Taste Problems W/pictures(56k Warning)

[nupC]

Wussup everybody

Well i've been smokin hookah for about 1-2 years now but have never gotten any real decent flavors from smoking.
The only flavors that I really could taste were the mint flavors. The other flavors only give a small hint of flavor but never anything
special. But recently we bought some Starbuzz Raspberry and the taste was unbelievable. I was able to get enormous, thick,
fruity flavors on every hit. The flavor continued to be strong on the next 2 sessions, but after that, it suddenly just went dead. The
flavor just died and you could barely taste it. I don't know what happened. We did everything the same(packing, foil pattern, etc..), but the flavor just hasn't been the same. It's just not the same without that strong flavored smoke if you kno wat i mean!!

Heres my setup

Hookah
- I really don't know what kinda hookah it is but it looks EXACTLY like this except it's white and not yellow.
The bowl is also different and we use a different hose that we made from a guide on this site(pressure fitted 5/8 hose made of clear tubing from home depot which is great BTW)



Coals
- 3 Kings 40mm(Broken into halves and put on edge of bowl)

Foil Pattern
-

Bowl
-



For the shisha i just basically sprinkle it till it gets to the top of the bowl and I use Reynolds Heavy Duty Foil
The hookah actually had a vented piece which you can unscrew off. This is located where you attach the adaptor for a second hookah hose. I dunno if that's normal but I unscrewed that piece off and screwed on another piece with no holes that fit perfectly.
You can see that little vented piece on the picture above.
Another side note:
The hookah leaked ALOT but I sealed most of it with teflon tape and electrical tape

The only thing I could think of is
- Dried up shisha(no juice) but then again we recently bought and tried Starbuzz Blue Myst which also gave little to no taste
- Heat management
- Hookah may still be leaking

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[SuburbanSmoker]

Well if your hookah is leaking that would be the first problem. Also if your hookah is not cleaned it can kill the flavor. And if your heat management is shite well nothing is going to taste good.

Depending on what tobacco you use can also be a factor but if your smoking starbuzz you should have a pretty good flavor at all times.

[EternalSoil]

That looks similar to a KM hafa... its not though...

The piece you unscrewed is the purge valve and you should replace the little ball in there and put it back.

You probably need to clean your hookah pretty good and might look into getting a new hose if a good cleaning doesnt help.

Also, quicklights hinder flavors alot (at least for me) i moved to naturals and its not the same if i have to use quicklights.

Good luck!

[nupC]

acutally we clean our hookah before every session and the hookah never came with a ball for the valve. Its just a hollow screw with holes.

[EternalSoil]

stick an airsoft pellet in there.

thats weird that you clean it that often.

sounds like a hose problem.

after you clean the hookah can you breathe in the end and taste flavors (or smell) if so then its not clean enough.

maybe try some baking soda and water. or (not the same time obviously) some vinegar. Alcohol like vodka will help too.

[SuburbanSmoker]

well if you dont have a ball bearing on your purge valve i would think you could get much smoke out of your hookah wich would be a possible explanation

[mattarios2]

Well i'd suggest more holes that what you diagramed for us.

[nupC]

yea when we clean the stem, we dont get any smells from it and we already have that valve problem fixed with another screw from an older hookah that has no holes on it and it fits perfectly.

I'll probably try the more-holes on foil method later today. But the thing is, the foil pattern pictured above worked for us before, but ill try it.

[SuburbanSmoker]

well if its clean and the purge is sealed seems like the only other explanation would be shite heat management. alot of the times when quicklites arent lite all the way and you excite the coal, lighting the unlit parts you get a very strong coal flavour which can ruin a bowl. I would say try to keep your coal moving along the edge of the bowl.

[nupC]

ill try that along with some other things tonight and see how it works
thanks for the help guys

[liquidglass]

Well i'd suggest more holes that what you diagramed for us.

I disagree, I've used that hole pattern for a while now and it's been nothing but magic for me. It's the one I always recommend to everyone.

[frost91]

get a tangiers bowl from mnh....i switched to a tangiers bowl after a couple of years of smoking through your same bowl and got SO much more flavor...its amazing

[Rani]

Well i'd suggest more holes that what you diagramed for us.

I disagree, I've used that hole pattern for a while now and it's been nothing but magic for me. It's the one I always recommend to everyone.

I'm going to disagree with you glass.... That hole pattern is something I would use in a standard Egyptian bowl only for a high heat shisha like Fantasia. For Starbuzz in an Egyptian bowl, I use lots of holes. I start with one in the middle and spiral out all the way to the edges of the bowl. That hole pattern might work well in a deep Mya bowl for instance though. One thing about Starbuzz if it gets too hot, you still get great clouds but the flavor tends to vanish completely. Sounds a lot like that's whats happening here. And the reason for the change in why it doesn't work any longer is Starbuzz tins aren't airtight. Good enough for a couple weeks but not much more than that in my opinion. Chances are some of the juice evaporated so the heat is too high now in that hole pattern, Especially now that it's hotter with summer here.

'Rani

[nupC]

that makes sense

[Kusk]

Do you get thin clouds when there is no flavor? If the smoke is thin, I'm pretty sure it is an air leak.

If you do get nice clouds only with no flavor, I have no idea what the hell it is.

[nupC]

yep, thick clouds no flavor
tried more holes/spiral holes and moving coals around every 10-15 minutes and still no good flavor. i also checked for leaks and theres none anymore.
it's most likely dried shisha..the temperature over on the westcoast has been reaching the 90's this last month and bohowildchild said that starbuzz
tins aren't air tight so that must be it.

What do you recommend for storing shisha?
would ziplock bags work?

I will probably get some new 3 kings or maybe exotica coals next time Edited June 24, 2008 by nupC

[Bulldog_916]

Keep some table water crackers or something near by. These help to cleanse your palate so you can get the flavor over long periods of time. Also keep a glass of water handy as well.

[ilikemyusername]

shisha gnomes.

[mattarios2]

Well i'd suggest more holes that what you diagramed for us.

I disagree, I've used that hole pattern for a while now and it's been nothing but magic for me. It's the one I always recommend to everyone.

Really that few of holes? You do this pattern for all tobacco also?

[mattarios2]

Well i'd suggest more holes that what you diagramed for us.

I disagree, I've used that hole pattern for a while now and it's been nothing but magic for me. It's the one I always recommend to everyone.

I'm going to disagree with you glass.... That hole pattern is something I would use in a standard Egyptian bowl only for a high heat shisha like Fantasia. For Starbuzz in an Egyptian bowl, I use lots of holes. I start with one in the middle and spiral out all the way to the edges of the bowl. That hole pattern might work well in a deep Mya bowl for instance though. One thing about Starbuzz if it gets too hot, you still get great clouds but the flavor tends to vanish completely. Sounds a lot like that's whats happening here. And the reason for the change in why it doesn't work any longer is Starbuzz tins aren't airtight. Good enough for a couple weeks but not much more than that in my opinion. Chances are some of the juice evaporated so the heat is too high now in that hole pattern, Especially now that it's hotter with summer here.

'Rani

Wait a minute Fantasia = high heat, I agree there, but why use few few holes, with a high heat shisha? I would think use more holes for a high heat shisha ... no?

[Cybersist]

shisha gnomes.

damn those motherfuckers

[MatthewLee]

In regards to taste/flavor...
Someone on the forum once told me (and i'm begining to believe them) that 'my expectations are too high'.
I've read the rave reviews, had my own high hopes for great/strong smelling flavors, only to be disappointed once I actually sit down to smoke.
Been smoking for over a year now and I too only get weak hints of flavor unless it's Apple (anise) or Mint.
I'm just leaning towards the idea that botom line this is tobacco, not some super magical candy thats going to taste exactly as it smells or is portrayed on the box.

(Someone slap me if i'm wrong)

Don't know what to say exactly nupC, only that I've been there and it get's tiresome and costly buying flavor after flavor with no real pleasure.

[nupC]

In regards to taste/flavor...
Someone on the forum once told me (and i'm begining to believe them) that 'my expectations are too high'.
I've read the rave reviews, had my own high hopes for great/strong smelling flavors, only to be disappointed once I actually sit down to smoke.
Been smoking for over a year now and I too only get weak hints of flavor unless it's Apple (anise) or Mint.
I'm just leaning towards the idea that botom line this is tobacco, not some super magical candy thats going to taste exactly as it smells or is portrayed on the box.

(Someone slap me if i'm wrong)

Don't know what to say exactly nupC, only that I've been there and it get's tiresome and costly buying flavor after flavor with no real pleasure.

I understand what your saying but i've actually tasted that "thick fruity amazing flavor" on my hookah before and it was amazing.
Maybe it's just one of those rare good sessions, but the flavor was strong for 3 different sessions and then just suddenly weakened.
I've also experienced what you experieced(none-to-hinty flavor) too for a year until we bought the 250g premium starbuzz tins, because we usually buy those small 25-50g sample boxes and never really get any flavor at all. I read somewhere that the bigger the box, the more juicier the shisha, resulting in more flavor. These small 25-50g "sample" flavors that we bought were pretty dry
compared to the starbuzz and had dust on the boxes LOL. This is why I believe that maybe our starbuzz shisha is just dried
because the temperature here has been insanely dry and hot.
I dunno, its just not the same with that thick, tasty smoke LOL. I know i'm not exagerrating either because my friends were with
me when we had that "strong taste/flavor" and feel the same way now.
We'll probably buy a new fresh batch of Starbuzz 250g premium to test soon. We might also buy a Tangier's Phunnel bowl /w the mod. I'll definetely update when we do. I wish you coulda been there to taste it haha.

BTW, the flavor that we got strong flavor from was from Starbuzz Raspberry. Oh it was so delicious... Edited June 24, 2008 by nupC

[MatthewLee]

Maybe you need new hoses or washable hoses.
I know for myself i'm leaning in that direction...first ever session was 'Mixed Fruit' and I swear I can still taste/smell it.
Definitely give us an update after your next session with the SBuzz, hope it works out for you.

[nupC]

*UPDATE*

We just recently bought a new 250g can of Starbuzz Peaches N Cream.
It smelled delicious and was confident that we would get flavor.
We smoked it but got nothing but thick flavorless smoke. DAMNN we were disappointed
After brainstorming what the problem could be, we came to the conclusion that
our hookah is dirty. I mean we clean it before every use but we also leave it out in the
sun outside with all the smoke in the vase, stem, etc.. and that might have done some damage.
I dunno if anyone else does this, but that sounds like the problem. We also believe that our hookah
is some cheap knock off. I know i said that the hookah pictured on Page 1 looked "exactly" like ours
but i just looked at it more carefully and it doesn't, so sorry bout that. Maybe i'll take some pics of mine later.
On the good news, we might all chip in to get a Khalil Mammon Hafa. But this time were gonna clean it
before and after every use and store it indoors.