with this flavor. It's a pure coffee/espresso smell and has no milk or sugar flavor to it at all. The after taste it left was nauseating. I got a buzz from it, but only because I was sucking so hard on the hose for a good hour to try to get any droplet of flavor it can salvage. I have some Nahkla Coffee that I got as a trade and am considering trying that next to get a direct comparison.

RATING: 1/10

REVIEW: Fantasia Wild Mango

2010-02-06T11:20:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Triple Hose Maju
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Three 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Dyed. Tobacco was shredded. I found MANY big, thick stems. Some of the tobacco wasn't even cut at all and I had to run scissors through it. I was VERY unhappy with the cut.
Smell: Smells a lot like artificial mango, it's a heavy scent, but not natural.
Flavor: The taste is there, but to my tongue it tastes more like pineapple than mango. I understand that mango is a hard flavor to get, but to get a completely different fruit is odd.
Smoke: Smoke is weak, it never got even NEAR smokes I get from Starbuzz or HookahHookah.
Longevity: Everything lasted me about an hour and to be honest, I'm glad it didn't last longer.
Overall thoughts: The smell is kinda mangoy, but more artificial than anything. It has a taste, but nothing like my beloved mangoes. I'm very dissapointed. To add, the shisha was just complete and utter crap. Way too much molasses, HUGE stems that just aren't even funny and large pieces of uncut shisha that was un-packable until I had to take a pair of scissors to them. This is just unacceptable for a company that specializes in shisha. I'm not a fan at all and do not recommend this to anyone. My rating is extremely nice for what I received. I am being really lenient here.

RATING: 1.5/10

VENDOR: www.NazarHookah.com

2010-02-05T01:19:00.014-05:00

Link
www.nazarhookah.com

Review
I purchase for the first time after some encouragement of his great vender history from a Hookah forum with a lot of members and great information. Purchased three RAZAN hoses from them. I wanted a particular white color and wasn't interested in any other because I felt white was easier to match with any vase color than an actual color would.

About 30 minutes after I put my purchase through on a Saturday, I got an e-mail from the owner of the company notifying me that he no longer had the RAZAN hose in white and suggested I go with the RAZAN SULTAN hose as a free upgrade. The price difference for each hose was 4 dollars and some cents. I was very please that this was an actual free upgrade.

The company, located in Florida, took three days to ship to my house. It came very well packaged in a medium sized box that kept all the hoses tight together. As an added bonus, he gave me a free mini flashlight. It was a nice gesture on top of all the nice things he had done for me already.

All in all, I am very pleased with this vendor and have used him since again to buy shisha and amazing prices. I will continue to do business with him and suggest that you do as well.

Overall rating of Nazar Hookah: 10/10

REVIEW: Hookah Freak Snickerdoodle

2010-02-04T13:23:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Triple Hose Maju and a Vortex
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Three 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Moist tobacco. The cut was that you'd find in a cigarette. I'd like a bit more molasses, but this was fine.
Smell: For those who know what a Snickerdoodle is, this smells JUST like it. I definitely smell the cinnamon in the scent. I also smell faint scents of vanilla and brown sugar, typical of a cookie!
Flavor: The flavor replicated the smell exactly. It was amazing how they were able to do this. I really felt like I was taking a bite into a cookie.
Smoke: The smoke was thick. It was perfect. I would compare it to Starbuzz clouds.
Longevity: This lasted me an hour and 15 minutes. The scent was throughout the session and only started to fade once 15 minutes came in. By then, my coals were done.
Overall thoughts: I liked this flavor. They were bang on with the scent and flavor. I would have liked a bit more brown sugar and vanilla, but the cinnamon was the star in this one with great under tones that worked well with the mix.

RATING: 8.5/10

REVIEW: Hookah Hookah Guava

2010-02-03T12:48:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Single hose Sahara custom, vortex bowl
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Two 40mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Undyed tobacco. Pretty moist, good consistency. No stem.
Smell: The smell reminds me of walking into the floral department of a Home Depot. There is a very natural, woody and leafy smell to this tobacco. It's pretty interesting. I've never ate a guava before, and I doubt guavas actually smell like this, though.
Flavor: The flavor is a very light, natural sweetness. You can taste the leafiness that I mentioned in the smell of the cut.
Smoke: Typical clouds made from Hookah Hookah. If you've never smoked Hookah Hookah before, they are really great clouds, so do not worry!
Longevity: It lasted an hour and ten mins.
Overall thoughts: I like this flavor, but the leafiness really turned me off. I expected a bit more sweet flavor to it considering it is a fruit, but I didn't really get any of that in the session today. I would probably never buy this again, but if I happened to have more left over, I'd smoke it again.

RATING: 5.5/10

REVIEW: Starbuzz Code 69

2010-02-02T23:47:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Triple Hose Maju and a Vortex
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Three 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Typical dyed Starbuzz, I found no stems to note on in my batch
Smell: The smell reminds me of cherry cola. When I take a sniff, my nose fizzles up due to this carbonated scent. It's cool how they replicated this. It brings a tickle to your nose.
Flavor: Flavor is a very fizzy cherry flavor, very much like cherry cola. It's good!
Smoke: Thick! I love Starbuzz!
Longevity: It lasted an hour and a half.
Overall thoughts: I like this flavor a lot. It's different from all the rest and brings a uniqueness to it due to the fizzy flavor it brings to the flavor. It was very enjoyable. I would definitely like to mix this in with more cherry to have that flavor pop out more as it doesn't as much as I'd like. It's a great mixer, me thinks!

RATING: 9/10

REVIEW: Hookah Hookah Black Pomegranante Tea Shisha

2010-02-01T23:26:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Triple Hose Maju
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Two 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Typical tea leaves, shredded. IT wasn't wet at all, but it wasn't completely dry. I didn't have to clean my hands or wipe them down at all after touching it.
Smell: Smells like a nice natural sweet. Don't compare this to actual pomegranate though, you'll have to actually sniff the juice from POM to get any sort of comparison. The smell was okay at best!
Flavor: The is no flavor in my opinion. The scent comes out in the smoke but it's a floral scent and it's way too potent. It's like I'm sucking on grandma's perfume bottle. YECK!
Smoke: Medium body, but I'd like more.
Longevity: I didn't find out how long this lasted me, I couldn't continue past ten minutes of this.
Overall thoughts: This was the worst shisha I have ever had. I was very disappointing and I'm sad I wasted three coals on this.

RATING: 0/10

REVIEW: Al Fakher Lemon with Mint

2010-01-31T21:01:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Triple Hose Maju
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Three 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Undyed shredded shisha. Extremely wet. No stems from what I got.
Smell: The smell is a very natural lemon and mint scent. It's bang on with the scent. It smells a lot like Lemon with Mint hot tea that you'd drink when you're sick.
Flavor: The taste has medium body and it is bang on as well. It tastes just like it smells.
Smoke: Smoke is weak, it never got even NEAR smokes I get from Starbuzz or HookahHookah.
Longevity: Everything lasted me about an hour and a half.
Overall thoughts: The smell and taste is really bang on. I removed some points for the extremely wet nature of the shisha and how surprised I was to see how QUICK it got hot. I figured with wet shisha, I'd need 3 coals, but it was over kill and it got way too hot way too quick. Bummer.

RATING: 8.5/10

REVIEW: Hookah Hookah Butterscotch

2010-01-30T23:15:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Triple Hose Maju
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Three 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Undyed very fine to medium grounded typical hookah hookah tobacco. Not very wet, not dry.
Smell: The smell is a chemically butterscotch smell if you put your nose up against it. But if you wave it around in front of your nose to get a quick sniff, the smell is bang on for a creamy caramel/butterscotch scent.
Flavor: The taste is VERY strong with this. Hookah Hookah got the taste of butterscotch BANG ON! If I was to rate it on taste alone and how right they got the flavor, I'd definitely give it a 10/10. But because I'm more of a fruity shisha fan,
Smoke: Smoke got thick only after I was forced to use a third 33mm three kings coal. It took about 15-20 minutes and I would compare the smoke to that of a weaker Starbuzz, but I definitely got some GREAT pulls and smoke from it that impressed me.
Longevity: Everything lasted me about an hour and a half.
Overall thoughts: I first want to say how grateful I am of HookahHookah.com for giving me this free shot of shisha. The shot is definitely enough to fill my small vortex bowl and good enough for a single person session. Overall, this is a strong flavor and for that alone it's enjoyable. The smell and taste is all butterscotch and as I have said before that they were BANG on with the smell and definitely the taste. No buzz from this whats so ever, but I kind of enjoyed that for a change! If I was to rate on taste alone and how on target they got this shisha, it would be a 10/10, but considering I am more of a fan of shisha flavors, I won't rate this as high if it was a fruit.

RATING: 7/10

REVIEW: Hookah Hookah Melon

2010-01-29T13:07:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Triple Hose Maju
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Two 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Undyed course grounded tobacco. Not very wet, not dry.
Smell: The smell of cantaloupe is predominate in this tobacco. It's a very natural cantelope smell and if you close your eyes, you'd think someone stuck a cantaloupe in your face.
Flavor: The taste is very subtle, but whatever you do taste is exactly what you were smelling. There is a cantaloupe taste, just like the smell.
Smoke: Smoke got thick only after I was forced to use a third 33mm three kings coal. It took about 15-20 minutes and I would compare the smoke to that of a weaker Starbuzz.
Longevity: Everything lasted me about an hour
Overall thoughts: I first want to say how grateful I am of HookahHookah.com for giving me this free shot of shisha. The shot is definitely enough to fill my small vortex bowl and good enough for a single person session. Overall, this is a very light flavor but enjoyable. I wish it was a bit more moist, but it could have just been the batch I got considering I know Hookah Hookah to be generally more moist than the sample I got. The smell and taste is all cantaloupe, so I think the name should be changed to cantaloupe instead of "Melon" since melon makes me think I may get a mixture of some watermelon, honey dew and cantaloupe. I got a semi buzz, but I'm a light weight :P

RATING: 7.5/10

VENDOR: www.hookahookah.com / www.saharasmoke.com

2010-01-28T11:00:00.001-05:00

Links:
Hookah Hookah
Sahara Smoke

Review:
Both Hookah Hookah and Sahara Smoke are ran by the same company. I bought separate orders around the same day before I learned about this. Once I did, I called their 1(800) number and asked if they can ship it together, they obliged and told me if the shipping was less, they'd give me the credit back of the difference.

About a week later, my order was waiting on my door step. The packaging was very well done. It was done with a lot of pillow pak bubble wrap and everything was put into smaller baggies to contain it in one spot. Upon opening it, I immediately realized that there was a lot more shisha there than I actually ordered. It was Christmas day at my house! I have gotten an extra 2 shots of Hookah Hookah tobacco in Butter Scotch and Graham Crackers, 100g of Hookah Freak Snicker doodle, 50g of Hookah Hookah Irish Cream and two 50g of Hookah Hookah Tea Shisha in Orange and Kiwi! Total price of free stuff: $19.78! AWESOME!

The prices there are very fair in my opinion, especially if they're going to be throwing in some free stuff occasionally. I was happy with the customer service and when I called, I was satisfied with the answer in minutes.

Overall rating of SSC (the company that owns both websites): 10/10!

REVIEW: Layalina Kiwi & Strawberry

2010-01-27T13:59:00.000-05:00

Bowl Used: Triple Hose Maju
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Two 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Typical Layalina, stemmy and choppy cut. Very juicy and dyed.
Smell: You can smell artificial strawberry but no scent of kiwi to my nose.b
Flavor: Very light taste, if any at all at first 15 minutes. It takes about 30 minutes to taste the maximum you are going to get from this shisha.
Smoke: Medium clouds, nothing like Starbuzz.
Longevity: Everything lasted me about an hour
Overall thoughts: Light taste, heavy scent but I wish it was the opposite. I'm sure there is a better Kiwi Strawberry out there and I'm on a mission to find it!

RATING: 4/10

REVIEW: Starbuzz Blue Mist

2010-01-26T23:22:00.001-05:00

Bowl Used: Triple Hose Maju
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, double fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Two 33mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Typical Starbuzz cut, rather stemmy, but typical. Juicy and not dyed.
Smell: Very blueberry with menthol after tones.
Flavor: The methol mint hits you quicker than the blueberry does, but there are hints of it while smoking. I liked this flavor simply because of the mint but may consider mixing it with more solid blueberry since I wasn't satisfied with the fruit aspect to it.
Smoke: Thick.
Longevity: Everything lasted me about an hour, I added another coal after-wards for a bit longer smoke.
Overall thoughts: Nice mint flavor with blueberry undertones that were, at best, satisfying. I enjoyed this but enjoyed other flavors way more.

RATING: 7/10

REVIEW: Starbuzz Sex on the Beach

2010-01-25T13:09:00.002-05:00

As a fan of the drink, Sex on the Beach, I decided to give tobacco a try at this very flavorful drink. We'll see if it holds up to the name!

Bowl Used: Triple Hose Maju
Foil: Reynolds Wrap, triple fold
Water Base: Ice water.
Coal Configuration: Two 33mm Three Kings Coal, one 40mm Three Kings Coal
Cut of the Tobacco: Fine, typical Starbuzz. Dyed Molasses.
Smell: I smell hints of orange, peach and cranberry in this, which is what a Sex on the Beach is. It's a very strong scent but to separate the flavors takes time and is hard to pin point.
Flavor: Not much of a flavor at all for the first few pulls, it was as if I was smoking air. After about 10 minutes into the session, the flavor starting coming out but nothing worth noting. I believe I hit full flavor at about 30 minutes into the smoke session. It was a sweet taste and I could only taste the peach.
Smoke: Thick pillows, as usual from Starbuzz, with thick clouds only coming after three full pulls.
Longevity: The coals lasted me about and half and a half and the flavor was still there.
Overall thoughts: It took a while for this flavor to come out, perhaps because I was alone. The flavor is sweet and enjoyable once it does peak. It tastes nothing like sex on the beach, however. In the future, I'd like to add some pineapple juice to my water base for a more fuller flavor.

RATING: 7/10.

Hookah Music Collection

2010-01-24T09:45:00.000-05:00

If anyone is interested in putting together their own mix of some amazing ethnic tunes to smoke your hookah to, I have put together my own playlist of some great music I think you will all enjoy. Below is also CDs you can purchase!

The Hookah Diaries' Music Mix
1. Cirque Du Soliel - Kunya Sobe
2. Zein Al-Jundi - Wijjak Ma'ii
3. Hisham Abbas - Intil Waheeda
4. Jamal Porto -Gamar Badawi
5. Najwa Karam - Ana Ma Fiye
6. Yasser Habeeb - Elama
7. Sawt el Atlas - Ne Me Jugez Pas
9. Tiris - Tiris Nibreeha
10. Sertab - Buda
11. Istiklal Trio - Kurdilihicazkar Longa
12. Avi Elbaz - Zoara

Hookah CDs for Purchase
Sahara Lounge @ theworldcloset.com ($6.49)
Acoustic Arabia @ secondspin.com ($8.99)
Cafe Hookah @ tower.com ($13.29)
Hookah Music Vibes @ hookahmusicvibes.com ($9.50)

Enjoy your music!

FREE: 15g Cleopatra Shots

2010-01-23T13:45:00.003-05:00

MaharajaHookah is offering 15 gram shisha shots completely free of charge (even shipping is free!). Some of the flavors they provide are Apple, Coconut, Mint, Mango and much much more!

Each pack is 15 grams and can last from 1-2 hours of smoking, as their website states. There is a limit of three per customer and is a great beginners shisha or for someone who is looking to broaden their horizons with new brands. This isn't a premium shisha, however, and if you are used to Tangiers, Romman or Starbuzz, you may not be satisified. But hey, it's free!

As a reminder, the shipping is free but it is shown on the checkout. Ignore it. They will ship to multiple countries, free of charge.

REVIEW: Types of Hookah Bowls

2010-01-22T10:31:00.002-05:00

While there are tons of companies with their own version of a variety of hookah bowls, I have collected an array of the general ones that are popular with the community for everyone to read, compare, contrast and make their own opinions about.

Tangiers Bowl

About: This bowl has no holes on the bottom of it. This innovated design allows the shisha to stay moist and keep it from being burned due to the spire in the middle that is now the new place for holes. The smaller version of the bowl holds about 35-40 grams of shisha and the larger version of the bowl holds about 70-100 grams of shisha. The design also allows for a longer smoke! The Tangiers bowl measures 3 inches in diameter and 4.5 inches in height..
Pros: I love this bowl and it is probably my favorite of all that I will review. The design is so different from any other and it has brought hookah smoking to a more modern time. You won't get the harsh smoke from this bowl like you will from others after an hour of smoking because the shisha is pretty much impossible to burn and it is easy to clean! What a joy!
Cons: This bowl is hard to pack and requires a different approach. Some may not know this and cause them to dislike the bowl. Also, foil puncturing is changed as well due to the shape.
Price: Small or Large: $14.95 from HookahCompany.com

Medusa Bowl

About: At 5.6" tall, these are giant bowls that are generally for hookah parties. They are very large and allow for a lot of shisha to be packed in. They have a unique head that is flat, yet wide.
Pros: The bowl is big, I have to give it that. It holds a considerable amount of shisha, but that is basically it.
Cons: I didn't really understand the concept of this. Why not just use a multiple head bowl? The design did intrigue me as to why they decided to make it fat and not deep, but I found no real reason behind it. Making it flat also takes away a lot of space than if it would be deep.
Price: $11.95 from Smoking-Hookah.com

Double/Triple/Quad Bowl

About: These bowls come with either two, three or four heads attached to a base that will connect to your hookah. You will be able to smoke double, triple or quadruple the amount of tobacco if you are entertaining more friends or mix your shisha without actually mixing it in one bowl.

Pros: These are great for people who smoke with MANY friends and don't feel like constantly refreshing the bowl. Another great use of these are to mix shishas while not actually mixing them together. You will be able to experiment by easily adding, removing or changing shisha's around all in one session.
Cons: These bowls waste a lot of shisha for those who do not smoke a lot or with many people. Also, to use them effectively, you will need twice, three times or four times the amount of coals at once. I find this very costly.
Price: Double: $9.95, Triple $11.95, Quadruple $14.95 from Hookah-Shisha.com

Chamber Bowl

About: These bowls are for a single or double smoking team who is interested in mixing shisha without actually mixing them together. You are able to place about 10 grams (max) in each chamber and up to three different shisha flavors at once.
Pros: What is GREAT about these is that they are effective for people who smoke with one or two other people and do not feel like mixing their shisha together.
Cons: These are not easy to clean, nor are they easy to come by. I have found ONE website that sold them.
Price: $9.95 from Hookahkings.com

Ice Chamber Bowl

About: This bowl allows hookah smokers to fill a chamber area with water and then freeze it prior to smoking. The thought is that the ice will cool down the smoke and keep the shisha from burning.
Pros: Adding ice either in the water base, stem or bowl is allowing the smoke to condense and cool down. The great thing about ice is that condensed smoke allows you to intake more and since it is cooled down, it won't be harsh on your throat. The ice lasts a very long time and doesn't melt quickly in room temperature.
Cons: The makers of this bowl ask that the customer only place water in 1/2 the bowl so when it does freeze and expand, it doesn't break the bowl. However, even when this happened, a lot of people have claimed that the bowl has broken regardless.
Price: $8.30 from Rodman Store

TIPS/TRICKS: Mixing your Shisha for New Flavors!

2010-01-21T20:27:00.001-05:00

I enjoy mixing shisha's I have already purchased to create a new enjoyable flavor to smoke with. The following are some good mixes I have come across while experimenting and I would love if you can post your own!

Peaches and Cream
Equal parts of peach shisha and vanilla shisha creates a peaches and cream taste that is to die for! You can also either add more of either type to create a more peachy taste or cream taste. You can also replace the peach with blueberry, strawberry or Orange.

Root Beer Float
Double parts Root Beer shisha and one part vanilla. Hookah Hookah makes a root beer shisha and runs for about $10.00 per 250 grams. I always put more Root Beer shisha than vanilla because it is what makes a Root Beer Float a Root Beer Float!

Warm Apple Pie
Two parts double apple shisha and one part cinnamon shisha. I also sometimes add apple juice to my water base with a soaking cinnamon stick to intensify the flavor. Just close your eyes and imagine taking a bite out of this pie, without the calories!

Raspberry Mint Chocolate Milk
Double parts raspberry shisha, and equal parts of chocolate and vanilla. Some hookah enthusiasts love to put some raspberries in the water base, but I do not find this at all satisfying and it doesn't really add anything to the flavor. I think it's more of a fun look to the base when you inhale and bubbles form.

Refreshing Summer's Day
Equal parts lemon and mint shisha. I add actual slices of lemon into my water base or squeeze a bit of lemon juice into the water base for added flavor. You can even throw some fresh mint leaves into the water base to intensify it all!

How to Mix
I mix my shisha on a tin foil with a wooden Popsicle stick and when I find that it is mixed completely I transfer it into the clay bowl. Please don't make the mistake I did the first time and mix it inside the bowl. Some of the shisha will clog the holes if you do this or even get past the holes. Remember to leave it fluffy!

What are some of your favorite shisha mixes?

HOW TO: Storing and Reviving your Shisha

2010-01-20T10:51:00.025-05:00

Storage is important to keep your expensive shisha the way it came when you originally purchased it. If you're like me, you have over 20 different flavors from different companies and when you aren't organized, things will get misplaced. When shisha isn't stored correctly, it can become dried out and begin to get stale. To avoid this, we have a few ideas on how to restore your shisha.

Storage
I store all my shisha in a labeled zip-lock bag and inside a tin canister. Some of the shisha I get comes in boxes which do not serve as great storage. I find that if I am uniform and orderly, everything goes easier and I am way more relaxed about smoking. Shisha that already comes in tin cans get new zip-lock bags and stored back into their original packaging. I chose tin cans because they create a dark and cool environment which is ideal for your shisha. Try grabbing an old tin canister from coffee, or by purchasing empty new ones from craft stores. Label your zip-lock bag the shisha's company name and flavor as well as when it was opened. Roll up, fold and place into the large tin can. I fill a coffee can with at least 10 different 100 gram shisha. Place all tin cans in a cool and dry area. Do not store in the refrigerator as the inconstant temperature will cause your shisha to age very quickly.

Reviving your Shisha
Sometimes, if not stored correctly, your shisha will dry out a bit. It is very important that the shisha you smoke is juicy (at least, that is how I like it best). To restore your shisha is as simple as 1, 2,3, with some common house-hold ingredients. You can use either honey, molasses or corn syrup to the shisha to bring it back to life. As a general rule of thumb, I add about a dime-size amount of either of the restoring agents to 25 grams of tobacco. Remember, you do not want your tobacco to be dripping off molasses as this will cause clogging of your stem and clay bowl. Some of my other friends prefer to mix some good shisha with the dry and creating a new flavor. For instance, if your vanilla is dry, you can add apple shisha (which, let's say, isn't dry) at a 2:1 ratio (2 servings of good shisha per 1 serving of dry shisha) to make a new apple/vanilla blend.

Natural or Quick Lighting Coals?

2010-01-19T12:20:00.001-05:00

There are two types of coals you can consider purchasing. Both have pros and cons to them and should be considered before purchasing. While there are very many varieties of each type, there are one of each that stand out to me. I will be going over the pros and cons to both, the prices and how each of them work.

Natural Coals

For natural coals, I prefer Coco Nara. Coco Nara are 100% natural, made from compressed coconut husks and shells. The dimensions of the briquettes are 1 inch by 5/8 inch and carry a square shape to them. They burn hotter and much longer than most other natural coals. They are virtually odorless and tasteless. It takes about 5-10 minutes to light on a electric coiled stove and last from one hour to an hour and a half. They run around $15 per 108 purchased in bulk.

Quick Lighting Coals

For quick lighting coals, I prefer Three Kings. Three Kings is made in Holland and they are a self-heating solid organic coal at 1 inch and 5/16th wide. It is very easy to light these and do not take longer than 30 seconds to do. They have a tiny gun powder smell when you first ignite, but that goes away once the first ash layer starts the form. I find no taste difference in the shisha. Each coal lasts between 30-50 minutes depending on how many people are smoking. They run around $16 per 100 purchased in bulk.

Lighting Techniques
For lighting natural coals, I suggest either using an exposed heating coal from an electric stove, a real fire in a fire place or a hookah coal heater (running at $49.99). You must keep the coal on the heat source for at least 5-10 minutes, or until there is no more black portion of the coal left and replaced with a grey ash layer.
For lighting quick lighting coals, I suggest using a torch lighter. Hold the coal with tongs (be careful, they will get hot too) and hold the coal above the flame for about 5-10 seconds or until you're blowing on it and see a red ember. Leave the coal alone until there is a ash layer visable all around (so you aren't smoking and quick lighting chemicals).

Smoking Techniques
No matter what coals you are using, remember to leave your coals on the corner of the clay bowl and not directly on top. Also, rotate the coals every 5-10 minutes a bit to the left or right so the heat is spread evenly. Some people like using more than one coal at a time, but I have never before. If anything, I broke one coal up into two pieces. I have heard, however, that using more coals will create a more pillowy smoke. I still have yet to experiment with that, though.

Choose wisely!