It All Tastes The Same

[JonDubya]

So I got 2 50g packs w/ my hookah, Romman Banana Split and Sweet Melon.  I've tried 'em both, and they both taste pretty much the same...which is not that good tasting.  Is the stuff just too moist (not acclimated enough), not enough flavoring or what?  I'm also having difficult times with it to get a thick smoke.  All help is appreciated. Am smoking outside too, let them both sit open for a couple hrs prior to smoking.

[billy]

What coals are you using and how many?

[jamesh2]

IMO, using a windcover can make a huge difference in the amount of smoke.

[Johnny_D]

IMO, using a windcover can make a huge difference in the amount of smoke.

I use a windcover inside & out. It's a great tool for managing the heat.

Not sure about those flavours thought JDub. Never smoked either.

JD

[jamesh2]

IMO, using a windcover can make a huge difference in the amount of smoke.

I use a windcover inside & out. It's a great tool for managing the heat.

Not sure about those flavours thought JDub. Never smoked either.

JD

As do i. it also provides an added amount of protection.

[JonDubya]

Using Golden QLs, 1 or 2 depending. Placed on opposing sides of the bowl, rotating 90* every so often. Didn't really make much of a difference in flavor. Also have used a wind cover and that helped some, but only with the smoke. I care more about getting the flavor over getting the smoke, unless smoke volume determines flavor [strength].

Edit: Neither flavor tastes unique, meaning it's supposed to taste that way.  Its as if it doesn't have any flavor and it's just the taste of the tobacco + unflavored molasses. Edited July 15, 2007 by JonDubya

[jamesh2]

Using Golden QLs, 1 or 2 depending. Placed on opposing sides of the bowl, rotating 90* every so often. Didn't really make much of a difference in flavor. Also have used a wind cover and that helped some, but only with the smoke. I care more about getting the flavor over getting the smoke, unless smoke volume determines flavor [strength].

Edit: Neither flavor tastes unique, meaning it's supposed to taste that way. Its as if it doesn't have any flavor and it's just the taste of the tobacco + unflavored molasses.

What are you smoking? Al Amir?

[JonDubya]

What are you smoking? Al Amir?

As stated in my first post, Romman.

[ghostofdavid]

It sounds mostly like you are not changing water or cleaning your hookah well enough between smokes. I've had Romman Melon and it was pretty good. It shouldn't taste anything like banana split and vice versa.

Try washing everything out with something and if you aren't changing water, definitely do that.

[JonDubya]

It sounds mostly like you are not changing water or cleaning your hookah well enough between smokes. I've had Romman Melon and it was pretty good. It shouldn't taste anything like banana split and vice versa.

Try washing everything out with something and if you aren't changing water, definitely do that.

I dump the water after every session.  This is a new hookah and I've only had 1 session with each flavor; 2 sessions total on the hookah.  I doubt cleaning will have any impact between the two so early in the hookah's life.

[mrmonk7663]

You are smoking outside. Did you leave the shisha open inside your house or did you put the shisha outside and let it sit for a couple hours? What kind of hose are you using?

MIke

[JonDubya]

You are smoking outside. Did you leave the shisha open inside your house or did you put the shisha outside and let it sit for a couple hours? What kind of hose are you using?

MIke

Shisha sat outside.  Using the hose that came w/ it.  It's a Mya Hookah.

[mrmonk7663]

From my experience, regardless of if you acclimate it or not, if the humidity level outside is really high (like it is here in Houston, Tx during the summer) the flavor is diminished by a large degree. I can literally smoke outside at my house, and not like it, pick the hookah up, bring it inside, and in less than a minute like the flavor and have better clouds. Perhaps this is happening?

Mike

[Sonthert]

I think the flavor is diminished by warmer weather...it makes the ambient temperature of the water in the jar higher.

[cafesaden]

sounds like your hookah isn't air-tight to me. that will make the flavor quite foul and poor hits.

also cleaning your hookah is a good idea. i would use a funnel (if your not already, didnt read thru all posts) and try some better quicklites. (silver-coated ones). also make sure the bowl is packed loosely and not packed down at all with an airspace between foil and tobacco. make sure your purge valve is screwed all the way down.

if none of that works then i dunno haha. try some better tobacco, rommans flavors are hit and misses IMO Edited July 16, 2007 by cafesaden

[JonDubya]

Water is chilled by ice, so I don't think that matters.

Prior to smoking, I always do an air check before I put the bowl on; I can get a leak from the ball bearings on the other hose port (2 ports, using 1 hose), but that's a minimal leak that is moot once the bowl is on.

I think I'm getting some Al Fahker Lemon from a person on here, waiting for a reply. Hopefully that'll be better.

[tkato]

if you smoke then one after the other they may have some laftover taste =\, other than that maybe the shisha sucks.

[jamesh2]

yes, some people on the forum claim that 50g packs of shisha can be lower quality than 250g. i my self have never noticed, but that could be a factor

[Sonthert]

Mine was a response to MrMonk who attributed the differences to humidity...I offered that I thought it was because it is generally warmer in the summer, in the northern hemisphere, which makes room temperature warmer, which makes the room temperature water in the jar warmer...

[jelatin]

I'll throw in my two cents mainly due to previous experience. I have smoked both of these flavors extensively and I'm familiar with the hookah you are using, as well as where you are smoking.

Things you are doing right:

Changing bowl water
Using the appropriate amount of coals

Things to change:

Leaving shisha outside (I'm from St. Louis, MO and I know how retardedly humid it is there right now, this will fuck up your shisha)
-Bring your shisha inside and put it in some sort of air tight container, I don't know if you left it outside in an airtight container or just outside, but if it wasn't in a container, you are somewhat SOL, as that batch is going to be a little degraded. I'd start fresh with a new batch as much as you may not want to hear that.
-Clean your whole hookah between sessions, young hookah or not, the previous flavor sticks easily. I clean my hookahs really well between each session and each time I wash and brush my downstems I get a green liquid residue, that means it needs to be cleaned.
-Don't leave your hose outside, especially in St. Louis summers, too much moisture can get inside, and unless you have a washable hose, this can ruin it.
-Try breaking 2 QLs into 4 pieces and spreading them evenly around your bowl. Also keep in mind that it takes wetter shisha a few minutes to properly light, though I think you gave them both sufficient time in this case.

Other questions:

How much smoke are you getting? Really the problem of flavor shouldn't come into play unless you are getting lots of smoke with little to no flavor. If you are getting no smoke and no flavor, that's another problem entirely. In my experience, mango of all brands is a tricky one, as mango is a very inexact, mellow, light flavor. Even though I know romman mango should have a good flavor it might be hard if you are just starting out, so if you are trying to gauge how well your hookah is smoking use a more distinct flavor. Banana Split and Mango should taste nothing alike, as I'm sure you've guessed. Edited July 16, 2007 by jelatin

[jaker29902]

hmm I had this problem, you might want to double check your autoseal system, try unscrewing it, and blocking the hole with you finger while taking a couple of hits

[JonDubya]

Will clean and try again later this week. I'll re-acclimate the shisha to indoor humidity levels.

Getting a decent amount of smoke; but not what I would consider a "full" amount. Similar density to that of a strong draw on a cigar - note: density, not volume. Volume varies upon the hit of course, but on a larger draw, it's ok.

Finally, I'm smoking sweet melon, not mango .

[jelatin]

Sweet Melon still has that same problem though, it's very inexact.

Re-acclimating to low humidity won't really do much unfortunately, if you continue to have problems after cleaning the batch is most likely just bad by now.

Also, if you aren't getting much smoke, you aren't gonna be getting a lot of flavor. Again, try breaking up some QLs into 4 pieces and spreading them out.

[JonDubya]

Will do. Just ordered some AF Cola & Romman lemonwood coals. That'll be my certifiable test bed.

[*HOT&SMOKING*]

Tell us how it goes!!!

-H&S