HH Kiwi and Orange reviews

[Bane]

I recently bought the Hookah-Hookah sampler pack, and decided to write a couple reviews.  More may follow.

--HH Kiwi--

Setup:  18in Sultan Hookah with 1.5 3kings charcoals.  Larger holes in a radiating line pattern.

The flavor of this ma'assel is pretty good.  It doesn't really
taste like kiwi per say, but a nice flavor nonetheless.  It's a
pretty sweet-tasting smoke, almost candy-sweet, but not too
overpowering.  The only negative thing i can find to say about it
is that the ma'assel is relatively dry, even for HH standards, which
tends to lead to harsher smoke later in the smoking session.  When
I took the foil off the top of the bowl and looked at the ma'assel, it
was charred on top, and totally dry, but not burned on the bottom.

Nose hit-ability Rating:  1 thumbtack.

Buzz factor:  There was a small buzz along with this smoke,
nothing too strong.  Definitely nothing like a Nakhla buzz.

Smoke duration:  I quit a little over a half hour in, when it got
harsh.  The smoke was still coming strong, and if the harshness
could be combatted I have no doubts that it could last 45-50 min.

Overall, not a bad smoke, just watch out for some possible harshness about a half hour in.


--HH Orange--

Setup:  18in Sultan Hookah, with 1.5 3kings charcoals.  Larger holes in a radiating line pattern.

I really like this flavor.  It's not an IN YO FACE! kind of
flavor, it's much more on the mellow side.  It has a really nice
citrus taste to it, definitley tastes like an orange.  This
ma'assel is also much wetter than the Kiwi, which is a good thing
(though I'm sure it varies from batch to batch).  No harshness
here at all.  The smoke is incredibly smooth and thick, great for
smoke tricks.  I didn't want to quit smoking this one, and
unfortunately I had to pack up and go before the coals were gone. 
This may well become one of my regular smokes.

Nose hit-ability rating:  0 thumbtacks

Buzz factor:  This ma'assel definitely seemed to pack more of a
punch than the Kiwi, which is kind of strange considering they're both
from the same company.  I had a pretty severe case of "hookah
head" for a while after smoking this one, and it was actually rather
enjoyable

Smoke duration:  Unfortunately, I had to quit before the session
would normally be over.  However, it was still going very strong
when I had to go at the half hour mark.

Overall, a great smoke.  I have nothing bad to say about this one,
and like I said, it may well become one of my regular smokes.

[yashman19]

Great reviews. I still want to try Hookah-hookah tobacco, but until I am able to order tobacco online, i gotta stick with what my local Med Market carries. But when the time comes, I'll have to check out orange.
Also, In a lot of review threads, people describe how well their buzz was with a certain brand of tobacco, and this intrigues me. Mainly because I don't get buzzes anymore, and I haven't for over a year. The only time I get a buzz is when I haven't smoked for about a week and smoke again. And I have tried many flavors, even though my main brand is Al Waha, I still smoke Al Fahker, Al Amir and Romann so I don't think buzz per brand effects me.
A normal session will last me 1hr to 1hr 15 min, and I am perfectly fine at the end of it, but I will get a buzz if I load up another bowl.
Thats another thing. A lot of people seem to be able to smoke back to back 3-5 bowls, and this amazes me! About halfway into my second bowl I start to get a headache. Only way I can do more than one bowl is when I have a crew of 3-5 people. Then its no big deal
Sorry to derail a bit at the end, but these are things I noticed   Great reviews, and I like the thumbtack thingy!

[John Deere]

I dont think I understand the thumbtack thing

[cypress]

i guess its how bad it hurts. 1 thumbtack as opposed to 5. I could be wrong though. 

[Bane]

Thanks for the compliments

Math will know what I'm talkin' about with the thumbtacks.  A guy
on the forum at some point came up with a "nose hit-ability" scale (how
much it stings if you inhale the smoke through your nose), and he used
thumbtacks as a rating system, 1-10.  Smooth smokes will get a low
rating on the scale, while harsher smokes will score higher. 
Lower-rated ma'assel is better in my opinion

[MR Bubble]

 It was carpet tacks
MR Bubble

[Bane]

DANGIT!  I coulda swore...oh well. was close, anyway and you get the idea 

[Mathazar]

I actually was not aware of what Carpet Tacks referred to,  but thanks for defining it for me.

You're right-on target with your reviews 

I reviewed these flavors also,  and I found that the Kiwi, 
while being a good smoke, did not taste like Kiwi at all.  Infact
it reminded me more of the cross between banana & bubblegum. 
Orange is probably their BEST flavor sofar.  It tastes more like
real oranges than any Orange I've tasted from other brands, 
including Al-Amasi....Romman....and Al-Fakher.  But,  what
bothered me was that I found the HH Orange to be VERY harsh on my
throat.  I practically coughed-up a lung everytime I smoked
it.  But then,  you guys all know how much ma'assel I smoke
everyday so that probably has more to do with my soar throat than with
the ma'assel itself.

Though Kiwi wasn't a bad smoke,  I won't be buying it again
because it just doesn't taste anything like Kiwi.  But to anyone
looking for an AWESOME flavored Orange,  HH would be the way to
go 

[John Deere]

carpet tacks....doesnt sound like a pleasant nasal experience.

[Bane]

Lol, not pleasant at all.  Math, I could swear I saw you use the
thumb/carpet tack reference in one of your reviews.  I'm like 95%
sure, lol.  I'm surprised that the orange you had seemed really
harsh, this stuff that I have is some of the LEAST harsh smoke I've
ever had...maybe you got a bad batch?  I was using 1.5 coals, and
the smoke was just right.  I smoked it again last night, and it
was just as good as the first time.  This is definitely going to
become one of my regulars.

Another interesting (and I must say quite tasty) flavor I tried came
from mixing equal parts of HH hazelnut and vanilla.  I used the
same setup as above, and it tastes like eating a cookie!  Very
nice flavor, with nice aftertastes as well.  Thick smoke, too, and
not harsh at all.  Anyone who happens to have those two flavors,
I'd say give it a try!

[Mathazar]

Well,  I guess you're 95% wrong,  as I've never used "Carpet-Tack" in reference to anything before 

I've been smoking A LOT lately,  as most of you know,  and I
attribute most if not ALL of my soar throat and congestion problems to
the fact that I'm smoking FAR too much per day.  Until
recently,  I was smoking up to 10 to 15 bowls a day.  And
then I decided to stop.  So,  I have thrown-out my Sultan
Hookah and ALL my HH ma'assel and have given-up hookah smoking entirely
for the foreseable future.  And ya know what?  I don't even
miss it 

I've smoked all the major brands and even some smaller label
brands,  and after 10 bowls a day for a year,  I can say with
all honesty that I'm glad I gave it up.  The only thing I regret
is having thrown-away all that brand new HH ma'assel.  I had a
half gallon TUB of that HH Orange,  and rather than send out
samples to everyone,  I put it all in a garbage bag with all of my
hookah equipment,  and I threw it down the trash shute.  I
figured that if I kept the ma'assel around for another day,  I
would have probably NOT quit,  and somewhere down the line I would
have had serious health problems.  I was completely addicted to
the Hookah,  and NOTHING was going to stop me from smoking to my
leisurely pleasure.

In anycase,  I've quit for now and have switched to cigars and
pipe smoking.  I ordered the MOST wonderful cigars,  and have
been enjoying them ever since they arrived...........this morning 


I may give the hookah another try at sometime in the future,  but
for now I'm just going to take a nice LONG break.  But,  I'll
continue to post in the forum.

Everyone have a great Summer!

Cheers 

[mushrat]

I checked back, I believe the carpet tacks was MR Bubbles baby.

[alen]

Hey there mathazar-
my doctor want me to quit smoking too (i have something wrong with my heart and bloodpressure+diabetes)but as you know it isnt so easy just to quit -
but here in sweden we have really good snuff that comes in small bags you just put under your upper lip it have helped me when i quit the cigarettes you just take a little bag when you got the feeling that you need a smoke
 so it really helps when you feeling for some nicotine much better than these chewing gum and patches-just give me a pm and ill send you some to try if you want- as a thanks for all h.h you sent me before-anyway i hope we will see you around here in the future -so man dont be a stranger and good luck this time
Alen

[mushrat]

Math,
Good luck again...but cigars and pipes are still going to damage your health. Especially if you start inhaleing them. You are still going to get smoke in your throat and sinuses even if you don't inhale. If you don't already. I'd say you need to step away from tobacco in any form. Just swapping your delivery method is kidding yourself.
Good luck man.

[cypress]

Good luck with your quiting.  I have slown down too. With a new
car payment and money I have to save on vacation and extras for the car
I dont have the extras to be buying ma'assell like I use to. Now I
injoy about 3-5 bowls a week instead of a day. 

[Mathazar]

Thanks guys for the encouragement. 

alen......thanks man,  but I don't feel that I need anything to
curb my nicotine withdrawls,  as the cigars and pipe tobacco
pretty much take care of that. 

Yeah,  you're right,  I do inhale second hand smoke from my
cigars and pipe tobacco,  but I don't directly inhale them, 
I simply puff on them.

I know that there are all kinds of cancers that I could get from
smoking cigars and pipe tobacco,  but it's the ONE addiction I
haven't been able to quit.  Still,  I don't smoke them at the
frequency that I did with the Hookah,  but I do smoke on average
about 3 cigars and 2 large bowls of pipe tobacco per day.

Bane man.....Sorry for hijacking your thread.

Thanks again!  You guys are great!!!

Back on topic 

[wyteboy]

math, just read this...good luck from me way over here as well!!
I agree with mush, you should also try to step away from Tobacco completely.....however, good luck with quitting from the Hookah.  you da man!!

[Mathazar]

Thanks a lot wyteboy 

[Seandoo]

Yes, good luck on your inhale-free journey. Thank you for your help in
some of the questions I've had as well as all the reviews and advice.
Though you may not be trying out anything new or refreshing your
memory, your posts will always be in the forum to help me out with some
dumb questions so it'll save me some embarrassment hahaha. Seriously
though good luck.

[Mathazar]

Thanks man 

[Daleth]

Hey math,
I wish you the best with quitting. You can do it!

Doug

[Mathazar]

Thanks buddy! 

The funny thing is,  after a year of smoking up to between 10
& 15 bowls a day,  now I don't even crave the stuff.  I
used to wake-up at around 5am and smoke til bedtime which was around
11pm.  But the damn congestion in my lungs got the best of
me,  and unfortunately I had to quit.  It took about a week
for my lungs to start feeling normal again,  but now everything is
alright.  I just hope I didn't do myself any longterm damage by
smoking so many bowls a day

That would be a MAJOR bummer 

[MR Bubble]

Funny thing about the body is, it's always seeking to heal itself. After a day of not smoking, your lungs will have done some major repairing. I tried again to get off the cigarettes with the patch. After two days, I could climb the stairs in my hangar to my shop and wasn't even winded anymore. I wear heavy steel toes and they cause my legs to burn climbing the stairs because the blood doesn't get oxygenated so well. But after a couple days: no burn. The body is sooooo cool! I had to get checked out after a couple days and my oxygen exgange was a whopping 97 or 98%. Not bad for a couple or three smoke-free days, especially after 20+ years of smoking. You will be pleased with the results. Cancer is the only thing I can think of that would prevent the healing. We won't even use the word any more. I think you are fine. WHile your abuse was tough, I don't think it went on for long enough.
You'll be happy!
Now, I just need to make the move again myself soon.
MR Bubble 

[Bane]

Haha, good luck again Math Shoulda sent that ma'assel to me though 

But seriously, I hope you get the results you're looking for. 
It's not an easy thing to quit any addiction cold turkey, but I think
you have it in you!

[Mathazar]

Yeah,  I DO regret not sending samples of HH Orange to
everyone,  as I'm sure it would have been GREATLY
appreciated.  When they said they were sending me a tub of
ma'assel,  I had NO idea that it was going to be SO much. 
They said they were sending me a Kilo.  I guess that's about a
half gallon or so,  ha? I looked at all the Orange
ma'assel in that tub,  and I said to myself there is absolutely NO
WAY that I'm going to smoke thru all this in my lifetime,  even
considering how much I smoked per day.  HH Orange is great
stuff,  but there's no possible chance that I was going to smoke
that stuff all day,  every day,  until it was gone.

Sorry guys,  I know I promised some of you that I would send it
out if I didn't want it.  I guess I kinda flaked-out on you. 
I just thought at the spur of the moment that if I didn't get rid of it
immediately,  than I would never get rid of it at all,  which
means I wouldn't have quit.

I also didn't buy my 50 Powerball tickets yesterday,  the ONE day
that someone won the Jackpot..........$59,500,000.  Had I bought
those tickets,  who knows what might have happened.  We all
could have started a company together and created really AWESOME
ma'assel.  I would have set all you guys up with shares in the
company.

Oh well,  that's the way it goes.

There was also this very SWEET little mansion in Bel-Air, California
going for $22,000,000 that I desperately wanted.  And I would have
bought myself a brand spankin new Silver 2005 Rolls-Royce
Phantom.  And I would have bought my father a Bentley.  And I
would have set my nieces & nephew up with million dollar trust
funds 

Ohhhhh.......the pain,  the pain!!!