Mint is the foundation of any good hookah tobacco collection. While many have tried to topple the king, few have even come close to unseating my idea of minty perfection. Nakhla Mint is easily in the top three best mint tobaccos on the market and everyone needs to try it.

Nakhla is known for natural flavors and their classic mint follows suit with the scent of freshly cut mint peppermint leaves. Right out of the box you will be pleased by a mildly sweet and potently minty aroma that I truly love. It might seem a bit weaker than many of the other mint bomb flavors on the market, but I promise you that it’s plenty minty.

The flavor is similar to the scent. It’s somewhat sweet without tasting like candy or gum and has a distinct note of vegetation that is spot on accurate to the flavor you get while chewing on mint leaves. My childhood home was surrounded by peppermint plants and this tobacco brings back memories that I want to share with you.

If you lie mint, buy this tobacco. If you don’t like mint, buy it anyway and give it a shot. It’s one of the best mixers on the market and easily one of the best standalone flavors.

I know that this is a gigantic surprise, but the smell in the package is similar to dried apricots. I’d say that’s a good sign. The scent is not overpowering or sickeningly sweet, so I had high hopes for this tobacco before I ever loaded it in my bowl.

You should know that this tobacco is seriously wet, but I would not call it drippy. It’s is not like the modern tobaccos such as Fantasia that are basically juice with a little tobacco mixed into it. It’s more of a sticky consistency, which I would say is similar to the Nakhla Mizo tobacco that I love so much. The cut is also similar to Nakhla, but perhaps a little more irregular. I’ve found more long strips of tobacco in the Al Waha that I’ve been smoking, but it’s not a problem other than when packing my smallest bowls. The next time I get a pack of Al Waha I might take a rocking chop to it just to make sure that the largest pieces are cut down a little.

The flavor was a little lacking. It is obviously apricot and it was definitely pleasant, but it was a bit weak. The taste is similar to a sweetened, dried apricot as one might find in a sweet apricot chutney. The texture of the smoke is pretty good with a smooth and round mouth feel, but the clouds are nice and puffy.

If this tobacco were stronger in flavor I might be tempted to call it my favorite apricot flavor, which is a fruit I find to be poorly represented in the world of hookah.

Where do we start? Price.

Traditional tobaccos are usually pretty cheap and that’s . That’s one of the nicest things about smoking things like Zaghloul. Firstly, they aren’t super hyped products designed for the highest possible profit margin with the word “premium” slapped on to justify bumping them over the $20 threshold. These are tobaccos made the same way for a long time and by people who are more interested in producing a good product than making a profitable product. Secondly, they aren’t very popular, so they don’t get a big markup because they won’t sell at all if they do.

That being said, most of the traditional tobaccos on the market and the ones I’m talking about here are considered pretty low rung tobaccos.They are still of great quality and they are wonderful, but comparing Zaghloul to the rare and very expensive tobaccos like Shooting Star is like comparing a Punch cigar with a special edition Arturo Fuente Black Label Opus X. The Punch is a good every day smoke that will satisfy and taste great, but it’s never going to reach the complexity of the Opus X and the price tag and rarity reflect that.

Nakhla is a great starting point for black molasses from the Middle East. It’s just tobacco and molasses. Order from a vendor that deals in traditional tobaccos a lot to make sure it is fresh. Zaghloul is the most common, but the others are great as well and offer a lot of different experiences. Some are more smokey and robust (Khan) while others are lighter and easier to approach (Zag light).

Desi Murli is traditional Indian tobacco and is very floral and spicy with a wide range of flavors based on a foundation of earthy tobacco. This is not a black molasses as it includes a lot of traditional extracts, spices and herbs that blend to create a very complex and distinctly Indian flavor profile. This basic tobacco then has a wide range of flavors added to it. Everything from unique flavors like Pan Rasna to strange flavors like strawberry milkshake. This tobacco is prone to molding as it has no preservatives.

Al Fakher makes a great introductory black molasses known as Soft Black. It’s lighter and sweeter than many of the other black molasses and is made to be easier to smoke. It’s very wet and lighter in nicotine than many others and the flavor is molasses forward with a sour tobacco note supporting. I like to mix this one with pretty much everything I smoke. It can be hard to find in anything less than kilo tubs, but it’s a good buy if you find you like traditional molasses.

Next we have jurak. Jurak is a form of tobacco that is something between a black molasses and the Indian tobaccos like Desi Murli. It can take on a lot of different forms, but it’s always a combination of natural tobacco, molasses (at least) and some natural flavors. Common flavors are the popular Middle Eastern spices, rich fruits and wood extracts like cedar. Each one is unique and it’s hard to describe them. Most important to note is the fact the jurak needs a ton of heat to smoke properly. There is no glycerin and the mix is almost always more o a sticky paste than a juicy tobacco. I usually end up using close to twice the charcoal that I would otherwise use and a wider and more shallow bowl is always better.

I want to point out that traditional tobaccos are always stronger in nicotine than their modern cousins. Even if you are a seasoned smoker, sip slowly and take long breaths between pulls. Many traditional smokers suggest only half breaths where the smoke only just enters the throat with tobaccos like this. You can draw deeply, but a big boost of nicotine is waiting for you on the other side.

Lastly, these tobaccos aren’t for everyone. Don’t feel like you need to chain smoke Zaghloul to be a “real hookah smoker“. It’s not a competition. Enjoy what you enjoy and relax. Anyone that gets elitist and disparaging because you aren’t as hardcore as they are isn’t invited to my smoking sessions.

A very popular brand of hookah charcoal, made from coconut shells; this charcoal uses no wood of any kind. The shape is a short square as opposed to the common disk shape found in quick light coals. These are natural coals and need a source of constant heat like a coil burner to light. They do not come in a quick light version.

Since Coconara is made from carbonized coconut shells, these charcoal blocks don’t require the cutting down of trees and they are much cleaner to work with because of the nature of the material.  Have you ever handled charcoal only to have your hands look like those of a grizzled coal miner?  That is not a problem with Coconara.  The amount of charcoal dust that these put off is minimal an it does not stick to your hands easily.  The packaging is solid.  The box is bright, informative and well made.  The charcoal is contained in a well sealed plastic bag inside to reduce mess and protect the charcoal from moisture.

These are natural style charcoals which means they need prolonged contact with high heat to light properly.  A BIC lighter is not going to cut it.  They take a little while to light up but patience is part of the hookah process.   About 14 minutes on my gas range stove without any adjusting.  About 10 if you flip them.  You can use a coil burner, blow torch, campfire or any other similar heat source to start Coco Nara Charcoal.

They do not produce any terrible odors while lighting and I have never had them smoke while lighting either.  They produce no off flavors in the smoke and don’t add harshness or give headaches like some low quality charcoal.

The heat they produce is a good level for hookah.  I use two on most bowls and 3 on my vortex and small Tangiers funnel.  4 on my small Tangiers funnel if I am smoking something that takes a lot of heat but 3 usually does well.  They last a long time too.  I have had sessions that were still producing good smoke at a length of an hour and ten minutes.

Lastly, these charcoal blocks produce very little ash.  They produce less ash as compared to original mass than any other charcoal I have used.  It’s really great for an easy clean up or marathon sessions.  If I use three full rounds of 4 charcoal of many other types my tray will be looking pretty full.  Not as much with Coco Nara.

For a brief period in 2010 the shape of the coals was changed to that of a cube and the opinions were absolutely polar. Fans either loved or hated the change and CocoNara responded by returning their coals to the original shape and starting a second line known as CocoMazaya, which has the cube shape.

In short

Coco Nara Pros

• Very clean flavor
• Low Carbon Monoxide
• Almost no coal dust
• No broken and unusable pieces
• Long Lasting
• No trees are cut down to make these charcoals

Coco Nara Cons

• A long lighting time
• They need an external heat source like a stove or coil burner to light
• High cost per box
• Reports of some batches failing to light or extinguishing themselves

Do your Coconara coals go out too soon? Here is a solution to Coconut coals going out soon.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Nah, but it IS a Porsche that you can smoke! Why, exactly, a high-end car company decided to come out with their own hookah design is beyond us. Make of stainless steel, aluminum and glass, this German made, limited edition hookah pipe can cruise right into your possession for a few thousand dollars.

Taking pride in Sweden’s artisanal heritage, the Desvall Shisha design is one that showcases multi-medium craftsmanship through ceramic works, hand-blown glass, leather working techniques, and more. You can get this sleek hookah in a variety of designs, and boasting various high-end materials including 24ct gold, Swarovski crystals, and chrome plating. This heavy weight champ weighs in at an easy $100,000.

Aurentum Switzerland are the Swiss designers who believe that design is the quintessence of luxury and old traditions should be kept intact. By ‘old traditions’ I think they mean tales of Aladdin and the 40 Thieves, because I don’t know too many hookah traditionalists who bedazzle their shisha pipe with 24ct gold, diamonds, rubies, and platinum. Just how intense is this pipe? On million dollars intense.

If these hookahs are a little too rich for your simple palate, might we suggest the superior design of the Nammor Hookah to fill your common-man smoking needs!

This is definitely a modern style tobacco and it is soaked through with glycerin. There is a lot of juice to deal with, but happily it’s not dyed red.

The smell is nice and sweet without smelling like cleaning products. It doesn’t smell like the lemon oil that you get with Nakhla lemon and it doesn’t smell like lemon drop candies in the same way as Social Smoke lemon. This tobacco bridges the gap between the two and it’s pretty nice.

The flavors is something akin to a lemonade gum and I think it’s worth checking out. I wish it was a little more sour, but sourness is extremely hard to achieve in hookah smoke. I’ll be smoking the rest of this package happily and I’m now much more interested in trying the other flavors that Al Waha has to offer.

7 out of 10. I’d call this a good lemon flavor, but there are a few that I enjoy more. I think that it’s a nice middle ground with aspects of both natural and candied lemon that will appease many and offend very few. If you like lemon oil flavors, go with Nakhla. If you like lemonade favors, go with Social Smoke. But, if you want a semi-natural lemon flavor to share with a lot of people, Al Waha lemon is a good choice.

Oh how I love a good peach specially a Nakhla one. It always seemed like fresh peaches had a window of about an hour in which they were ripe. Any sooner and it was like eating a potato. Any later and it’s a pile of mush and rot. Even so, I waited impatiently and loved that first peach of the season like the first kiss from a new crush.

As you can tell, I like peaches. What do I think of Nakhla Peach?

It’s on the better side of okay. The flavor tastes fruity with a distinctly peach tone that is supported by an apricot flavor and notes of light tobacco. It avoids the overly floral notes to which many peach flavors default, but they are there to enhance and brighten the flavor by just a little bit. I find it to be pretty tasty and I definitely enjoy this tobacco, but it’s not a purely peach flavor. I know that many people are looking for a juicy and sweet peach flavor that they might not find with this one, but there are plenty of other brands making candied peach flavors. This is something different.

Should you buy it? Yes. I think it’s a tasty flavor that you should try out for yourself. It’s somewhat unique among the peach flavors on the market and I’m always happy to see Nakhla producing tobacco that don’t taste like overly sugary candy. If that’s your bag; get some Nakhla Mizo Peach. That’s probably going to satisfy your sweet tooth better than this one.

Not as well as I was hoping. Vanilla is a subtle flavor that is easily overpowered and hard to replicate. The smell on this tobacco is very sweet and oddly earthy with a somewhat pastry like scent. There are mild tobacco notes and a light note of fruit.

The flavor is similar to the scent, but I find it lacking in actually vanilla flavor. This is a Nakhla flavor in which you can actually taste the tobacco that comes across as a bit of a bready and nutty note. It sure doesn’t taste like real vanilla beans, but I didn’t really expect it to do so. Vanilla hookah tobacco either tastes like cake batter, frosting or creamy candy. It doesn’t taste like that either.

If you’re looking for a true and realistic vanilla flavor, this isn’t the tobacco for you. If you’re looking for something that tastes like vanilla frosting and creamy desserts, this isn’t the tobacco for you. So, who is it for? This tobacco is an interesting combination of sweetness and mild tobacco that I enjoy, but I’m not biting at the bit to smoke. Try it in a 50g and see if you like it.

Nakhla decided to try their hand at a brandy flavored tobacco in this addition to the Mix line of tobacco. I don’t think they did a terrible job. It has some woody flavors that might come across as oak, but the prominent flavor tastes somewhat of sweet oranges. By no means would I call this a citrus tobacco or even a brandy flavor. If anything, it tastes more like Grand Marnier or Cointreau and it’s a pretty good facsimile of those two liqueurs.

If you’re looking for a tobacco that tastes like brandy served straight in a glass, this isn’t the tobacco for you. However, if you’re interested in mixing up your own margarita flavored blend, grab this one along with a lime flavor and have at it. You’ll probably end up with a flavor that tastes more like a margarita than most premixed versions.

Stupid dye.

Hookah tobacco and red dye seem to go hand in hand. Whether it’s mint, strawberry, apple or almost any other flavor, it’s probably been dyed red by at least on company. But, why? It’s all marketing. Hookah tobacco is often seen as a candied confection in comparison to the rich and robust experience of natural tobacco and it is often assumed that those interested in hookah are looking for a smoking experience entirely removed from the tobacco plant. The dye was originally added to mask the color and look of natural hookah tobacco, which is just a pile of wet leaves. If you compare Fantasia to Desi Murli and present them to a new smoker based on appearance alone, Fantasia will probably come out on top most of the time because it looks like food and DM looks like dirt.

Speaking of food, there is a certain psychology to the coloring that is used. Red is seen as one of the most appealing colors for a human and it’s believed to be an instinct left over from our time of living in trees and eating almost entirely fruit and berries. Think about it this way; if you took a chicken breast and dyed it red you could still find it appealing. Now dye that same chicken blue, red, purple, green, brown or black and it’s instantly unappealing. This is why red is the most common and only rarely do you see some green creep in for flavors that are associated with that color in our minds; lime, mint and the occasional apple.

Happily, many companies are taking the dye out of their tobacco and treating hookah smokers like adults. Not only does it mean one less additive to worry about in regards to health, but it will reduce the chances of getting mistaken for a serial killer every time you pack a bowl.