Some more reviews - Starbuzz, Al Amir

[ioannisds]

Just got through a couple more samples of Starbuzz, and got my first taste ever of Al Amir.  Here are my thoughts:Starbuzz Sour AppleGREEN.  I mean like the Hulk.  I have never seen ma'assell this color before.  Smelled great, very nice, consistent cut.  Not super fine like Romman or Al Amir, but not really coarse like Nakhla and Al Waha either.  Somewhere in the middle.  Taste was great.  I would have liked maybe a little bit more sour, and maybe a little bit more apple (I was thinking it was going to be like a Jolly Rancher or something).  It tasted more like a sweet apple to me.  I didn't notice any anise.  I can see this as being a really good everyday smoke.  Thickness and body was unreal, just like the other Starbuzz flavors that have been reviewed.  No harshness whatsoever, etc, etc.  It seems that these qualities apply to Starbuzz across the board. Very nice.  I'd give it an 8/10.Starbuzz OrangeI've got to say the only other orange I have tried was Nakhla mandarin.  IT WAS POOP, IMHO.  I was actually kinda afraid to give the Starbuzz orange a try because of the nightmares I got from the Nakhla.This is an orange I can live with.  I've never really liked citrus flavored tobacco, but this one was actually pretty darn good.  Not very strong (which I think was good), and it had a real orange flavor (unlike the Nakhla).  Flavor lasted a long time on this one too.  Didn't really taper off until the bowl was almost finished.  If you like orange/citrus, you will probably want to give this a shot.  You will probably love it (where I only liked it).  7/10.Al Amir Carmel AppleMy first Al Amir.  Very fine cut (almost gritty), but easy to break up and work with.  Very few twigs and such.  Did not have a very strong smell, and was not super gooey.  Really, for me, it was almost perfect, even before smoking.  I could tell the smoke would be great, even before getting it going.I FLIPPIN' LOVED IT.  Easy to get the bowl going with 2 Three Kings.  Not harsh, but not quite as smooth as the Starbuzz.  Not quite as thick either, but excellent flavor.  I was a little worried with a name like carmel apple that it would be a kind of a fake, too sweet flavor.  Not at all.  It was not super sweet, you could really taste the caramel, and a little bit more than a hint of apple.  Al Amir has created a very good balance of the two flavors.  Flavor lasted for almost the entire bowl, which lasted quite a while too (almost an hour with 2 Three Kings). I haven't tried any other flavors, but I can see Al Amir being an excellent alternative to AF (even though I don't think I can live without G AF Esk).  The price is great, and the smoke is excellent.  I am very happy with it, and look forward to trying out some more flavors soon.  9/10.

[great glavin]

good reviews, i might try caramel apple because of this

[yashman19]

I'm 2nd'ing the approval of AA Caramel Apple. Its almost time for me to order up another tub of it, as I'm just about out.

I too was worried there wouldn't be enough caramel taste, and that it
was just going to be another sweet apple flavor, but was pleasantly
surprised when I tried it out.

Great reviews, keep em coming!

[ioannisds]

Speaking of reviews, how do you guys feel about coming up with maybe a fixed set of characteristics to rate and include with each review?  Every time I write one of these, I feel like I am forgetting something, and I think it would be nice to have some standard that we can go by across the board.  I was thinking:[list]I just pulled these off the top of my head, feel free to poop on them or change them around.  I'm thinking ratings should be on a scale of 1 -10.  I was going to include duration of smoke, but that is so different from person to person it seems (depends on size of bowl, etc).  Maybe if we can find a set we can all agree on, it can become the standard to follow, in addition to one's own personal thoughts. 

[HookahDuck]

Caramel Apple is one of my top 3... I smoke it quite frequently =) Mmm... sounds tasty now actually.I think most if not all of those qualities are addressed in the majority of reviews. I always atempt to at least. If not, a few are lumped together (ie: cut/smell/wetness all summed up in "first impressions" or something)

[[LB]]

i need to diversify my stash get me some starbuzz and al amir. 60 % of
my stash is AF, 30% tangiers the rest is one box of havana  one jar of al amir banana split which is ok, and hookah hookah. i think next step i make is an investment in al amir

now does the caramel apple really taste like caramel apple, because my Al Amir banana split doesent taste much like banana split

[yashman19]

[quote name='[lebanese_blonde']]

now does the caramel apple really taste like caramel apple, because my Al Amir banana split doesent taste much like banana split[/quote]

Ahh man, I thought AA did as good a job as they could making a banana
split into a flavor.. I mean I can't really taste icecream and banana,
but to me, it is pretty durn accurate..But ofcourse, this is just my
own opinion.

As for the Caramel Apple, this one should be spot on LB. AA has a rep
for being overly sweet to some people, but I think this flavor doesn't
overpower your palate, and gives a pretty acurate smoke of caramel and
apples. Definately no anise added, so if you are looking for an anise
apple, this wouldn't be for you. As for me, I HATE anise, so this AA
caramel apple and sour apple are perfect for me.

Give em a shot, you should be happy.

[pavlakos_politakos]

DAMN!! stop making me jealous!!lol. i need to try those flavors.ASAP!!!  but ican only get HAVANA,El Nakhla,some AF and EB(el basha).i cant order online because i am a minor.any ideas on where to get AA in NYC?

[Sonthert]

[quote name='ioannisds]Speaking of reviews' date=' how do you guys feel about coming up with maybe a fixed set of characteristics to rate and include with each review?  Every time I write one of these, I feel like I am forgetting something, and I think it would be nice to have some standard that we can go by across the board.  I was thinking:[list']As far as flavors go, I break it down like this:Flavor Strength, Flavor Complexity, Oiliness/dryness, sweetness, humidity resistance and endurance. Endurance being a measure of how long the flavor lasts. For simplicity's sake, I use a 1-5 scale 1 being the least, five being the most. In the case of dryness/oiliness, I use one to signify very dry, 5 to signifiy very oily. So, to summarize, and catagorizing:   Tobacco   Cut   Dryness/Wetness   Aroma   Smoke   Smoothness   Thickness   Smoke Endurance   Flavor   Strength   Complexity   Dryness/Oiliness   Sweetness   Humidity Resistance (for nicotinated tobaccos)   Flavor Endurance

[Dr.Buzz]

Hello Focus,
You should try the Starbuzz Raspberry and Guava it is awsome.  I also would like to let you know that starbuzz is going make Exotic Chocalete-Mint and Exotic Caramel Apple. 
If you are interested in any flavor that you would like to see social smoke carry you shold email [url="http://mailto:waeelsh@hotmail.com"]waeelsh@hotmail.com[/url] that is the email to the starbuzz owner. 
 
The new social Smoke Mix is awsome...tasty and wow does it smoke.

[Sonthert]

Pppptht! You guys plugging your own products make me sick!You ruined a good thread, I think Ioannisds was on to something good here. I think standardizing our reviews is a great idea....Bump!

[jeans]

You know how we have a review area for the different hookah lounges?
Well, why don't we have a review area for the different ma'assells? A person could search by flavor, type (citrus, drink, etc.), or even brand. Then we could incorporate a standard reviewing style by having text areas for each of the different aspects needed to be rated.

[ioannisds]

Starbuzz GuavaCut - 8/10Aroma - 8/10Wetness - 8/10Smoothness - 10/10Flavor - 9/10Thickness - 9/10I kinda forgot about the guava Starbuzz I had.  While reaching for some Al Waha cherry last night, I remembered I still had one more Starbuzz flavor to try out.  Guava?  I don't know, it just didn't sound that great to me.  After smoking a bowl, I am sold.  I really liked the guava the best out of all the flavors I tried.  Maybe tied with kiwi-strawberry.  I can't remember the last time I ate anything guava flavored, so I really don't want to say it is an authentic guava taste. But, the taste is fantastic.  I can't really pinpoint what it is about it.  It is a little "woodsy", if that makes any sense.  Very aromatic, almost like incense?  Maybe a hint of fruitiness too.  I think I liked it so much because it was really DIFFERENT from the other stuff.  This is a Starbuzz flavor I can see myself ordering a can of, even if it is a little pricey.  I think out of all the flavors, I would recommend it first if you want to give something new and different a try.I've gotta get my ass posting some more.  Since my family and I moved, I haven't had a ton of time to visit the forum.  I've still got some more Al Amir to try out, and I am REALLY looking forward to giving the Tangiers a shot.  I also got a new hookah for Christmas which I will post some pictures of.  My wife (God bless her) got it from a Pakistani friend of hers who recently visited Quatar and bought it there.  It is made in Syria, although the stem is Egyptian style.  Glass is nothing special, but the stem and tray are SWEET.  Like I said, I'll post some pics later on.

[mushrat]

Dr. Buzz,
I suggest you start posting something other than advertisements for your product. I also suggest you read the tacked topics at the top of the general discusson thread. I like Ali at SocialSmoke and I'm not sure if he's appriciate you using his company's good name to merely plug YOUR product in violation of our terms of use.
 

[mushrat]

oh ya..forgot my actualy post...
I think standardizing reviews is cool..but i kinda like the individuality and style each person brings to a review. While we know Tangiers can analyze a ma'asell to amaizing scientific detail, I prefer my "brief" reviews. Zoojohnny used to post some wildly elloquent reviews and Bubble could post some astounding stream of concousness reviews that got down right psychodelic.
 
If we get too standardized..we become about as interesting to read as the Farm Report. And since we can't all seem to agree on what is "good" anyway..why try to objectify a subjective subject at all?
$.02

[great glavin]

when i review a tobacco, i usually try to mention whats important. Some things, such as smoke/wetness/cut and various other things i usually only mention if they are totally different or have any kind of realistic effect or possible explaination for the flavor. im really not one for standardizing reviews, i think we need alot more of them first and a seperate section.

[Sonthert]

I think it could be used as a guide, at least...to give people who might want to review, but haven't done it alot to think about what to look for.

[ioannisds]

I wasn't really considering making all reviews the same, based on the criteria above.  I was just thinking they could be the one thing that all reviews have in common, plus the poster's own write up.  If members are able to see the ratings and flavor right off the bat, they would have a better idea if they even want to spend time reading the review, or trying out the ma'assell.