Tips & Tricks

Maintenance

Some simple steps to clean your hookah fast, and prolong its life as well as the taste:

  1. Wash out the vase, stem and bowl with warm water. It also helps to use bakeing soda or lemon juice when washing the hookahs. This removes the smell of stale water and refreshes the hookah.
  2. Clean the hose. Use warm water and let dry before smoking. We find it easy to wash it out and then hang it on a door knob or stair railing to speed up the drying process.

Create a better smoke

  1. Make sure the tobacco is packed loosely with the shiny side of the foil facing down.
  2. Remove any stems or unusually large pieces from the Tobacco prior to smoking
  3. Leave some space between the tobacco and the foil, usually about a half inch, so that the coal heats the tobacco instead of burning it.
  4. Use moist tobacco. If the tobacco has already been opened, keep it sealed in a ziplock bag or an airtight jar.
  5. After packing a loose bowl with space between the foil and the tobacco, punching one large hole in the middle with broken coals surrounding the hole, it hits slower, but much much smoother.(This method is based on user preference)
  6. Rotate the coal, starting at the perimiter and moving toward the center.
  7. Add ice to vase before pouring in liquid. Ice helps cool and break up the smoke for a cleaner, smoother and more rewarding smoke.
  8. A good trick for getting a cooler smoke is to place your dry hookah Hose inside of the freezer 20 to 45 minutes before you smoke that way it's nice and cool when you smoke.
  9. After you're done poking your holes in the foil, blow through the bottom of the bowl. This prevents any shisha from getting stuck in the small holes found on the bottom of your bowl and makes your hookah pull better.
  10. Blow smoke out, if your hookah has a release valve, to refresh stale, harsh smoke.

Variations on Tobacco mixes

You can basically mix whichever tobacco's you like together, but we have listed some complimentary combinations and neat tricks to add some flavor and longevity to your favorite tobaccos.

If your tobacco dries out:
Its always best to keep tobacco in a room temperature environment, or even better a humidor. Never store it in cold or hot places. If the tobacco has dried, you can:

  1. Mix it with fresh tobacco
  2. Mix it with red wine, just make sure to dry it with a paper towel before smoking. (Must be 21 to purchase or consume alcoholic beverages)
  3. Mix the tobacco with honey. Tobacco usually has molasses in it, and honey is similar so it re-creates the original consitancy.

Some mixing basics:

  • Never mix differently branded tobacco as this will create an inconsistent smoke.
  • When mixing there are 2 primary methods:
  1. Mix both flavors together completely, this creates a smoothie effect as you taste all the flavors simultaneously.
  2. Layer the flavors in stages. Place the dominant flavor at the bottom of the bowl and work your way up. This will create a satisfyingly distinct smoke as you will first taste the top flavor and gently progress down, eventually creating a wonderfully distinct experience.

Some Variations we have found to delicious over the years:

  • Grape/Mint
  • Strawberry/Melon
  • Blueberry/Raspberry
  • Chocolate or Cappuccino/Mint
  • Coffee/Vanilla
  • Strawberry/Lemon (Pink lemonade)
  • Jasmine/Rose
  • Rawan/Pineapple

Generally speaking the more citrus a flavor has the more potent the taste. So keep that in mind when mixing.

You may also want to consider mixing fresh fruit in with your tobacco to enhance the flavor.

Variations on Water

Some mixing basics:

  • When adding liquids that are naturally denser than water you should never use solely that liquid. It should always be mixed with cold water.
  • The preferable proportions are 1 to 1. That is 1 part water for every 1 part of miscellaneous liquid. In the case of milk, if you are using whole milk or cream than you may want to up the ratio to 2 to 1 as it is a pretty heavy liquid.
  • You should only use a liquid other than water without mixing if it is a juice or alcohol. The general rule of thumb is if you can see through it than you don't need to mix, if you can't then use the ratios listed above.

Some Variations we have found particularly pleasing in the past:

  • Rose tobacco with peach iced tea in the vase
  • Mint tobacco with crushed altoids(or any mints) in the water (Mint Scream)
  • Red wine (prefferably Merlot) with tropical flavors such as grape, plum, peach, pineapple or bannana. (You must be 21 to purchase or consume alcoholic beverages)
  • Citrus rich tobacco's which have complimentary flavored juices available such as orange, pineapple or apple are a good combination.
  • For a stronger buzz you can use hard alcohol such as vodka or congac in the vase, roughly 3 shots for a medium sized hookah, in concert with tropical flavors like apple, mango, pineapple, melon and so on. (You must be 21 to purchase or consume alcoholic beverages)
  • Exotic tobacco's such as cappuccino, coffee, vanilla and strawberry mix well with Milk. (Please review vase mixing basics above)

You may also want to consider mixing fresh fruit in the vase for enhanced flavor.

If you have tips and tricks of your own just post them on the Tips and Tricks discussion in our forums.