I Guess I'm Doing It Wrong? :(

[blu9987]

Ok so I recently bought my first hookah (yay!) along with a 12pack sampler of al waha, a 250g box of banana milk sahara, and 6 packs of soex *it came with the hookah* and a 50g box of al ahmir watermelon.
First off i'll describe the hookah:
32" 1-hose*cobra* egyptian hookah.
Oh the hose is also kinda of thin I guess... Its a lung killer just trying to inhale through that thing!

Ok well heres what i did on my first go at it:
Flavor: Al waha Grape
Screen: Metal screen
Coals: Roaland Quick lite
Ok, so I filled up the vase *a bit too high because by "1.5-2inches above the stem" i thought it ment where the vase got skinner* and threw in some ice. Put everything together and was ready to smoke. I lit the coal and put it on top and took a few hits to get it going. At first I got a LITTLE grape flavor but no smoke, eventually the smoke picked up to around the density of a cigarette. The flavor ended up tasting like splenda *fake sugar* but less sweet.. no grape..just splenda. I decided to add a second coal to try and heat up the shisha more. The flavor instanty went from fake sugar to charcoal death of coughing hell. Took off the charcoal and just finished out with the bland flavor.

2nd try at it:
Flavor: Al waha Mixed fruit *not sure of the name exactly*
Screen: Metal Screen
Coals: Roland Quick lite
I didn't fill the vase as high this time. I lite a coal and stuck it on top. The light flavor/smoke hit alot faster this time. Though after a few minutes it went to splenda and still had thin smoke. I just smoked it anyways because I was afraid of the nasty charcoal taste of 2 charcoals.

I cleaned out every part of the hookah at this point because I had to leave for work..


I came home and....

3rd try at it:
Flavor: Soex Silver fox *Apple + Mint*
Screen: Foil
Coals: Roland Quick lite
Sinse I read a guide on it, I threw it together much better. The water was a perfect height in the vase, I followed the "where to punch the holes" diagram. I started off with 1 charcoal on the far side, and in around 5 minutes I added another to the opposite side of that. The smoke started to pick up. After another 5 minutes I rotated the charcoals and the smoke got really thick *yay*, but the flavor was a mild mint flavor and no apple. I rotated the charcoals every now and then, and after awhile the mint went completely away and it was just the same fake sugar that lacked any particular flavor.

4th Try at it:
Flavor: Sahara Banana Milk
Screen: Foil
Coals: Roland Quick lite
Ok so I did everything as before, rotated the charcoals like before. I got a nice thick smoke. Occasionally i'd catch a HINT of banana masked in the marvelous splenda fake sugar, but that was all. After about 10-15 minutes it started getting really harsh so i took a coal off and just set it in the ash tray. Then the smoke thinned out again. I would have cut the 2nd charcoal in half, but it was too hot to manuever adequately.

So what i'm wondering is:
Why does it only taste like simple splenda fake sugar? And not even sweet sugar... just gross splenda sugar.
I read reviews of "wow this is flavorful" and such, I'm just wondering why I cant get an amazing taste out of this?

Thank you so much for your help!

Oh also, could you point me in the right direction for an online shop with a nice wide hose? I was thinking of putting a 2nd hose plug in there. Edited August 4, 2007 by blu9987

[blueyesopn]

First off, Roland Quick lite.... not the best choice in the world. they work in a pinch, and they are relitivly cheap, butthey deffinintly add a distinct flavor. go with 3 kings.

secondly, you could be using better tobacco. not to say that the tobacco you are using is bad, it is just less difficult to handle higher grade tobacco then mid grade. they tend to burn less, and are more forgiving.

3ed. the "splenda flavor" may be coming from you packing the bowl too tight, causing the sugure in the tobacco to carmalize, and then burn too fast. try using a little less tobacco, or only a single coal. i never put more then one coal on a hookah inless i am using a humongouse bowl, say a 4 inch diamiter. but that is just me.

and finaly, it could just be a sence overload. the human body can get usto any smell or tast. this usualy hapens under 10 minits. you are not a ruffian, you are an aficianado. make yourself some turkish coffie, and use it to clear your sences. the shock will reboot your tast buds. if this is the case, you are doing nothing wrong at all, your body is just tricking you.


i think if you use the set up that waffle brought to light in the how to section, involving a ring of alumanum to make a heat defusion chamber, most of yout problems will go a way.

then again, i could be wrong, and your hookah has gnomes living it. or ET took your sence of smell/tast, but just for hookahs.

[john_smith]

The fact that you are getting the taste of splenda from both your Al Waha and Soex makes me think the problem is with your coals/hose/hookah, but I don't really know what it could be.

[boomhauer]

the coal your using is not the best but there really is no best. you need to go and test different coals and see what you like. 3k is what a lot of people like but if your anything like JD or myself you will love the golden cannary japanese coals. you can also look into nour coals which are easy to mange, easy to light, you can almost always get the same heat every time you use it and its more like a "natural" coal as it does not have any additives but it ashes A LOT. if you have the time look into natural coals to use you will enjoy the lack of change of taste to your tobacco.

if your going to raise heat rather than put on another coal first try a wind cover. it will increase the total heat on your tobacco without adding a huge amount extra by a coal. also look into your packing technique and make sure no tobacco sticks to the foil. really all you have to learn is heat management after your packing technique is down so it wont be too hard.

edit: for that hose you wanted look into H-S Nammor Hose. Edited August 4, 2007 by boomhauer

[SafeSearchOff]

what type of bowl are you using?

like the others said - coals. rolland quicklites SUCK ass. try getting your hands on 3K's, Golden Quicklites, Starlights, "Quick Lites" (these are square, need a stove), Stargate Fingers, or Nour.
Couldnt think of all the good charcoal brands, but theres quite a selection.

did you acclimate your shisha? try leaving it out opened up for a few hours, stirring occasionally. this should adapt it to your particular type of climate and help it smoke more

how do you pack your bowl?
everyone does itby hand. as you pack the bowl, sort of break up the shisha, doesnt have to be real fine, just dont add huge chunks and such. you can press down a little if you want to get in a little more shisha, but i dont reccomend it. just loosely sort of "sprinkle" in the tobacco.

you can keep playing around with water level, but i dont think that it is much ofa variable. its really all personal preference. i personally love it on the high side, 1.5 inches above the stem.

back to coals. how are you lighting them? hold it under a light for a good 30 seconds to a minute, rotating where the light hits the coals every 10 or 15 seconds. this will help the little flame that "runs around the coal" light it up quicker. then when it starts getting red, blow on it alot to make the flame spread.

your first few pulls wont get alot of smoke. just pull real hard so that hte shisha gets warmed up from the coal and the coal gets lit more.
see if this helps at all, cant think of anything else


edit: do you have any air leaks? check your stem and hose for leaks, that may be an issue. Edited August 4, 2007 by SafeSearchOff

[JonDubya]

If you don't want to deal with those crappy first few hard pulls, let the coal sit on the bowl for ~5 minutes before taking a hit. That'll help spread heat without human intervention.

[blu9987]

Thanks for all the reply's!
Yea I was thinking it may be the charcoals, they came with my hookah. I will try again this morning as I may have been packing the tobacco too high. Oh, and to answer some of your questions..
Bowl size: Standard?
Leaks: This was my first thought when I couldnt pull any good smoke on my 1st try. I looked it over and the only place that emitted any smoke was coming through the metal screen when i'd puff.
How i'm lighting the coal: I just hold it in the tongs then take a lighter and run it all over the butom of the coals until its stops doing its sparking, then I set it on.

I'll reply after another smoking session once my girlfriend wakes up. This time I think i'll try the coffee flavor with milk in the base! I'll post the results afterwards.

If all else fails i'll buy the suggested materials and try again :'(.

Thank you all again for helping out! Edited August 4, 2007 by blu9987

[JonDubya]

To check for leaks, setup the hookah as normal but don't put the bowl on. Cover the top of the stem with your hand and try to draw through the hose. If you can, there's a leak somewhere. If not, then you're fine. If there's a really minor leak (really hard to draw) then it's probably coming from the purge valve, and that can be ignored.

[blu9987]

Thanks for that tip. Just tested it and man it was easy. Turns out the nasty grommet it came with in the hose plug was torn up *i didnt notice*. I replaced it and now theres apparently no leak. I'm going to let some hookah sit out in the back yard right now. I'll come back to post the results afterwards.


Edit: *sigh* the peach went from smelling like the peach rings candy to smelling like.... peach cough syrup. Now time for the taste test!
Btw its really hot outside.... does hookah smoke cling to furniture?

Edit2: Well This time i used 1.5 coals because 1 wasnt enough. I put 5 or 6 peach ring candies in the vase for a hope for added flavor. The smoke taste SLIGHTLY like peach rings, thats it. My girlfriend is still outside smoking it, i just ran in to grab my phone and leave this comment.
I'm going to have my friend bring his hookah over to see if it tastes better on that. Edited August 4, 2007 by blu9987

[Big Boss]

How high are you packing the shisha in your bowl?

[jaker29902]

yeah leaks can do it, also what I normally do with my coals to make sure Im not getting a charcoal taste of death is to light them with a lighter while holding them with tongs, and when it gets done sparking really good I turn the lighter on any parts that arent glowing red (this is hard to do when outside during the daytime) this may or may not affect your flavor but it will help you get more smoke quicker and welcome to the hookah community

[blu9987]

How high are you packing the shisha in your bowl?

This is a really shallow bowl, I plan on getting a deeper one.

I filled it to just the top of the bowl. Some of the other times I had a bit sticking above the bowl, during cleaning i noticed it stuck on the bottom of the foil.


Edit: man i just got back from the local smoke shop and all they have is al amir... oh well Edited August 5, 2007 by blu9987

[SafeSearchOff]

al amir shisha is good, i really like aloto f their flavors and it offers pretty good smoke.
as for the shallowness of the bowl it does not effect quality, rather, duration. it shouldnt be a problem. shisha sticking to the foil, also not too big a problem.

[blu9987]

ok so.
I tried Al Amir watermelon with arizona watermelon cocktail and some water and ice in the base *1 large can wasnt enough :'(* And smoked it...... Basically horrible horrible flavor. I'm guessing it was the arizona.

I took that off and filled the base up with water, smoked some al waha rose... wow flavorful FINALLY... in fact it was so flavorful i was overpowered by the rose and didnt want to smoke more.. My gf loved it though.

After that I lit up a quick bowl of red cherry soex to see if it would flavor as well... BUT... i forgot to refill the base and it tasted like rose but less good, i got really light headed and just wanted to sleep.

Man i've smoked alot in the past 2 days.

My conclusion, i AM getting flavor with rose and thick smoke with everything... so my bet is the brand of shisha and crappy coals.

[KillZedKill]

For more help, just look up other peoples set ups. But your going to definately want to switch your coals as well. If your not sure what stuff to get, look in the reviews section, and simply see which ones have the most posts, these are usually the best things to go for, even if your a beginner.

[Kae]

The floral flavors tend to be the strongest flavors, at least in my opinion. After even a light session with some winter flower, I have to soak my hookah for quite a while to un-flowery it.

Now about the coals:

Are the awful Rolland coals y'all are talking about the wannabe Japanese coals? Because I buy the Japanese Quick-Lites, that are apparently made in China instead of Japan, and they are also made by Rolland. Anyway, I ask because a.) I love these coals. I have tried just about everything (except Smiley's), and these are the only ones that do not give me a blistering headache (the golden Japanese coals were the WORST headache givers >_<); b.) I most certainly couldn't ever get one of these puppies to light with a lighter. Maybe a butane lighter. If I wanted to spend $5287592476 on butane. I can only really get them lit on the stove, and even then it still takes them at least 5mins to light through.

I'm still fairly new, have been doing this for about 3 months now, but according to the awesome hookah lounges and shops around here, our hookah gets about 17x more use than average, lol. I would certainly advise you to acclimate your shisha, especially if you mail-ordered it (that stuff went through all kinds of environmental changes during shipping!). Break your coals into pieces...even thirds or quarters, so you can add a little at a time, until you get it down to exactly how much you need. Remember that different shishas will require different levels of heat. GET A WIND COVER. Or make one (see the How To forum). Seriously, I've found it to be the biggest help to getting the heat management just perfect (satisfying smoke + flavor). Oh, and don't rush it. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes, or 15 minutes, to start getting good flovor or smoke. Once in a while, depending on weather, it can take upwards of 20 minutes before I get good smoke.

Sidenote: Oddly enough, when I took my hookah to the mountains in Oregon, the heat seemed to manage itself, and the smoke and flavor were super intense, from the first pull, to the last, no matter what brand/flavor I put in. Maybe my hookah just doesn't like my beachfront home =[ lol

[JonDubya]

Depending on where you live, don't acclimate your shisha outdoors. It'll just mess it up. I learned that the hard way. I'll acclimate it indoors but smoke outside and it's fine.

[blu9987]

Depending on where you live, don't acclimate your shisha outdoors. It'll just mess it up. I learned that the hard way. I'll acclimate it indoors but smoke outside and it's fine.

Hmm, I live in the blistering heat of california. Similar to your climate?

and at the question on which rollands i use...




Edit: I'm ordering some stuff and The only charcoal on this website is Nakhla


Is this good quality? I searched in the coal reviews but didnt see any. Edited August 5, 2007 by blu9987

[blueyesopn]

yes, the roses and such are the ones that stick most, other then coffies and mint. at work we do not mix the hookahs we put those flavors in with the regular ones. we give every thing a deep scrubing after every use, and it still sticks.

as for the jap style coals. i find the best thing to use for them is a portable stove top.

[JonDubya]

blu, I'd check other sites for coals.

www.socialsmoke.com
www.hookah-shisha.com
www.mnhookah.com

Are just a few.

[blu9987]

I ordered some 3 kings and nour finger coals, for some variety. Along with fumari and Tangiers shisha, from hookahkings.com

[ghostofdavid]

Have you had a good session yet?

[SafeSearchOff]

3ks and nour fingers are my favorite, you wont go wrong.

tell us how your next bowl is, we'll see if we can help you further

[blueyesopn]

3 kings or golden work well for me
always, natural coals are the best. but they are inificent for only one bowl

[Firm Young Carrot]

two points:

1. i found that it took a few smokes on a new shisha pipe before i got flavour
2. wait for the coals to turn red/white before putting them on the foil - and certainly wait till they've stopped smoking.