Lakemonster Posted November 26, 2005 Share Posted November 26, 2005 HAHAHHAHAHA...... I got to try something before most of you could even place and order. Why? The major vendor got it just a few hours before I did. Gawd, I feel special. Nuff gloating out of me.... time to get on to the sharing part. First off... a primer. The folks up at Social told me the following.... (I hope I have this all accurate, corrections are readily welcommed on my part) Starbuzz is American made....... it is not Sultan stuff listed under another name (I asked that first, cuz the that threw up a red flag) There are approximatley 30 initial flavors introduced to the market. These include "cocktail" flavors like Strawberry-Kiwi.... or Lemon-mint. The cut on it is very consistant.... about the thickness of Romman...same with moistness... the sample packs I received were much lower in those thick stem pieces than I usually encounter in Romman (in this case, 3-4 less than 1/4 inch long pieces of chunky stem per 100 gram) It is packaged in a nice reuseable tin. Ali at Social was telling me that it is compareable to Fumari. (I havent smoked any Fumari... I couldnt tell ya personally) I'll start the first review of "Pomegranate" in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted November 26, 2005 Author Share Posted November 26, 2005 OK..... a kwik note to let you understand how I intend to due these reviews... I decided to not concentrate on... "I like this flavor, dont like that flavor.", but rather how well the stuff performs. Im trying to stay on the "scientific" side of things by using the same type of coal, ma'assel and smoke time..... notes are taken while smoking. To try and get a full idea of how it smokes.. I split the official smoke time of 45 minutes into sections. The first 15 minutes is a casual puffing smoke. The second is heavy puffing and long pulls. The last 15 minutes is normal puffing under a high heat, to see how forgiving it is. So lets start with Pomegranate. Machine: 32" Persian Head pack: 1 heaping teaspoon of packed ma'assel, crumbled into the bowl. Foil used. Coal: Romman Natural Official smoke time: 45mins Actual smoke time: 1hr 10mins The first 15 minutes of smoke provided a medium smoke density. I noticed that with the startup.... I received NO tongue bite as I was stoking it up to get it going. I have noticed that some tobaccos give you a stining sensation on the tongue at the beginning... this had none. The flavor itself was not really strong, this tobacco seems to have a rounded off flavor. THis stuff is not like candy or soda versions of a the flavor. The flavor is there.... its just not like sucking on a Jolly Rancher. The smoke was smooth on the inhale, came back nice and cool. The second 15 minutes was dedicated to hittin it hard and takin big puffs. I noticed to get it going like I needed to that I had to drop the lid down on my bowl to bring the heat up..... after 10 minutes of heavy hittin did I notice a slight tapering off of flavor..... but very negligeable. The smoke actually came thicker than I have ever had any smoke get. Romman gave me the thickes smoke I had ever had before... but this was thicker by at least 25%. Still no bite on the tongue or throat. The final official time was spent with a little too much coal to give it a bit of torture test to see how forgiving it was..... the smoke still came on thick..... the flavor tapered off just a bit more at the end of this. only during the last 5 minutes of this cycle did it have signs in the way of tastes that things were stating to get scortched on the top. A very slight amount of bite to the back of the mouth behind the Uvuala (sp?) was noticed in the last 2 minutes of the cycle. I went ahead and smoked it past the official time maybe another 20-25 minutes... I reduced my coal and lifted the lid up and easily enjoyed the rest of it till my coals were dead. Flavor was still there. I would say that the flavor was at 75% still by the time the coals burned too low. In thory. I could have dropped another coal on it and gotten good smoking out of it for another 20 minutes. As for the flavor.... it is a very pleasant taste... as for it being like pomegranate, I couldnt say for sure as it has been years since I've had one..... but it was good In summary on this flavor.... I found this to be one of the most WELL ROUNDED smokes I have ever had. The smoothness was there. the flavor sustain. the smoke thickness was incredible. I really expected to burn the crap out of it at the end.... but it turned out to be very tolerant. These guys might be really on to something..... Im no longer worried quality issues..... surprising they did well so early on in the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted November 26, 2005 Share Posted November 26, 2005 Nice and Scientific. NOW how about a nice laid back hookah forum review... Was it really THAT good? Would it be worth the price? Go out and spend the 3 bucks on the fruit so you can tell us how it TASTES! Of course the REAL test is will their NEXT run taste as good as their first, or their 5th run. Consistencey in production seems to be the real issue with some brands. Will they start to skimp if/when it catches on...and will a certain coffee maker sue them into the stone age....these are the real questions. (I have to admit I'm starting to drool however....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted November 26, 2005 Author Share Posted November 26, 2005 Well. yes it is that good. As for the price..... I need to smoke some more to to say for sure. Im a cheap skate myself.... so $18 tobacco had better be damn good all the time. One thing to mention on price is that you are buying a metal tin along with the tobacco. Do you want to pay for that metal tin? Im not going out and buying a pomegranate.... sorry. Consistency is obviously going to have to prove itself out over the long term and new batches are made up. If I end up coming across a flavor that is "to die for" then I would say it would be worth the price to me. As for the smoothness and balance. its all there.... at least on this flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted November 26, 2005 Share Posted November 26, 2005 Hmm..I did have a thought, they are using Virginian tobacco? That stuff is pretty high in nicotine AND tar natuarally I believe. I wonder if the levels in the Ma'asell are the same low values claimed by the middle eastern brands? It say anything on the tins? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EviL333 Posted November 27, 2005 Share Posted November 27, 2005 just a quick note, ive smoked most of the popular brands out there, but starbuzz more than the rest... reason being my favority and local hookah bar that i used to go to on a daily basis uses starbuzz (actually my favorite two hookah bars) im tried almost all flavors, but as for comparison i cant do much since i havent smoked them out of my beautiful hookah... but just a few flavors that stand above the rest: mango, lemon, mint, cantaloupe, orange, bubblegum, watermelon, vanilla... i havent tried kiwi (at least dont rmemeber it), pomegranate some mixes i like a lot are mango lemon, lemon mint, watermelon bubblegum, vanilla mint, almost anytign with mint is decent, cantaloupe orange just my 2 cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted November 27, 2005 Author Share Posted November 27, 2005 Actually... its the same. All the opther companies located in the middle east buy Virginia tobacco and have it shipped over there.. they make it and ship it back. Thats what I was told while I was at SS.....I believe the tin did say.5 nic ant 0.0 tar. Starbuzz Sour Apple Review. Machine: 28" Egyptian Same setup... same coals and same smoking time. The first fifteen minutes I got a more thicker smoke than I did with the last flavor. Once again the smoke was very smooth and very thick. Still no tongue bite. The flavor is like a Sour Apple. One thing I noticed is that you can even taste the the way the rind tastes in there too.... sorta like you just bit off into one and started chewing. When it came time for the heavy puffin..... the smoke came on still nice and smooth the flavor held on strong. The last 15 minutes I dropped the lid and got it on the warm side..... for half of that cycle it did ok. and then like hitting a light switch, the floavor had a noticeable change...... but the smoke still came on thru thick and smooth. I didnt do any bonus time smoking.... but I could... I must admit. I dont care for the flavor on a personal level... but it tastes real enough... just nbot a sour apple fan. WATERMELON: Machine: 28" Egyptian Head setup the same...... Coals were finger this time (ran out of nats) I noticed up front that this flavor didnt quite seem to capture a watermellon. What it did remind me of was a very good and sweet honeydew mellon. You seem to get more of a cantalope taste with this or the at least the aread close to the rind on a watermellon. Once again..... the smoke came thru thick and smooth... At the end of the heavy puffin cycle I noticed a drop in flavor intensity..... During the hot cycle.. I did manage to torture this one a bit... the flavor changed quite a bit... Im actually thinkin I got this hotter due to the coals I was using and actually managed to scortch this pretty good. after that cycle I as able to salvage it and and continue smoking it an additional 15 mins or so till my coals dies out. I would say that the flavor intensity over the whole smoke time had dropeed to 65% Some notes on what I have gathered on the brand so far as a pretty general statement is that: This stuff is not really SWEET..... its not a candy-like tobacco. IT does have sweetness.... just not like taking a swig of soda or a piece of fruit candy. I think that they do focus on Aroma and have come up formulas that let that aroma hold on well over the course of the head. Everything so far has been top notch in smoothness, lack of tongue bite and THAT THICK A** SMOKE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted November 27, 2005 Share Posted November 27, 2005 I'm seriously thinking about ordering some of that stuff, but it's pretty pricey. I was gonna order 500 grams of various Al'Waha goods (50 gr packets), but if Starbuzz is better, i'll order that. So.. Was Starbuzz better then Al Waha? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted November 27, 2005 Author Share Posted November 27, 2005 Yes....... smokes smoother... much smoother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted November 27, 2005 Author Share Posted November 27, 2005 KIWI...... Same setups as before... this review is short for simple reason.. it is performing the same way as the sour apple.... and I really dont taste much difference betweeen the two. Same smoothness and THICK SMOKE............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted November 27, 2005 Share Posted November 27, 2005 How about compared to Al'Amir? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted November 28, 2005 Author Share Posted November 28, 2005 ITs smoother than Al-Amir..... this is coming from a big Al-Amir fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EviL333 Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 off topic, but i came across a brand of flavor called Pharoahs at the local smoke shop...i did a search on the forums came up with nothing, im smoking a nice bowl of strawberry this stuff is amazing, i only picked up a tin of strawberry/mint, both smell amazing and smoke amazing too...also picked up some al fakher lemon which i love, and a buncha sample packs...the reason i put this in this topic is bc pharoahs is apparently made in u.s.a. too...they have about 30 flavors a LOt of blends like melon mango, and stuff....all smell amazing...lemme know if im stupid and if i skipped over some reviews...if not i can review them for you guys...thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 different spelling...try this: [url="http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/search.asp?KW=pharoh&SI=PT&OB=1"] [url="http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/search.asp?KW=pharoh&SI"]http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/search.as...sp?KW=pharoh&SI[/url][/url] =PT&OB=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EviL333 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 thanks mushrat...found a couple...personally i like this shisha a lot, im planning on picking up some more flavors and testing them out...ill make a review so other people can see how i liked it...never done a review before so it will be fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 cool..lookin foreward to em... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted November 29, 2005 Author Share Posted November 29, 2005 OK. Here is the next review. Lemon Mint. OK.. so I must say from the beginining that this is the first lemon type shisha I've smoke. Ive shyed away from all that because I am not a lemon fan. This one was a bit interesting...... I actually did enjoy this... the mint cools the lemon tang down. An unlikely mix if you ask me.... but it works... whoduhthunkit. Basically the same qualites once again...smooth smoke... incredibly thick.. a hint more harsh I think than the other flavs. It really isnt until about 20 minutes in did I really begin to pick up on the mint.... the lemon flavor definately takes the forefront.... and the mint picks up a soft harmony in the background. I went about an hour with this one.... didnt have an unlimited smoke time.... I can see this as a good one to throw in when the rotation gets a little routine... its a good "shake things up smoke". got one more to go.... Kimi Strawberry will get smoked tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 looking forward to reading about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmahlman Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 so, should i buy some of this stuff. im almost out of my alfaker orange got liek 1 or 2 bowls left and its loosing flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmahlman Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 and, link to site of purchas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartvarg1 Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 i got some pharaohs as well! its great! try the frutopia and exotic peach. its sort of an acquired taste though. its different than any other tobacco ive ever had. it numbs your tongue! overall, great cut, good flavor, great unique taste, and decent price($12.99 at rock-n-roll et in houston) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted November 30, 2005 Author Share Posted November 30, 2005 I did this once this morning.... and it ended up being eaten in a database glitch... oh, well. Kiwi Strawberry. This one provided the thickest smoke of them all. possibly I set up a little better. had a bit better cola to surface area distribution. This one is very pleasant.... I really liked the strawberry side of it.... it is both sweet and smooth. The kiwi jumps in to give it a little twang. This one went solid for an hour till my coals burned down. no real change in flavor intensity.... tried to overheat it a bit towards the end.... no big change there either.. this stuff is pretty resiliant. IN all.. from the 6 flavors I have tried... I think that Starbuzz really is top notch tobacco. I was very surprised about the performance consitancy across the gammet of flavors. I can say that in my opinion.. it beat Romman out easily. The thing that is going to stand in the way of this tobaccos success is (excluding any legal issues) price. Im not sure at $19 a tin how well this will catch on. Its not something that is going to be my everyday smoke where the price sits now. Im afraid that the novelty of the tin as packaging will wear off... and folks will see that they are paying for that tin when they make it to the cash register. If it were me... and if things were feaseable... I would drop the can, and try to drop the price down to in between AF and Romman.... I think that folks from both of those camps would then be more willing to at least give it a shot..... then they would actually get theyre foot in the door nice and solid.... in a way, exploiting those other two brands consumer base. I am a value shopper..... I want good stuff at a really good price. I could easily see myself buying this shisha at a price between $14.95 and 15.95. at least with any type of regularity. Otherwise.. this would be the stuff buy once a year and enjoy very infrequently... kinda like me buying an a $10 cigar. I have a hard time justifying it.... so it happens rarely. At any rate..... IMHO.... the stuff is damn good. Im rather impressed. Hard to imagine that this stuff is made to smoke so well right here in the US! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmahlman Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 25 dollars after shiping holy sh*t. thats alot. deffenatly needs a price drop i realy want to try this sh*t but thats out of my price range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjt486 Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 did you use the rebate code? hookahforumit knocks off a few bucks. Im debating whether to place a $80 order right now on 3x250g al fakher, box of 3 king coals and 2 flavors of this starbuzz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmahlman Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 i didnt know there was a rebate code for us.maybe my roomate will split the cost with me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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