Baric Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Hi Guys,I'm new to the forum and shisha in general. Have been reading up about shisha and after trying a friend's and loving the strong fruity flavours decided to invest in one myself.My problem is that i have never been able to replicate the strong flavours. No matter what i do the flavour is always mild, never apparent on the inhale, only the merest hint on the exhale and im at a loss.So far ive changed hoses, bowls, pipes (between two), between inside and outside smoking, ive had my friend load up my pipe for me in case it was me causing the problem and base liquid. I thought it must be the shisha but ive tried it with al fakher (from the UK), al Waha (the strongest but still a weak flavour) and Havana which i know works in other pipes and recently some al fakher grape from Hookah-Shisha (so im sure it is genuine). None of them work and im at a loss. i use quicklight coals from the UK. Id be really grateful of any help!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanij Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 It might be the quicklites? try natural coals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy1966 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 (edited) OK a few questions before you get answers from everyone. What kind of Hookah are you using? Foil or screen for the bowl, what kind of bowl. Do this though first. Get the Hookah set up like you normally do, but do not put on the bowl or hose. Put you finger on the top of the down stem and put your mouth on the hose port and see if there are any leaks. If there is not. Add one thing at a time, i.e. hose, then try seeing if there is a leak, and then bowl, and then try. Pics of what you have is also very helpful. Edited February 5, 2008 by Snoopy1966 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfaltous Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Imo if you love strong fruity flavors, go for some Starbuzz ... assuming you're packing everything properly and theres no problems with your hookah, that's your best bet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baric Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Erm...im not too sure of the kind of hookah im smoking - my main one is just a generic Egyptian style hookah with a chiller compartment (whic i dont use). Its 85cm tall. The second one i used (my back-up) is a medium sized pipe from egypt. I use single sheet of foil shiny side down usually with quite a few holes made with a drawing pin. I also use standard egyptian clay bowls, though one of them only has a clear hole on the bottom in the middle - the other holes are blocked. The other bowl has all of the holes clear. Have checked for leaks and they are both airtight.Will try to get pics up but am at uni and have no camera so may be a while before i can.Thanks for the help so far, any more ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baric Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 QUOTE (jfaltous @ Feb 5 2008, 03:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Imo if you love strong fruity flavors, go for some Starbuzz ... assuming you're packing everything properly and theres no problems with your hookah, that's your best bet Id love to try some so will prob include some in my next order but since im in the UK i can only afford to make purchases from the US every so often. Id really love to get the taste problem sorted before my next order as im using brands like AF that people rave about the flavour from and i cant taste anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanij Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 try making more holes or bigger holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanij Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 What do you put in the base?Try adding orange flavour drops to the bottom or such(Orange for orange.. etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfaltous Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Well first of all, don't use the bowl with all the holes blocked After that... how is the quality of your smoke? Can you get full, thick clouds or is it rather thin? It could be a problem with the number/size of holes you're putting in the foil, or perhaps the amount of heat you're putting on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikhman Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Could be too much or not enough heat. How much smoke to you get and is it cool tasting or hot or rough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baric Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 The pipe seems to smoke great except for the taste. The smoke is thick - AF provides massive clouds of thick white smoke - the down stem (which can be seen through the glass base disappears every time i inhale) and is never hot or harsh. It provides a decent buzz at times as well, although this is usually just for the first five minutes, after that there is less buzz effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1v3th3ad Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 (edited) with the foil, this is a general layout to what you want it to look like, you can use less holes...http://i7.ebayimg.com/03/s/08/7b/14/c1_2.JPGthe holes in the bowl should bot be clogged at all, so get in there with a poker and clean that out.make sure you got your grommet(its a rubber piece) on there at the top where the hookah and the bowl meets.for water, fill until the downstem is roughly 1/2 inch(sorry I dont really know metric system) submerged.for coals, quicklights are nice, what size are you using? If I use 33mm, I put two on. For the 40mm, I put 1 and 1/2 on. That should produce the smoke pretty well, just make sure to rotate the coals around. Also, make sure that your coals are fully lit. Give it a try and lemme know if that helps you.edit:just read your new post...for the flavor problem, since everything else is working fine, try your water level. Also try out some cold water. Edited February 5, 2008 by r1v3th3ad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baric Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Thanks for all the responses, i think im gonna have to use less water in the base (i usually do 1 inch above downstem) and i was thinking i might give my tastebuds a rest and see if coming back to shisha in a few days helps. Id welcome any more suggestions but thanks to everyone so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy1966 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 (edited) The water level should be good like you said. It does help to drink and munch on something to clear the pallet. If they are new Hookahs make sure you have cleaned them up really good. Edited February 5, 2008 by Snoopy1966 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanij Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Yeah, i like to eat something that compliments the taste when smoking. I always do 1 inch - 1 1/2 inches submerged =o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbean422 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 QUOTE (Seanij @ Feb 5 2008, 09:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>It might be the quicklites? try natural coals+1 on this, quicklites can change the taste quite a bit, after i switched over to natural coals i cant even have them because i can taste the fumes that the chemicals that make it quicklite give off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathuv Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 yep, quicklights can ruin the taste of the bowl. i havent heard many good things about the quicklites you guys in the UK get (but hey...we have al amrousi so yours are probably way better ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanij Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 mathuv, al amrousi arent that bad. you're just a lamer =P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathuv Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 QUOTE (Seanij @ Feb 5 2008, 06:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>mathuv, al amrousi arent that bad. you're just a lamer =Pthey smell bad and...sometimes they decide to explode when im holing them, they do leave a faint coal taste, i have to admit but all in all theyre not bad...i just wish they werent packed so bad. theyre always roughly cut and the packet they come in, i opened mine once and it looked like a cereal packet, there was writing on the inside of the shiny foil bag about some weird wheat cereal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanij Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 OMG LOL, i got that as well its on the last batch i got, horrible quick lights takes like 5 mins to light(not so quick eh?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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