Hookah Tips?

[anddy]

I just bought a Mya QT and tried it out. I had Nahkla Peach and it must have been something I did because it was disgusting. I packed it so there was still a space from the top of the shisha to the rim. I put the tin foil on and poked a couple of holes in it. I took a 3Kings coal and broke it into 3 and put them on top. I started smoking for about a minute and the clouds were not thick at all. I would say it was kind of like cigarette smoke. So I took them off and just put 1 coal on the tin foil. The smoke got really harsh so I took it off and found out that there was some burnt shisha stuck to the bottom of tin foil. I guess I burned it.

Now I'm scarred forever. Peach is the only flavor I have and my hookah smells so bad. Everytime I smell that shisha I want to throw up. It smells disgusting!

I read some reviews and quite a few people like the peach flavor of Nahkla. I think I just ruined it for myself.

So, I'm about to give it another try, if I can get past the flavor. Any tips, anybody?

[mitchell8621]

I just bought a Mya QT and tried it out. I had Nahkla Peach and it must have been something I did because it was disgusting. I packed it so there was still a space from the top of the shisha to the rim. I put the tin foil on and poked a couple of holes in it. I took a 3Kings coal and broke it into 3 and put them on top. I started smoking for about a minute and the clouds were not thick at all. I would say it was kind of like cigarette smoke. So I took them off and just put 1 coal on the tin foil. The smoke got really harsh so I took it off and found out that there was some burnt shisha stuck to the bottom of tin foil. I guess I burned it.

Now I'm scarred forever. Peach is the only flavor I have and my hookah smells so bad. Everytime I smell that shisha I want to throw up. It smells disgusting!

I read some reviews and quite a few people like the peach flavor of Nahkla. I think I just ruined it for myself.

So, I'm about to give it another try, if I can get past the flavor. Any tips, anybody?

Try double layering the foil and making sure the shisha is low enough that it doesnt touch when the coal is pushing down on the foil. Also make sure that the shisha is broken up inside the bowl more. I also find it less harsh to start off if you do not break up the coal, because I find the heat easier to manage. And dont put to many holes in the foil. Just clean out the hookah really good and give it another good try.

[malakas]

=o( I really wish you luck with the next time you try. Nahkla Peach is a personal favorite...

[MeMyselfAndMark]

Hmm that is strange. My first smoke was Nahkla Peach and it is still one of my favorite peaches

[anddy]

The smell is not getting out of the hookah, its nasty. the shisha smells like car air freshener and the smoke is pretty nasty, i thought i would like it. I just finished my second session and I decided to break it in half, since it burned it the last time i used it whole. I also do use double foil, too. It didn't burn this time but the smoke is really thin. I can't seem to get it thick at all, at least not thick enough to produce anything you would call a cloud. Is this just the Nahkla Peach or am I doing something wrong?

[Johnny_D]

Thin smoke might mean too little heat.

I can allways get nahkla to smoke up real good. But It's a little harder to get the 'clouds' that people aspire too with nahkla.

If your new to smoking forget the clouds for a moment - it kinda comes with experience. But you should get better than wispy cigarette smoke.

I have never used double foil. A Photo of your bowl might be usefull also. However assuming it's a normal standard run-of-the-mill bowl then try packing a little less into the bowl.

Fluff the tobacco into the bowl so it's broken up a bit. Ensure your putting a decent number of holes so that the heat can pass through into the tobacco.

Another thing to consider - Nahkla can be a bit dry. And it's hard to make dry tobacco smoke. If it is a bit too dry then
try taking a little glcarin and natural honey [In 250g's of Nahkla I use about 20mls of Glycarin & 10mls of honey] Mix it into the tobacco real good and let it stand for a day or so. This has saved more than 1 box of nahkla from the bin![1]

And Finally - You may just not like the peach LOL!

So experiment and try things out constantly. Wisdom comes from Experience! Good luck.

JD

[1] I am from the UK. We have enough problems with getting good tobacco to start with. We often land up with the much older stuff so one has to learn to adapt.

[anddy]

I'm thinking about going to the store today to get 50g of another flavor. They only have al waha and romman. I'm trying to decide what would have the best flavor.

Also, how does everyone work their coals, if you have 3 kings. I think I have the small ones because they are quite tiny. Do you guys break it up or what? When I try to break it in half, or thirds, it seems like it's not enough. But when I don't break it, it burns.. Ill try to get a picture up of the bowl. I used double foil because I thought single foil will burn it. And I put about 10-15 holes in it with the poker.

[Calcartman]

You need more tobacco. Whispy smoke? harsh? thats not enough tobacco.

So next time, fill up your bowl.
overfill your bowl.
dont worry about the foil touching the shisha, thats not a problem.
Then poke a lot of holes all the way through the tobacco.
then toss your coals on top.

[anddy]

yeah I was worried because I didn't even fill it up that much but somehow it burnt it pretty badly when I put a whole coal on top

[Calcartman]

yeah I was worried because I didn't even fill it up that much but somehow it burnt it pretty badly when I put a whole coal on top

Because you didnt fill it up.
The more tobacco you put in the bowl, the longer/more heat it will take to burn it.

[cafesaden]

while whispy thin cigarrette smoke usually means not enough tobacco or coal, i wouldn't recommend packing your bowl "overflowing"

thats something i have only done for tangiers. leave a spacce but not too much. you will get it down. little less then 1/4 inch

i just think that your COALS are not lit FULLY. they are quicklites and they need to be completely red not just done "sparking"

also mix up the tobacco in its juices and pack it fairly loose

[glz88]

Peach all the way its hard to regulate the heat but try putting on many smaller coals and replacing them as your smoke session continues. Moving them around helps out a bit too.

[anddy]

Thanks for your help.

Well, another try just went by:
I filled it to the rim and then put the whole coal on top. The shisha was touching the coal. I smoked for about 2 minutes and then found out I was smoking burnt shisha so I loaded another bowl. This time I did something different with the foil. I saw it somewhere around here. I put a layer of foil over the loaded bowl then made a little ring and put it on top of that, then put another layer on top of that ring. So there was a little space between the two foil. I thought that would help with the burning. It was going great but it wasn't as thick as I wanted.
We smoked for about 15 minutes or so? (is that short for 2 people? I think the bowl that comes with the QT is small..?) and it was going great, good but not especially thick. Then it started getting really harsh so I thought it was done. The coal wasn't done though.
I took off the foils and the top layer was a little stiff and it was black (not burnt black, I would say, but it looked like it was done. The bottom wasn't really cooked up or anything.
Am I supposed to take off the foil and stir it up in the middle of a session?
It seems like without doing the 'double foil w/ ring' it would burn so easily. I can't seem to get this down.

[The King]

should last longer than 15 minutes...but hey if your new maybe thats not such a bad thing, i felt sick if i smoked too long startin out...

just a random guess but try putting smaller holes in the foil, bigger holes will cause more direct heat to the shisha burning it in the small area where your piece of coal is, then you should be able to use more coal to evenly heat the shisha to get some more smoke.... if your holes are already pretty small then nevermind

[anddy]

30mm 3 Kings..

Should I just do the normal foil way or do the double foil w/ ring again? I just got 2 50g packs: Al Waha Strawberry and Romman Orange. But I'm scared to smoke it because I don't want it to mess up.

[garykainz]

I just got 2 50g packs: Al Waha Strawberry and Romman Orange. But I'm scared to smoke it because I don't want it to mess up.

Romman Orange is my first love. That's all I got, because everyone else has said everything I would say already.

Keep trying. Trial and error

[anddy]

Wow I don't know what I am doing wrong. I either don't get it hot enough to make good smoke or it gets too hot and chars it.

I fill it up until it is almost to the top, not level to the top. Then I put on tin foil (should I use two) and poke quite a few holes in it with a thumbtack. Then I light a coal and put it on top. Should I have all the holes under the coal or not? When it doesn't get harsh and burnt, I taste the flavor. Now I just want thick clouds, that's one of the best parts of a hookah.

[Rani]

Wow I don't know what I am doing wrong. I either don't get it hot enough to make good smoke or it gets too hot and chars it.

I fill it up until it is almost to the top, not level to the top. Then I put on tin foil (should I use two) and poke quite a few holes in it with a thumbtack. Then I light a coal and put it on top. Should I have all the holes under the coal or not? When it doesn't get harsh and burnt, I taste the flavor. Now I just want thick clouds, that's one of the best parts of a hookah.

I've been lucky. I've only burnt two bowls in the entire time I've been smoking - over a year now. But, here's what I would personally do if I were new and not quite so lucky. I find a good hookah lounge near me. A good one with a good reputation where you try and enjoy the smoke. Talk to the staff there. Ask them to show you what they're doing and how they're doing it. You can experiement and with the great advice here, you'll eventually get it right so hang in there. But if you're in a hurry find that good lounge, and get advice that you can watch and see first hand. If you have experts near you, why not make use of them?

'Rani

[Allia22]

Honestly, I'd just get a different bowl. I haven't had much luck with those tiny clay guys, either. I'd get about 30 min tops out of a bowl, regardless of heat management.

[Calcartman]

It sounds to me like youre sticking coals on top and just leaving it. But question:

I filled it to the rim and then put the whole coal on top. The shisha was touching the coal. I smoked for about 2 minutes and then found out I was smoking burnt shisha so I loaded another bowl.

What do you mean you were smoking burnt shisha?
Did it get harsh?
Or did you unpeel the foil and see black and stop?


Hookah is a fluid continuum. You need to start off with more heat, and then reduce it when the shisha starts cooking, and eventually add a bit more to keep it going.

Your 30mm coals should be perfect for the bowl if you break it into 2 pieces, light them, and place them on opposite sides of the bowl (as far to the edge as possible). If it gets too hot, take some coal off. If its not smokey, add another 1/2 coal; but be prepared to remove coal.


Next time you pack your hookah, if it gets harsh, remove heat, if its not smokey, add heat; but under NO circumstance are you allowed to pack a new bowl until you are certain it is beyond use.
99% of the time, if you remove heat, it will smoke well again without a problem (until the bowl is completely fried that is).

And just because you see black tobacco in the bowl, doesn't mean you didn't do it right.

[Sonthert]

Try breaking the Three Kings into three or four pieces before you light it. I agree with Cal, not enough tobacco the first time. A brand like Nahkla needs more tobacco in the bowl...its sooo dry. You might have a leak somewhere that you are compensating with more coals and scorching the shit out of the tobacco. You are using all three gaskets, right? Check the hose, head and shank seals for leaks. Check the hose and shank for leaks, too. I think you're gonna find a big one, right around the shank.

[anddy]

no before I put the bowl on I suck on the hose while covering the top of the stem to see if any air gets in, its sealed. I just had my eighth try and it still turned out bad. I have no idea why it's doing it. I cant seem to really break the coal because it just crumbles, unless I just cut it in half.

I just had a bowl of al waha strawberry and it was PERFECT and thick for like 2 minutes then it started getting harsh so I removed one coal and put the other on the edge, then put the coal back on ( the edge) it seems like when I put them on the edge though, too much air came in through the other holes and it was thin. so i put them back on and it started getting really harsh and I can taste it burning.

We then loaded a bowl of Romman orange and we only used a coal that was already half burnt. The orange managed to toast a little. All the charring shisha just game me a headache so I had to quit. This is making me want to trash this stupid hookah.

Do you think it may be the little bowl that came with the QT? I would buy another bowl but I dont feel like paying more for the shipping than the bowl itself.

I have read all over the forum and just cant figure it out. I wasted so many coals and shisha.. I just want to have a good session, and its not working out. !!!

[guyt]

when making the holes try using something like a toothpick to make holes through the shisha tobacco itself, that way the heat will get to the bottom as well. Should help you if the bottom isn't getting touched at all. Also try fluffing the shisha more.

[anddy]

I do use a toothpick and I dont pack the shisha at all, just break it up and drop it in.

[shukaronin]

Seems like with the Al waha you had a good thing going for a bit. I always try to keep 1/4 inch space between the foil and my actual tobacco it seems to help. Two things I noticed when I first tried a while back. One is that I cant stand quick lite coals. Ive tried a few brands and they all seem to add an extra bit of harshness to it, if you can try going with some japanese coals or natural. Be forewarned though that youd have to use a stove or perhaps a broiler Ive heard to lite them. Also as for foil make sure you have a heavy duty foil and wrap it tight, it tends to sag a lot and thats why I prefer using a screen with mine. I actually use my screen upside down as well to add a bit more space. Also a little burnt tobacco attached to the foil doesnt automatically mean you ruined it, lots of times you get harshness and see it burned and automatically assume thats the cause =P. The real problem would be if after 5 minutes the entire bowl looks like that.

As for coal management start out like a few have said on the edges opposite of each other. I tend to find for a standard clay bowl two is all I need. Though with the large quicklites sometimes it was just one broken. Whats important though is after a minute or so of them on try and get them rotated around the bowl a bit, just 90 degrees for each coal to attempt an even distribution of heat. And you may have to keep on that throughout the session, rotating the coals 90 degrees at a time every 8-10 minutes I find for myself.

So I suppose as summary maybe try another coal, one thats not quick lite if its feasible for you, perhaps new foil or a screen if you can find one ( I love mine =P) and really keep on that heat management, and if all else fails there are other brands that stand up well to over heating. Al fakher comes to mind and Im sure there are others. These last few suggestions though may pose a bit of a hassle for you depending on your situation. But if you end up ordering something online most of these can be found from the majority of hookah sites.

Oh yeah one further thing, particularly for me with quick lites and when I was using foil with my tendency to be sensitive to harshness I use a pin to poke my holes, and get the holes all the way through the shisha so that I dont have these honking large holes in my foil that lets in a lot of ash.