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In the second part of my two-part series, "Glorious Threads That Change Your Life", I address the questions which have come up concerning my bambino bowl setup packing over nahkla with a specific hole pattern, or more concisely, the gaia bowl.
So that's why I'm making this guide on how to pack a bowl like good old gaia, but it leaves the question, why does good old gaia pack like good old gaia?
Don't get me wrong, I love the phunnel bowl, the mod bowl, all kinds of bowls. The phunnel in particular, as most of you know, has become the standard for narguileh smoking in the online community, and for good reason. The phunnel gives us a wide surface area for our coal to heat the moe'ssal, and because the baccy doesn't get in the way of the hole it has flawless smoke draw. However.
The problem with the phunnel is that it uses more moe'ssal than necessary. Using the small glass phunnel from MNH, you can get at least twelve hours of smoke before you stop getting flavour; who has the much time to smoke, on a regular basis? It also requires at least two natural coals at a time.
With the gaia bowl, I'll show you how to get thick, delicious smoke that lasts for three hours or more, using one third the shisha and coal. The tricks are that due to the deep, narrow shape of the bambino bowl, you can hit a large amount of shisha with just one coal, and with my three-prong foil technique you can minimize the room-temperature air getting in while maximizing your heat to one third of the bowl at a time.
What You Need* A Bambino Bowl. I don't know if it's the narrowness, the depth, or what, but it's the only bowl that this technique will work for in my experience. So go out and buy yourself a bambino (it's arguably the best pipe on the market anyway), or see if you can harangue a vendor to sell you the bowl separately.
* Nahkla. By layering nahkla, a dry, loose shisha on the bottom of the bowl, you avoid losing smoke draw.
* A wetter moe'ssal, such as AF, to put on top and maximize your smoke thickness.
< Note: alternatively, you can just use Tangiers Lucid for the entire bowl, but you might get a slight restriction on your smoke draw >
* Coco-Naras or a similar natural coal. Three of them per bowl.
Now, time for technique. Refer to the video in the next post.
You're going to layer the nahkla over the holes, then fill with your wetter baccy. Cover right with foil, and then poke your holes in the shape of a radiation symbol. Now, this is important.
I've found through trial and error that just poking your foil in this shape willy nilly doesn't cut the mustard. For some reason, probably the way that your toothpick adjusts the baccy in the bowl, the method you see in the video works best. Start on the outsides, and progressively work toward the center in an organized fashion. It doesn't have to be perfect, but if you poke in this methodical fashion it will be better.
Now for your first coal, you're going to want to 'hover' the coal over the holes at first, to dry out the baccy a bit so it doesn't put out the coal. To get it started quickly, I like to put the coal flat on two of the 'spokes', then flip it sideways onto the third one and put your wind cover on for a couple of minutes. That should get your full smoke going in no time. For subsequent coals, you won't need to dry out the juice- just throw them on sideways at first, then flat. One coal per spoke, however you can get a 4th hour with a final coal in the middle if you want to, though I find that the flavour is mostly gone after 3. (With Coco Naras over Al Fakher, you're going to want to flip the coal every now and then).
And that's basically all there is to it, hopefully that's cleared up the confusion.
So to recapitulate:
Pros of the gaia bowl- The smoke, flavour and longevity of a phunnel bowl.
- Requires 1/3rd the shisha and coals of a phunnel for the same time period.
Cons of the gaia bowl- You're not going to get quite as much smoke as you would with a phunnel, but it's an extremely nominal difference.
- Requires a specific bowl which can be difficult to acquire, as Maya does not make them separate from the Bambino.
Some personal favourite flavour combinations* Nahkla Marguerita under Al Fakher Watermelon
* Nahkla Cappuccino or Caramel under Al Fakher Cafe Latte
* Nahkla Two Apples under Al Fakher Eskandarini Apple
* A mixture of Tangiers Lucid Horchata and Tangiers Lucid Cocoa
Don't hesitate to ask any questions, either in this thread or by PM. Happy smoking!
I'll probably get pics and a video up when I get my first break in exams on the 9th.
