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- Hookah Diagram
- Hookah History
- Hookah Setup
- Tangiers Shisha and Phunnel Bowl
- Hookah Maintenance
- Hookah Tips and Tricks
Hookah Diagram
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Hookah History and Tradition
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One of the oldest traditions of the Middle East is the hookah, dating back more the 500 years. Known as a narghile, narghila, shisha, sheesha, water-pipe, and hubbly-bubbly; the original design for the hookah came from India and was originally carved from a coconut shell. Hookah quickly spread to Iran and then the rest of the Arab world, but it wasn't until its arrival in Turkey, between 1620-1640, that the hookah took its form, one that is recognized today.
The hookah consists of 4 main pieces: Agizlik (hookah hose), Lüle (the hookah bowl), Marpuç (the hookah stem) and the Gövde (the hookah vase). Originally not all shisha tobaccos were allowed to be used in the hookah. Only dark tobaccos imported from Iran and oak hookah charcoals that were placed on the top of the tobacco were favored by hookah smokers.
During this period, hookah smokers began to experiment with their hookahs; some used certain fruits, like sour cherries or grapes in their base, others added pomegranate juice or rose oil to their base for added flavor. Lighting anything else on the oak charcoal was considered disturbing to the rythme of the smoking session and anyone found doing so was frowned upon. The hookah became so engraved in the Middle Eastern culture that rules were created, even for lighting the hookah charcoals. If professional smokers saw anyone improperly lighting a charcoal, they would be asked to extinguish it immediately.
Over the years hookah continued its growth and popularity. In fact the hookah was so popular and fashionable with the elite ladies of the 19th and the early 20th century, that it became fashionable to be photographed with the hookah.
Over time Hookah lost its luster with the availability of alternatives, but has since made a resurgence. Thanks to its widespread global recognition, the popularity of the hookah has sky-rocketed in recent years. All across the world clusters of hookah smokers can now be seen at sidewalk cafes, restaurants, lounges, nightclubs, and thanks to its growing popularity in the United States, it can be found in dorms across college campuses.
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Hookah Setup
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Basics
- Fill the hookah vase with water, submerging the bottom of the stem 1" to 1.5" into the water. (For a greater cooling effect, fill the bottom of the base with a layer of ice cubes prior to filling it with water. You may also substitute water for other liquids.) *Check out the "Tips and Tricks" section under How To?*
- Place the rubber vase hookah grommet firmly onto the bottom of the stem. Insert the metal stem into the base by applying firm pressure while rotating the stem. Make sure the stem is snugly fit, and the metal stem is submerged 1" to 1.5" in the water.
- Place the charcoal tray on top of the stem.
- Place the rubber stem grommet onto the top of the stem. Place the hookah bowl on top of the bowl grommet, creating an air tight seal. *Do not press too firmly as the pressure exerted by the stem may crack the bowl.*
- Insert the rubber hose grommet into the hookah hose connection in the stem. Place the wooden end of the hose firmly into the grommet creating an air tight seal. *Repeat for all hoses if you are using a multi-hose hookah.*
- Loosely pack the shisha tobacco into the bowl. Be sure to remove all pieces of stem from the shisha tobacco as this may cause a less then satisfying smoking experience. *Do not over pack the bowl. Leave approximately ¼" of space between the top of the bowl and the tobacco.*
- Cover the bowl with a piece of aluminum foil sheet, shiny side down. Make sure the foil is large enough to tightly cover the bowl. (*Purchase Hookah Life's pre-sized foil packs for sizing consistency*)
- Using a pin, toothpick, needle, or other similar objects, poke consistently spaced holes starting at the perimeter of the bowl and working your way in, using a spiral motion.
- If you're using quick light charcoals: Use your charcoal tongs to hold a piece of charcoal while lighting both sides using a wind-resistant butane lighter. Heat the charcoal until it is consistently red hot before placing it on the bowl.
- If you're using natural charcoals: Place natural charcoals onto a gas/electric stovetop burner. You may also use a charcoal heater. Let the hookah charcoals heat up for 8-12 minutes (depending on size of charcoal and temperature of the heat source)
Check out our accessories section for all your charcoal, charcoal tong, and lighter needs! - Once your charcoal is red hot place it on the bowl.
- Place metal hookah wind cover over the bowl to keep heat in and wind out. This will give you a thicker longer lasting smoke.
- Make sure to thoroughly clean your hookah before and after use to ensure continued excellence and longevity. *Check out our "Maintenance" section under How To? for more detailed information.*
Lighting hookah charcoals:
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Tangiers Shisha and Phunnel Bowl:
- Open the package, empty shisha (tobacco) and juice onto a piece of tin or aluminum foil and spread the shisha out.
- Let acclimate for four hours. *Acclimating the shisha means to allow the shisha to sit out in fresh air, at room temperature allowing the natural chemicals to adjust.
- Once acclimated, transfer shisha from foil into an air tight resealable jar. Stir tobacco and juice well.
- Lay tobacco in bowl. Don't spread it, separate it or mash it down! The density of the tobacco in the tub is the density the tobacco should be in the bowl as opposed to most brands that are ground up smaller that you have to separate out in the bowl (spread it out in the bowl).
- Add foil/screen. If you are using foil, poke 2 concentric circles (3/4" apart) with approximately 30-50 holes (depending on bowl size), and one hole through the center hole of the phunnel.
- Invert the phunnel bowl and, while holding the foil/screen so it doesn't blow off, blow through the hole that will be connected to the hookah. The air should pass through easily, not effortlessly; it should feel like there is something in there (the shisha tobacco).
- Place the bowl on the hookah stem. We recommend using one 33mm Three Kings hookah charcoals or 2 pieces of silver coated Japanese style hookah charcoal brickets (broken into halves or fourths).
- Too little shisha tobacco in the bowl. Be generous with the amount you pack into the bowl. Less shisha makes the smoke thin and harsh.
- Too few holes in the foil (not an issue with a screen). Also makes the smoke thin and harsh.
- Tangiers shisha requires less heat than most shishas. Too much hookah coal will cause the shisha to burn and smoke harshly. Try taking some coal of, or breaking the coal apart and spreading out the pieces.
Most common reasons why Tangiers shisha tobacco doesn't smoke right:
If you're getting good smoke, but it feels harsh, take some charcoal off. If you aren't getting much smoke, there is probably too little tobacco or too few a holes in the foil.
Frequently, the tobacco will smoke a little harsh for the first five minutes or so, but once the bowl gets up to temperature the whole thing will smooth out into smoking mode.
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Hookah Maintenance
Clean the hookah after every use
- Run warm water through the hookah hose, clearing all residue left behind from the previous smoke.
- Rinse out the hookah vase (you can use lemon juice as well as baking soda with warm water in combination with a base cleaner to provide a more thorough cleaning.)
- Run warm water through the hookah stem, using a stem cleaner to clear any excess tobacco that has fallen through the bowl as well as smoke residue that has planted itself on the inner walls of the stem.
- Wash the hookah bowl with warm water. Clear all burned shisha tobacco off the inner lining of the bowl as well as the inside were some of it might have fallen through.
- Once you open your shisha tobacco it will only stay moist for a few days under normal conditions.
- Putting your shisha into an air-tight jar will keep it moist for a few weeks longer, but even then it will still dry out.
- By mixing your dry tobacco with honey or molasses you can recreate that "moist" consistency it once had.
- Dump out the old water.
- Clean the hookah vase with warm water, lemon juice, baking soda, and the help of a vase brush.
- Every hookah hose experiences wear and tear, but how much wear in tear is too much?
- After 30 or so uses the inner lining of the hose as well as the inside of the wooden ends starts to wear down and deteriorate.
- You should change your hose anywhere between your 30th-50th smoking session, depending on how long your average smoking session lasts.
Use fresh shisha tobacco
Change the water after every use
Change the hookah hose
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Hookah Tips and Tricks
Hookah maintenance tips:
Some simple steps to clean your hookah fast, and prolong its life as well as the taste:
- Wash out the hookah vase, hookah stem and hookah 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.
- Clean the hookah 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.
- Make sure the shisha tobacco is packed loosely with the shiny side of the foil facing down.
- Remove any stems or unusually large pieces from the shisha prior to smoking.
- Leave some space between the tobacco and the foil, usually about a half inch, so that the hookah coal heats the shisha tobacco instead of burning it.
- Use moist tobacco. If the shisha has already been opened, keep it sealed in a ziplock bag or an airtight jar.
- 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)
- Rotate the coal, starting at the perimiter and moving toward the center.
- Add ice to vase before pouring in liquid. Ice helps cool and break up the smoke for a cleaner, smoother and more rewarding smoke.
- 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.
- 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.
- Blow smoke out, if your hookah has a release valve to refresh stale and harsh smoke.
- Mix it with fresh tobacco
- 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)
- Mix the tobacco with honey. Shisha usually has molasses in it, and honey is similar so it re-creates the original consitancy.
- Mix both flavors together completely, this creates a smoothie effect as you taste all the flavors simultaneously.
- 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.
- Al Fakher Grape/Al Fakher Mint
- Layalina Strawberry/Layalina Melon
- Al Amir Blueberry/Al Amir Raspberry
- Starbuzz Chocolate or Cappuccino/Starbuzz Mint
- El Nakhla Coffee/El Nakhla Vanilla
- Tangiers Strawberry/Tangiers Lemon (Pink lemonade)
- Al Waha Jasmine/Al Waha Rose
- Fusion Fun on the Beach/Citrus Mint
- 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.
- 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)
Create a better hookah smoke:
Variations on shisha 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 shisha 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:
- Never mix differently branded shisha tobacco as this will create an inconsistent smoke.
- When mixing there are 2 primary methods:
Some Variations we have found to delicious over the years:
You may also want to consider mixing fresh fruit in with your tobacco to enhance the flavor.
Variations on Water
Some mixing basics:
Some Variations we have found particularly pleasing in the past:
You may also want to consider mixing fresh fruit in the vase for enhanced flavor.
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