I recently tried smoking a hookah pipe and really enjoyed it. Does anybody here smoke one and/or have any advice on what tobaccos to try, what model to get, cost etc.? Cheers!
I walked into a “Tobacco Shop” last weekend, wondering if it might have American Scotches, well, no, it was a head shop, with all manner of rolling papers, bongs, water pipes, some pipe that was like a gun and you inhale on the barrel, plus he had rows of various hookas. Nice looking stuff, and they sold the fake pot buds too. But I don’t know anything about hookas, as I quit all smoking and don’t want to start back. They do like nice though.
Hi Toffee, There was a thread on this here on the forum. Search for hookah. Basically the deal seems to be that the thing to look for is good hoses and gaskets and one with a lot of water capacity. The smoke is hotter than hell because it’s burnt by charcoal and it goes through the water to cool it. On a small pipe the smoke doesn’t have enough chance to cool off where on a bigger one the water stays cooler longer. Some people are putting ice cubes in the water as well. I haven’t tried one yet. I thought about it and did some research on the net and I decided I was already broke enough without another hobby LOL. But where I live we have a good supply. I wonder if I should start exporting…
I got the free hookah (tobacco) sample that was posted here and I still haven’t tried it. there are several hookah shops close to where I live. I figure I’ll cook a bowl at one of them first, then decide if I want to invest in buying one. I just haven’t had the time and I feel funny going alone.
I was given some hookah “tobacco” by a friend of mine. He thought I could make snuff out of it. I’ve never seen this before, it smells like heaven and looks like strawberry jam!! I just can’t imagine that this stuff will burn. It’s sitting in a little tin in my office, the aroma is like having some incense burning. Is this “normal” hookah (hubbly bubbly) tobacco?
Yes, hookah “tobacco” is a mixture of chemicals, fruit flavorings, and tobacco. I would NOT recommend snuffing it. It burns at a very high temperature with a charcoal fire.
I recieved my free Jewel sample the other day. I didn’t think it was going to arrive. My GF and I enjoy a hookah every now and again. We are on the verge of buying one to save $$. So far my favorite flavor is Guava. Yummm…
Well if the hookah tobacco actually burns you are doing it wrong. The shisha is put in a bowl, covered with aluminum foil, which is punctured to let air pass, then coals on top. The shisha actually cooks, releasing steam and vapor. If it gets too hot, it burns, becoming harsh and not good. If this happens, remove the coals, let it cool, then resume. Now for the “traditional” tobaccos, they are first wet with water, packed in a certain way, then a coal directly on top of the tobacco. But this is not the popular method in use these days, except by “advanced users”. All the popular brands and blends are wet with glycerin and molasses. To use wet shisha, you must use foil or a screen.Here is where I got my last order a few months back. My order exceeded $100, so I got a nice FREE MYA mini, which is a really fine little pipe. Their offer is still up. I have no affiliation with them, but they do good service. I like higher nicotine tobaccos, in the hookah world, they call them unwashed. Washed blends are smoother, but less nicotine. I just prefer the unwashed brands: Nahkla, Tangiers. For coals I like naturals. Quicklites have chemicals. I bought a cheap coil burner to light them. I have been using orange wood, exoticas and coconaras. The cocos are real nice, but kind of pricey. For this reason I recently ordered an 18# bag of Afires - BBQ coals made from coconut shells, like the coconaras. The orangewood was very good, but it comes in irregular shapes, rather inconvenient, and some waste from breaking them up. Anyway, there you go. I’ve been hookah-ing for several months now, got a lot of info from the hookah forums. I’m hooked on the hookah! ;)\ There are tons of different brands and flavors. I’ve only scratched the top. CHeers!
My advice is don’t waste a wad of money on an expensive decorative one until you know you are sticking with it. Ive used a cheap hookhah pipe for years and its as good as any other. The Turkish apple tobacco is my favourite.
Cheers, lads - lots to think about there.Thanks especially to sprangalang for all the suggestions. I think I’ll follow snuffster’s advice and use a small cheap one first until I’ve got the hang of it.
toffeenose: How is your Hookah-ing going? Last night I bought a 10" pipe for $30. That’s usually what I would spend at the Hookah bars, so I figured it would be cheaper to buy a pipe, and just do it at home. I smoked a little last night, it’s lovely to be able to indulge in the setting of your own home!
I went to this shop today, that used to be an Indian grocery, looking for snuffs, well, they kept the name, “Bombay International Foods”, but it is not that anymore at all. It was too guys that didn’t even seem Indian, maybe Pak, and they didn’t have any international anything there, but they did have a bunch of Hookahs, and boxes of that hookah tobacco stuff. I walked out empty handed.
I haven’t managed to get anywhere just yet 
I might wait until my birthday in a couple of months and treat myself.