He Who Cannot Be Named Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Hey guys, I just picked up a 3-pack of starbuzz 250s from an online vendor (X on the beach, Vanilla, and Irish Creme if you care) and was having some trouble with X on the Beach. When I load it up (tangiers med phunnel) it tastes absolutely terrible. It smells amazing with kind of a fruity-sweet smell, but it tastes like potpourri--exremely strong floral, almost bitter, taste. Reading this site I see a lot of people who love it and I was just wondering if this is what it is supposed to taste like or if i got a bad batch, because I will never touch that tin again (which is too bad b/c starbuzz aint cheap). Any input would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoolinspoon Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 whats your set-up? coals?X on the beach tastes fruity with somewhat of a coconut flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuburbanSmoker Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Sounds odd because that was one of my favorite flavors until i had to start paying for tobacco.could be your coals/hookah/bowl, also could be not enough juice is mixed into the tobacco (mix it up real good before you pack the bowl). I would say start with simple fixes first and see if it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbb123 Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 imo I'd say that your not getting the juices in it. Make sure you reach all the way in the tub and mix it up before you load the bowl. Also I put strip of electrical tape around the lid to keep it sealed air tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
He Who Cannot Be Named Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 QUOTE (spoolinspoon @ Jul 16 2008, 12:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>whats your set-up? coals?X on the beach tastes fruity with somewhat of a coconut flavor.Yeah, thats definately not the flavor I got when I smoked it (there were 4 of us smoking it, and we all thought it was disgusting, so its not just me). I must be doing something wrong. As for setup, I usually use the same setup for everything I smoke, so maybe im doing something wrong with starbuzz--I usually smoke Al-Fahkir and recently a few tubs of Fantasia32" Mod Hookah (this is not the problem, everything else is good) w/ Nammor hoseIce water in the baseMed. Tangiers Phunnel Bowl (packed to the top)3 Cono Naras to start, and then 2 for the second round of coals <---too much heat maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OC4111 Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 might be too much heat. do you leave the three coals on all the time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuburbanSmoker Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Try using room temp water. Ice water can dilute the flavor quite a bit. Even with ice it shouldnt taste bad though so im not really sure at all. Maybe pics of the tobacco? also try using different heat management. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codename067 Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Stay...away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esheg4ever23 Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I'll buy Vanilla and X On The Beach off you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 yeah, well... thats starbuzz for you, kinda surprised it didn't taste like soap to you.starbuzz sucks ass!sig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hookah hippie Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 fluff the tobacco in the bowl and slowly add heat making sure it doesn't burn X on the beach is kind of like a minty coconut flavorish type thing not really good at describing good luck maybe pics of your set up would help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKJON Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 There is probably nothing wrong with the Starbuzz you bought. I would bet money that you simply used too much heat or packed too much tobacco, because from what you described was the taste of burnt tobacco. And for te record, Starbuzz is over priced but it doesn't suck ass. In fact, I would put Starbuzz at the top of my list and Tangiers at the bottom. You have to try tobaccos out for yourself and not listen to what others say. Everyone has their favorites for various reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blckngld760 Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 STARBUZZ IS THE BEST OUT THEREsig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmigeek Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 I tried Starbuzz for the first time last night and had a rough go. It was Starbuzz rose - I had ordered Al Fakher rose (which I love) and was sent the Starbuzz instead. I didn't try to send the Starbuzz back or anything, I figured I'd just give it a try. I used the same packing and amount of heat that I use for Al Fakher. The first couple of pulls were okay - the smoke was thick and flavorful. I didn't like the flavor itself as much as Al Fakher - it was too intense, like flowery soap, not sweet and delicate enough - but at least there was flavor.After those first couple of pulls the smoke got very harsh. I took heat off and after that I could not get a balanced smoke at all. Either the smoke was weak and flavorless or it was too harsh to pull at all. Also there was a cardboardy aftertaste that I hope was just a result of burning the shisha, and would not be there if I got the heat right. I might try again tonight, be patient and let it heat slowly with less heat rather than blasting it to start and then taking a coal off when it approaches harshness (which is what I do with AF and it works great). But last night was no good, I gave up without much of a session at all. I hope I can make this stuff work, I have 300g of it. (Well probably only about 280g left.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorshookah Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 its because its starbuzz that its not working... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmigeek Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 QUOTE (Thorshookah @ Jul 20 2008, 05:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>its because its starbuzz that its not working... Heh. That's helpful to know. I will give it another chance just cause I have loads of the stuff. For an alternate viewpoint, any Starbuzz fans out there with experiences like the one I described? Any suggestions for getting a better smoke out of Starbuzz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NarghileNights Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 using too much heat.the first time i smoked x on the beach it sucked.pack the bowl high, let the shisha touch the foil. use japanese (fumari or golden) coals, they are low heat and easy lighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmigeek Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Here's a follow-up on my previous post. I tried the Starbuzz rose again last night and had much better results. It still wasn't as good as AF rose - I probably won't buy it again - but since I have ~260g of it left I'm glad I figured out how to get a decent smoke out of it.What I did was: packed the shisha lower so that it wasn't touching the foil (something I haven't had to worry about with AF), and used less heat - just one 33m Three Kings at a time. It heated up slowly but once it did it was nice, sweet smoke without the harshness and the cardboardy aftertaste I had last time. I guess I have found that my AF can take more heat than the Starbuzz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momatik Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Starbuzz isn't bad it's just expensive man. It's not worth it.It's definitely quality shisha though. You shouldn't be experiencing the crap that you are.I just smoked starbuzz pineapple last night at a friends place. You have to be careful with the heat, and pack it loose as if you were packing AF.Also like the other guy said, make sure you stir the shisha up. Stir it well and make sure you get the juices moving rather than stagnant.Don't worry I'm sure it'll smoke good in a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattarios2 Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 QUOTE (HKJON @ Jul 17 2008, 01:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>There is probably nothing wrong with the Starbuzz you bought. I would bet money that you simply used too much heat or packed too much tobacco, because from what you described was the taste of burnt tobacco. And for te record, Starbuzz is over priced but it doesn't suck ass. In fact, I would put Starbuzz at the top of my list and Tangiers at the bottom. You have to try tobaccos out for yourself and not listen to what others say. Everyone has their favorites for various reason.Woah, woah, if you don't like tangiers thats fine, but to put it at the bottom of the list you have got to be crazzzzy!!! Unless it is for a reason such as, I don't like a buzz and it packs too much of a buzz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now