Best Bowl Ever-how I Did It

[jerrysalem]

I've had my hookah for a few years, but for the past few months it sat around. Last few days I got the tips together and put them to work, and had pretty much the most cosmic experience I've ever had with my hookah. The smoke was thick, not harsh, cool, and it lasted a blissful 45 minutes.

This is what I did-basically a summary of the tips I've read on the Internet

Equipment
Syrian hookah, good quality, about 28 inches high
Tabak-Nahlah Mint, new box just opened, 50gm box (important-I have never had a good experience with 250g boxes, always too harsh of a smoke)
Ice, a tray of ice fingers, about 12 of them
Cold water that had been sitting in the fridge a few hours
Self igniting coal (only time i wish i had a gas stove is now, natural coals are the best)
Bowl and shaft had been put in the fridge for 2 hours prior to setting up hookah

One more equipment note and important. At the base of my shaft (came with the hookah) was a grey plastic diffuser knob with a few bigger holes in it which i guess is supposed to diffuse the smoke. After reading a bit i came to the conclusion that small holes in a diffuser and a good amount of them would make better small bubbles. Took out the drill and put small holes in this, all around, about 1/16 of an inch per hole max size. Plugged up other holes that came with it, four holes maybe 1/8 of an inch in size, just guessing.

Set everything up, combined the cold water with ice, made sure it was 1 inch above the bottom of the stem. For the holes in the foil i put in about 15 using a small sewing needle, not big fork sized ones.

Charcoal, started out with one complete charcoal. Added half another charcoal 15 minutes later, and then another half 15 minutes or so after that.

I think the combination of the diffuser, chilling everything, new tobacco, and having the right fluid level, and i guess also the good hookah made all the difference.

Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions, just passing this on if it can be of help especially to the confused newbies of which i used to be one.

One more important thing, I clean everything thoroughly, with soap, brushes, the shaft, shisha bowl you name it after each and every use.

Update: The next two bowls I was getting a normal harsher smoke, and so I experimented as to why this was happening. What I found was the key is making sure there is not too much tobacco in the bowl. Use less, I have about 20 very tiny holes in the foil and there is space between the foil and the tobacco. That made all the difference.

If you have any tips that I missed, please reply here so our hookah buddies can also have the best bowl they can. Edited December 25, 2007 by jerrysalem

[mathuv]

i dont see the point of using small holes. look at all the middle-easterners, they use large toothpick-sized holes. smaller holes make it harder to pull. i think they (smaller needle sized holes) were started by greedy hookah lounge owners who made the pull harder so people would think the bowl was done and buy another also, i had the best smoke ever with a 50g nakhla mint and underpacked it abit...coincidence?? Although from what i can remember the smoke was really flavourful for the first 10-20 minutes only then it sorta died down. still good smoke though.

[Seanij]

i usually do around 20-30 toothpick sized holes with 3 layers of tin foil =o

[mathuv]

I think more than 2 layers is too much. 1 is fine if you have thick foil.

[JakeB1322]

omg, 3 layers?! you must be using the absolute cheapest foil you can find. splurge and get the renolds wrap, it costs a bit more, but only 1 layer is fine.

[benton]

Wouldn't using 3 layers of cheap foil wind up balancing out cost wise with 1 layer of more expensive foil seeing as how you would get 3 times more foil out of it.

[antouwan]

i dont see the point of using small holes. look at all the middle-easterners, they use large toothpick-sized holes. smaller holes make it harder to pull. i think they (smaller needle sized holes) were started by greedy hookah lounge owners who made the pull harder so people would think the bowl was done and buy another...

mathuv, me and all of my relatives are from Lebanon, all of us use little holes with a needle, smaller holes means less ash from the coals goes through them = less ash in the head, less ash in the head as we all know means a better, smoother more tasteful smoke

as for tips, make sure to break the tobacco apart, sprinkle it in the head, make sure it will not touch the foil, make a hole in the center of the tobacco, so when you look through it, you can look through the center hole in the head so you can see the ground. after you poke the holes in the head and are ready to put it on the arguileh, give it one quick puff, to make sure all the holes in the head are clear. the breaking apart, sprinkling, and hole in the center of the tobacco ensure a greater airflow, greater airflow means a more even burn on the tobacco. works like a charm, every time Edited January 14, 2008 by antouwan

[mathuv]

i dont see the point of using small holes. look at all the middle-easterners, they use large toothpick-sized holes. smaller holes make it harder to pull. i think they (smaller needle sized holes) were started by greedy hookah lounge owners who made the pull harder so people would think the bowl was done and buy another...

mathuv, me and all of my relatives are from Lebanon, all of us use little holes with a needle, smaller holes means less ash from the coals goes through them = less ash in the head, less ash in the head as we all know means a better, smoother more tasteful smoke

as for tips, make sure to break the tobacco apart, sprinkle it in the head, make sure it will not touch the foil, make a hole in the center of the tobacco, so when you look through it, you can look through the center hole in the head so you can see the ground. after you poke the holes in the head and are ready to put it on the arguileh, give it one quick puff, to make sure all the holes in the head are clear. the breaking apart, sprinkling, and hole in the center of the tobacco ensure a greater airflow, greater airflow means a more even burn on the tobacco. works like a charm, every time

everyone has their own way of doing it, sorry if i generalized like i've seen some moroccans do 1 hole in the middle only and then put 2 large lumps of coal on. lasts a long time, barely any smoke but nice flavour. i use big holes and get little to no ash in my bowl so its up to you

[jerrysalem]

Hey thanks for the extra tips-

I have one question-does anyone else have this problem - in the USA where I'm from you can get great thick aluminum foil (Reynolds for example). Here in the Czech Republic it has been impossible to find any decent aluminum foil.

I do get to Germany from time to time-are there any decent thick brands there? If so, what kind and generally where do you get it?

[manic007]

Hey thanks for the extra tips-

I have one question-does anyone else have this problem - in the USA where I'm from you can get great thick aluminum foil (Reynolds for example). Here in the Czech Republic it has been impossible to find any decent aluminum foil.

I do get to Germany from time to time-are there any decent thick brands there? If so, what kind and generally where do you get it?

Pies. . . buy a pie. . . eat it. . . use the foil to smoke afterwards

[Stinkyfisherman]

what about the foil from gum wrapers? and you can get the dust form the gum too to add a hint of flavor. lol jk jk

hell the wal-mart foil worked fine for me but I normally try and get the good stuff (damn wal-mart always being out of stuff.) As far as holes I like to use a thumb tack it works well and I never get a hole thats too big or too small.

[liquidglass]

Hmmm well personally I use the "foil sheets" you get from hookah websites because they seem to be made well and are pre cut, any opinions on that? (supposedly they have less chemical composition so it's less harmful)

AS far as the holes go a 0.7 mechanical pencil works the best I've found so far using the "pound sign" pattern. But as a side note DON'T break the lead lol, if you do, get it out before you smoke.

[curly2k3]

from what i learned in Germany form the Turkish hookah bar owners and the Germans over there, using less is normally more.

over the past week we spent a fair amount of time experimenting (7 hours of it on saturday) trying to find the best results we could. and this, is what i personally believe to be the best from top down:

good coal and make sure its red hot throughout
1 layer of extra strength tin foil with about 25-30 tooth pick holes in it
break up the shisha and make sure its night too tightly packed together in the bowl
nice clean hookah and hose, cold clean water and just take good...smooth, easy draws and its golden.

(just for reference as i just joined, the Turks had about 40 years between the two of them of experience)