One More Exotica....

[ZenSilk]

SO i got a new box of Exoticas from H-S.

They smell worse then my old bad batch, but now they split and crack simply while lighting them. I touch them with the tongs and they completely snap in half. AND ALSO, now, when the coals are about 20 minutes from being spent, they have the most TERRIBLE taste i have ever tasted molesting my poor White Peach!

I contacted H-S, apparently this is Normal for Exotica coals.

SO terrible smell, cracking, splintering and weakness is what they are suppose to do?

Shit... Hookah coals seem to be hitting an all-time low here...

[JillyIsJustKidding]

SO i got a new box of Exoticas from H-S.

They smell worse then my old bad batch, but now they split and crack simply while lighting them. I touch them with the tongs and they completely snap in half. AND ALSO, now, when the coals are about 20 minutes from being spent, they have the most TERRIBLE taste i have ever tasted molesting my poor White Peach!

I contacted H-S, apparently this is Normal for Exotica coals.

SO terrible smell, cracking, splintering and weakness is what they are suppose to do?

Shit... Hookah coals seem to be hitting an all-time low here...

My coals do the exact same thing, but there is no taste. Maybe H-S accidently shipped you a bad batch?

[ZenSilk]

They literally said "Cracking and splitting is normal for Exoticas, and most natural wood coals".

I'm not blaming them. They obviously think bad batches are normal.. I would too if I only had access to bad batches.

[Shifty]

Not to change gears or anything, but I just got done trying a few of these coco nara coals. I was pleasantly surprised at them, so not all coal seems to be goin to hell.

[zeppyrkr]

yeah i would hold off man exotica just had a huge bad batch and hes working on new improved ones which should be out this month, im waiting to order some new ones.

[ZenSilk]

H-S won't replace mine, saying it's "Normal".

And apparently it is as of now. That's completely terrible.

[Snoopy1966]

I have some from the new batch, so I am told. They are much better then all I have had purchased. Bubba had the best ones I every used. I should have bought some from him when I was there.

[JillyIsJustKidding]

yeah i would hold off man exotica just had a huge bad batch and hes working on new improved ones which should be out this month, im waiting to order some new ones.

Hehe exactly. He said the new ones won't crack or anything like that.

[ZenSilk]

Wow... so H-s should be replacing mine... But they say it's normal...Wow what the fuck.

Exotica coals are just terrible as of now, until the new batch.

I can literally compare side by side two lighting coals based on how they look. Edited February 4, 2008 by ZenSilk

[boulderkid303]

They are a legit vendor. If you take pics and let them understand about the issue im sure they will help you out.

Wow... so H-s should be replacing mine... But they say it's normal...Wow what the fuck.

[ZenSilk]

They are a legit vendor. If you take pics and let them understand about the issue im sure they will help you out.

Wow... so H-s should be replacing mine... But they say it's normal...Wow what the fuck.

Yeha i have pics, i thought they would ask for them. I knwo they are legit, i always go to them (hence the reason i bought Exoticas from them). I think they are sorely mistaken on the performance of Exotica coals though.

I in fact love H-S, and they have always been there to hook me up and troubleshoot. But my coals smell like shit, taste like shit, look like shit and hold heat like shit. I have old exoticas that i can compare to the newer ones and just by visual aspects, prove that new ones are terrible. Edited February 4, 2008 by ZenSilk

[zeppyrkr]

just got off the phone with Gabe from exotic imports, creator of the Exoticas and the new batch is not out yet.

theres a newer batch that are good ones (still same original formula lets say), which must be what snoopy got but as the new and improved ones go there wont be here til the first of march and will have slight differences on the box so you'll know if you have the new stuff, he said consumers will be able to get them mid march.

he claimed yet again all the bad ones were off the market, but who knows so be careful, mine from HC are okay not horrible but there usable. Edited February 4, 2008 by zeppyrkr

[thomas]

Dont blame H-S on this wtfs. Its not their fault, they just sell the product, not make me.

[ZenSilk]

Dont blame H-S on this wtfs. Its not their fault, they just sell the product, not make me.

Since i never did, i didn't. But, they should be replacing my coals not telling me that's how they normally are. They said they tested them out and they acted the exact way i described, adn therefore their impression was that all of that shit is normal. It's not, and i can prove it, yet they aren't replacing them. They sold them to me, they know how bad ("good") they are, so i believe i deserve a refund.

[gaia.plateau]

I've got some of the "new and improved" Exoticas from H-S as well; no smell or taste, but yeah, they crack and split like your mothers legs after a glass of cheap champagne. They're usable, but this is definitely the final nail in the Exotica coffin for me- a 6/10 coal just isn't worth $20/box (including shipping).

[Snoopy1966]

I guess for now, it is 'normal' for exoticas. I have got them from 4 different vendors. It is all a hit and miss. I saw boxes in Chicago that were just terrible. They are not off the market as far as bad ones goes.

Not that I am saying this is OK. I have gotten my bad coals as you all know. Edited February 4, 2008 by Snoopy1966

[jfaltous]

I have a bunch of exoticas from MNH, H-S and TDP, all purchased in 2008... tried a variety from the 15 boxes that I have and haven't had a problem with any of them. No cracking or splitting, and definitely no odd tastes/smells... exoticas are still great in my books.

[zeppyrkr]

I've got some of the "new and improved" Exoticas from H-S as well; no smell or taste, but yeah, they crack and split like your mothers legs after a glass of cheap champagne. They're usable, but this is definitely the final nail in the Exotica coffin for me- a 6/10 coal just isn't worth $20/box (including shipping).

clearly H-S still has bad ones, trust me you dont have the new and improved ones, there not out yet .... ?

[mushrat]

just got off the phone with Gabe from exotic imports, creator of the Exoticas and the new batch is not out yet.

theres a newer batch that are good ones (still same original formula lets say), which must be what snoopy got but as the new and improved ones go there wont be here til the first of march and will have slight differences on the box so you'll know if you have the new stuff, he said consumers will be able to get them mid march.

he claimed yet again all the bad ones were off the market, but who knows so be careful, mine from HC are okay not horrible but there usable.

I got to thinking about the whole leaking container thing. Ok, now picture this...leak in the top, so they pulled the top layer tight? But water never just drips straight down in a box, it runs along the top until it hits the sides and then runs down the sides...so this would mean anything touching the sides would get water on in, and then anything that didn't get absorbed would end up puddleing on the BOTTOM. so the cases on the bottom were likely sitting in water as well. so that what? another 60 cases on the bottom? This might explain the higher than thought number of bad boxes. This make sense?

[timmediahOU]

i got some exoticas from h-s last friday (2-1) and they are great, they splinter when they are nearing their end but i like them a lot

edit: i also think the splintering may have something to do with scoring them and ruining their integrity (material) Edited February 5, 2008 by timmediahOU

[amnite]

Maybe Exoticas standards have come down, I ordered some Exoticas from MN hookah and I have tried 2 sticks in total. Cut the first stick in 3's and the second in 4's. Is it normal for the Exoticas to crack quite a bit, they have absoulutly no taste/smell. I tried smoking starbuzz and not much smoke comes out compared to quicklights. The funny thing is that I tried it on Tangiers and still it was crap. 3Kings beat Exoticas by producing much thicker smoke even though the difference in how hot they were was little.

I use a plate to light Exoticas up and wait till there red hot all around. I have checked up with my friends since I have never used Naturals much and they say that the inside hasent burned. Maybe theres an issue with them. But they produce no smell or taste when lit.

I will try some tomorrow and compare it to Japanese Canary Golden's. Hopefully Ill see if the Exoticas are good... The other hand it could be my starbuzz, I have ordered one can before (X on the beach) and I left it in the bag and it smoked amazing but that was before Exoticas and I used 3Kings. Before my next order I read a topic on this forum, some guy emptied the tobacco into the can and used cling film to cover the can before closing (this traps the air and makes it harder top open the can). I tried this method to 3 new cans I had (Tropical Fruit, Lemon Mint, Blueberry Grape) I tried the flavours out days after I emptied them and I have to say that the flavours are nowere near as good as X On The Beach and I guess they seem drier than X On The Beach, Even from the start, I mix them properly before trying the flavours... I also need a new hookah (my hookah could be a possible reason to the problem, its got cheap metal and has rusted quite a bit, I noticed the quality of my smoke has gone down)...

I ordered 3 Cans for my friend and he keeps the starbuzz in the bag and says 2 of the flavours are amazing but one of them isnt as good as the others (thats White Grape, Tropical Fruit the good ones) and (White Peach)...

So this week I will do a lot more experiments and I need to get a new hookah to ensure it isnt the Tobacco or Coals! Edited February 5, 2008 by amnite

[adamjames]

I recently received 3 boxes of Exotica coals that I purchased from H-S in January. They all look to be in excellent condition and have generally been excellent coals. They give off a smell when lighting them but no different than any other natural coal I have used. While smoking there is no taste unless I put a coal on too soon that is not thoroughly lit. It seems Zen is the first person on the forum to have a problem with Exotica coals from H-S. Do your coals actually split right in half or just partially crack (while lighting them)? I have noticed that they get little surface cracks but don't actually split right in half. When I drop them on the ashtray to ash them sometimes little pieces will break off but that's about it. My coals look nothing like the ones in the picture and have honestly been the best coals I've used so far. Edited February 5, 2008 by adamjames

[TheScotsman]

They literally said "Cracking and splitting is normal for Exoticas, and most natural wood coals".

I'm not blaming them. They obviously think bad batches are normal.. I would too if I only had access to bad batches.

Exoticas are NOT a natural wood coal, they are a pressed product. (hint... you don't see a whole lot of square trees) If anyone tries to tell they are "natural", they are lying, or just have no clue what they are talking about. I am sure the defect lies in the binder, although they are an extruded coal, they light fast enough that they have to contain additional compounds.

If you are not sure about a coal, break a piece, and look at the end, a natural coal will look just like a piece of wood (abet a bit carbonized). You should see the growth rings, if you do not, it's not "natural" or a whole-wood coal (more correctly called a "lump" coal.) Romman Lemonwoods are a great example, usually the package has some lumps big enough to see the actual tree structure quite well.

Ever hear of an Imbert Wood-Gas Generator? Charcoal can produce enough strange combustible gasses that it can power a gasoline engine. (Ok, mostly CO, H2, and H2O... and they are not all that strange.) The coals on your hookah create something technically called a stratified downdraft gasifier, rather than an Imbert, but you get the idea. With a whole-lump coal the wood cells are still intact, and compact, the actual burning surface is less. With a pressed coal the material is extruded, leaving significant area between irregular shaped pieces, This additional surface area will allow for a more rapid ignition, and hotter burn... along with creating and allowing more of the volatile wood gasses to escape... and poison off my few functioning brain cells. (or at least that was my semi-educated theory on the subject, Leave it to an engineer to turn lighting a hookah into an examination of the theory of combustion)

[gaia.plateau]

i also think the splintering may have something to do with scoring them and ruining their integrity

I don't think this is the case... I don't score mine, and they frequently splinter, often while heating.

But to help clarify what the "Bunk Coals" look like, we are attaching these pics below:

Also watch out for ones that look like these.



Edited February 5, 2008 by gaia.plateau

[EvansLight]

Eh im avoiding Exoticas like the plauge and will stick to my 3k, just added another box to the order i made from MNH the other day