More Starbuzz reviews...

[ioannisds]

I just got in a few flavors of Starbuzz from Social Smoke, and a friend of mine and I decided to start with the pomegranate.  I must say, we were both very impressed.  I was gonna post these reviews in Lakemonster's thread, but I did not want to hijack it, and thought it would be better to put them here.  Here is what we thought:1)  Lake is 100% dead on as far as smoothness of the smoke.  Most of the other ma'assell I have tried has started out a little harsh at the beginning, an then smooths out as the bowl gets going.  Not so with the Starbuzz.  From the very first few drags, it was nothing but smooth, to the end of the smoke.  No harshness whatsoever. 2)  Flavor was fantastic!  I don't know if I would call it pomegranate exactly.  I love pomegranates, particularly for their sour/sweet flavor.  We didn't get much of the sour, but the sweetness of the pomegranate definitely came through.  I would have maybe liked a hint of sourness, but it still tasted great.3)  Smoke thickness was unreal.  I have packed all of my larger hookahs away because I am moving in a couple of weeks, but have keep my Junior Modern from Social Smoke out as it is compact and smokes quite well for a little machine.  With a smaller hookah I have always felt I got less quantity/thickness of smoke, but the Starbuzz made it feel like I was smoking one of my normal size hookahs.  I can only imagine what it would be like on one of those...4)  The cut of the tobacco reminded me a lot of Romman and Al Fakher.  Much finer cut than Al Waha or Nakhla, and super juicy.  This I think contributed to the length of the smoke, which seemed to be a bit longer than what I get from a bowl of Nakhla or the like.  No twigs, tree branches, or large sheets of tobacco to be found.  All in all, I am really impressed with the Starbuzz.  It is a bit expensive, but at the same time it really smokes like a premium tobacco.  If the other flavors are as good as this, it is worth it to have at least a can or two on hand for special occasions.  Here is my drunken Irish friend's review, which he insisted I put on the board.  As you can tell, he loved it too, but please excuse his remarks.  He is a bit rough around the edges, if you know what I mean:1)  It is very unharsh.2)  It was so good, it was like being first in line at a gang-bang.Cheers!

[yashman19]

[quote name='ioannisds']2)  It was so good, it was like being first in line at a gang-bang.[/quote]

Well...I guess  being first is a good thing..

Nice review

[Soup]

[quote name='ioannisds']2)  It was so good, it was like being first in line at a gang-bang.Cheers![/quote]
I nearly choked on a cookie I was eating...thanks ioannisds, you almost killed me

[mushrat]

Ok...so I'll post my first starrbuzz experience .
We tried Kiwi.
And I'd have to agree, the cut does remind me of Romman, but its a lot wetter, closer to AF Esk Apple or Melon. But the liquid is THICKER. More like Afzal if I remember correctly, its been a while. Non-hookah smoking friends said it looked like jam to them.
I was showing some to one of the owners of the local cafe, The Marrakesh. We got to talking and I asked if he wanted to give it a try. So he set up his personal hookah and we got down to it. I told him this stuff required a bit more heat than Nakhla, so he dropped 2 big chunks of finger coal on the edges of this nice sized bowl. To be honest I thought it would burn, even with Lakes assurances it's hearty stuff. Nope, it started smoking like a fiend and in a short period of time we had some nice thick sweet smoke.
(As an aside, the filters not only cut down on some of the taste, but a fair amount of the smoke as well, we tried it with and without one as an experiment)
As for the flavour: I like kiwi. I'm just not sure if thats what this really tasted like. Kind of like the pomogranate above. I've noticed the more exotic a flavour, the harder it is to make a ma'asell taste like it. This comes from a little personal experience and a lot of reading.  I'll let you know what I think of the pomogranate soon. I'm actaully going to go buy one to remind myself anew before I smoke mine.
All in all a VERY fine smoke. But again, at the current price, I'd be inclined to treat it like one of my finer bottles of scotch, something to definitly have on hand to take out for occasional use. If it was down closer to AF now...that'd be a different story.
 

[ioannisds]

Ok, on to the mango...   This shisha seemed a little bit drier to me than the pomegranate.  Maybe just a bit wetter than Nakhla.  It's color was also much different from any other tobacco I have smoked.  Kind of an orange/red/yellow mix.  Cut was about the same as the pomegranate; maybe a tiny bit coarser.  Smelled really good too.Smoking this flavor was very close to the pomegranate.  Not quite the same thickness/longetivity (probably because it was drier), but still very good.  Exact same smoothness.  Not a hint of harshness at all.  As far as taste, this is actually tasted quite a bit like mangos.  I'm not a big fan of the fruit, but it tasted quite good. If you like mangos, you will probably love this flavor.  I still like the pomegranate better though... but that's just my own personal preferrence.  The mango is different enough to warrant a try.

[bigmahlman]

just got in my vanila starbuz and decided to write a quick review.i smoke a quick 20 min bowl, it was amazingsmoke was the thickest i have ever experiencedthe flavor was great,  about ten min. in i got this huge blast of flavor in my mouth, almost like hard candy. im realy congested and cant taste much so i cant tell you what it is realy like. the cut was great,  deffenatly worth the 20 bucks imo ill smoke it again after work and give a decent revew rather then this crappy one

[mushrat]

Starbuzz apple review:
And now for something completely different.
It's a single apple. No anise.
It's not real sweet like AF Esk apple. A much more crisp taste. Not real apply like I was eating a real apple, but definitly an apple flavour. It almost had a cooling, menthol like sensation without an actual menthol or mint taste. Hard to pin this one down. Not a bad bad taste and definitly one I'd smoke again.
I'd be VERY interested in anyone elses opinion who may have an apple sample.
I'm going to try this one again this weekend and see if it comes out any different. try different coals perhaps.
 

[ioannisds]

-Kiwi Strawberry-Wow.  Just wow.  Let me say first that I have never been a fan of this combination of flavors.  Strawberries are good.  Kiwis are good.  Together?  Meh.Starbuzz has nailed this flavor combination.  It is the first shisha I have tried that really tastes like what it is supposed to.  You can taste the strawberry and kiwi very distinctly.  It is really flippin' good.  I decided to smoke it tonight specifically because it was a flavor I was not thrilled about, and thought I'd get it out of the way.  I was SO wrong.  Smoothness, smoke thickness, goopiness, etc are all like the pomegranate mentioned above.  Aside from Golden AF Esk Apple, this is the first tobacco I have smoked that I really got excited about.  I can see it becoming one of my favorites.Mushrat, I will give the apple a try in the next day or so and post my thoughts.  I like the sound of it already.  I am glad to hear that there is no anise flavor.  Though I am a regular drinker of ouzo (I have to be, or my status as a Greek will be revoked), and a big fan of absinthe, I have never liked anise much in my hookah flavors.  I can do with a touch here and there, but something like Nakhla double-apple makes we want to hurl half the time (sorry Mr. Bubble).  Anyway, we'll see how it goes.  

[ioannisds]

-Apple-Mushrat pretty much covered all there is to be said about this flavor.  Even though I did feel it tasted a TINY bit of anise, but that could just be me.  Not a very sweet apple, but really good.  I would say besides G AF Esk, it is one of the best apple flavors I have tried.  All in all a very pleasant smoke.  -Bubblegum-Ok, here's another one I decided to try and get out of the way.  I will say it is my least favorite out of the flavors I have tried.  It did taste a little bit like bubble gum, but in my opinion it had a much more floral taste to it.  Reminded me a lot of Al Waha rose flavor.  I think we can probably stop commenting on smoke thickness and smoothness, as this flavor was the same in those respects as the other Starbuzz I have smoked.  I just did not like the taste very much.  But, if you like the more floral flavored shisha, with maybe a hint of candy/gum, then you might want to give this one a shot.

[bigmahlman]

the more i smoke that vanilla i think it taste like a cream saver candy

[afrdzak]

where are you guys getting Starbuzz from?

[Brad]

[quote name='ioannisds']-Bubblegum-Ok, here's another one I decided to try and get out of the way.  I will say it is my least favorite out of the flavors I have tried.  It did taste a little bit like bubble gum, but in my opinion it had a much more floral taste to it.  Reminded me a lot of Al Waha rose flavor.  I think we can probably stop commenting on smoke thickness and smoothness, as this flavor was the same in those respects as the other Starbuzz I have smoked.  I just did not like the taste very much.  But, if you like the more floral flavored shisha, with maybe a hint of candy/gum, then you might want to give this one a shot.[/quote]
 
This is a great example of how personal preference differs when it comes to flavors. I loved Bubblegum ...but it is nice to hear that someone else noticed the floral taste.

[mushrat]

You can get the starbuzz from www.socialsmoke.com.

[alen]

really looking forward to the samples that you offered me ioannisd  -it really seems that starbuzz is something extra - how many flavours did you got ? it would be fun to know what flavours they have - is it anywhere you can read more about starbuzz exept on socialsmokes homepage ?
a bowl of some new nice flavour some nice mellow pianomusic(ioannisd super mix) some feta and olives a little bread - aaah its gonna be a nice evening

[ioannisds]

Ok, I just got done moving and was actually able to smoke for the past couple of nights now that my beloved hookahs are unpacked.  Here are a couple more reviews of the Starbuzz:Watermelon - This is probably my second favorite so far next to the kiwi/strawberry.  Much like the latter flavor combination, I have never really been a big fan of watermelon flavored stuff, besides the real thing.  This Starbuzz watermelon is awesome.  I was really afraid of a phony, Jolly Rancher watermelon taste, but that was not the case.  I don't know that I would call it an authentic watermelon flavor either though, but it tastes fantastic.  I just can't seem to put my finger on exactly what it is that I like so much.  It is very well balanced, not too sweet (something I have noticed about basically all of the Starbuzz flavors so far), and just tastes damn good.  This is actually the first watermelon flavored ma'assell I have tried, because I just never got too excited about the flavor.  Starbuzz has proven that it can be done well.  Kiwi - Not as good as the kiwi/strawberry for me.  I just didn't get much of the kiwi taste at all.  Not that it didn't have a pleasant flavor, I was just really hoping for the sweet and sour mix that makes the fruit so good.  I think the kiwi/strawberry was so great because the strawberry mixed with the kiwi quite nicely.  The kiwi was not bad by itself, it just was not my favorite.  My high hopes were dashed !Oh, and alen, if you read this, thanks for being so patient on those samples I'm gonna send to you.  It has just been crazy here since the move, but I am hoping that things will settle down enough in the next couple weeks to get those out to you.  Hope you all have a happy and safe New Year, wherever you might be!

[mushrat]

well, while we're reviewing starbuzz..we smoked the orange tonight, My friends are more of the Candy Ma'asell types so we smoked the Starbuzz as opposed to the Tangiers...
The orange was actually quite nice. The standard Starbuzz smoke density, with a flavour that was somewhere between a good orange candy (not a tootsie pop kind of orange) and a real orange. Lasted a nice long time as well. Definitly more of a fire and forget kind of Ma'asell as its alomst impossible to burn and when the smoke gets thing you know to just pile on some more charcoal.
Tangiers tomorrow... 

[ioannisds]

[quote name='mushrat']well, while we're reviewing starbuzz..we smoked the orange tonight, My friends are more of the Candy Ma'asell types so we smoked the Starbuzz as opposed to the Tangiers...The orange was actually quite nice. The standard Starbuzz smoke density, with a flavour that was somewhere between a good orange candy (not a tootsie pop kind of orange) and a real orange. Lasted a nice long time as well. Definitly more of a fire and forget kind of Ma'asell as its alomst impossible to burn and when the smoke gets thing you know to just pile on some more charcoal.Tangiers tomorrow... [/quote] I have been holding off on the orange just because I still have nightmares about some Nakhla mandarin I smoked awhile back. I might just have to be brave and give the Starbuzz a shot.

[Sonthert]

I only make tobacco to bring joy to people...if another brand is your taste...smoke it for christ's sake! 

[mushrat]

Tangiers: variety is the spice of life...
I'm just still trying to get THROUGH all my samples

[hookah123]

i guess i'll contribute to this thread with the review of..
Starbuzz Orange
When i first took a whiff of the freshly opened Starbuzz Orange, it DEFINATELY struck me with an extremely strong citrus smell. i won't go over smoke thickness much because it's been described as above. smoke thickness: strong and one of the best ive seen. however, the smell of the shisha was deceiving as to how i expected it was going to smoke.
when smoking the starbuzz orange, it was a HUGE burst of flavor ... the ONLY thing that came to my mind when smoking it was oranges, of course. however, after a while (about 15-20minutes), i gathered a rather uncomfortable and SPICY taste from the Starbuzz Orange. throughout my whole mind, i kept vascillating whether the taste was coming from the way i setup the hookah, or just from the flavor. i was led to the conclusion that it had to be the orange because no other starbuzz flavor i smoked (mango, grape, watermelon, pomegranate, apple, and sour apple) had such a distinct and awkward kick to it. The distinct spicy taste of citrus oranges became so potent that we (me and 3 other friends) had to stop smoking the hookah, something i've never done and would never want to do again.
if you plan on purchasing Starbuzz Orange, i strongly recommend using it for mixing, or to alleviate your craving for oranges.

[Sonthert]

My guess is that they are using a grain ethanol flavoring base for the orange and that they are improperly prepping it for packaging (or not processing the ethanol out at all). Did it have a grainy vodka-like flavor "under" the orange flavor?