Some Nakhla Questions

[newjacksm]

Is Nakhla heat sensative? I am going to assume yes because it is somewhat dry. And is it better to use an Egyptian bowl rather then a small phunnel bowl?

I am going to smoke Nakhla for the second time, but really the first time because I am packing it.

[newjacksm]

Oh and do I have to let Nakhla acclimate?

[staygone]

Nakhla is easy tobacco, I would pack it in a normal egyptian bowl.

Could acclimate it a bit, no real need to though.

-QM

[newjacksm]

Thank you, I am gonna give it a go now. Smoking mango in about 2 min

[Stuie]

man pack it regularly. And Nakhla can take some heat let me tell you. I generally use 3 cocos on it all the time.

[AKammenzind]

Thank you, I am gonna give it a go now. Smoking mango in about 2 min

Ah, mango is good stuff. Sometimes I get a faint hint of popcorn, or caramel... which is odd... but probably just in my head hahahaha. Nakhla is by far the most worry-free shisha out there.

[xpimpitox]

Nakhla is the original tobacco my friend! It's wat many of us old timer's started on. AKammenzind is right Nakhla is worry free..its all on if you can tolerate the taste of some of their flavors compared to this newer stuff .

[agentscot]

Nakhla is some good tobacco, especially if a big buzz is important to you. If you smoke it in a phunnel, I would suggest using a scalli mod, as its a relatively dry shisha. But it works well in an egyptian bowl, so pick whichever you want.

Mango is a good flavor. I still have some in stock from my hiatus. I'd very strongly recommend strawberry and peach. Probably their best 2 flavors.

[newjacksm]

I didnt over pack it because I am smoking alone but I use 3 jap exoticas and I can tell it can use a lot of heat... I really like the flavor I got a minimal buzz. I didnt start off right using 2 coals it was very thin, when I put the 3rd one on smoke got thick flavor got way better. Love the flavor. Been smoking hookah since I was 16/17 with my friends hookah he always used Al Fahker and sometimes Afzal. got my own hookah in November when I was 19 and always bought Al Fahker/ some romman and Layalina. Nakhla is some good smoke a lot of my friends talk down on it.

[Balthazar]

I think a lot of people talk down on Nakhla because it's so "common". In Norway it's basically the only brand you can get, so on this Norwegian hookah-forum everybody talks down on it like it was SOEX or something similar. And i can relate, because some years ago I did the same. I remember reading these forums, about Starbuzz, Tangiers etc, and I was sure Nakhla had to be crap. Now that I've been "playing the field" for a while I realize that I was wrong. Tangiers is my number one, and I think AF is my second favorite. But Nakhla isn't far behind...

Just a bit curious: Do you get much smoke with Nakhla? Been a while since I've smoked it and I don't really remember. I'm definatly picking up a pack of Double Apple tomorrow, though.

[newjacksm]

I think a lot of people talk down on Nakhla because it's so "common". In Norway it's basically the only brand you can get, so on this Norwegian hookah-forum everybody talks down on it like it was SOEX or something similar. And i can relate, because some years ago I did the same. I remember reading these forums, about Starbuzz, Tangiers etc, and I was sure Nakhla had to be crap. Now that I've been "playing the field" for a while I realize that I was wrong. Tangiers is my number one, and I think AF is my second favorite. But Nakhla isn't far behind...

Just a bit curious: Do you get much smoke with Nakhla? Been a while since I've smoked it and I don't really remember. I'm definatly picking up a pack of Double Apple tomorrow, though.

It depends how much heat your putting on it, I had 2 jap exoticas on there and they werent doing much and all of a sudden (15 min later)it started kicking in and getting semi thick. I put a 3rd one on and it was very thick but about 3 min later it was too much so I took it off and it was still very thick but at least not burning it.

I think it just needs time to start burning and get thick the smoke.

If you are using QL's 1 40mm will do the job 1 33mm will do the job too. Edited September 26, 2008 by newjacksm

[xpimpitox]

my nak favs r strawberry, peach, and orange esp that orange...best orange across all the brands IMO. no matter wat flavor of nakhla i smoked iw as guarenteed billowy clouds of smoke. the only prob i saw with nak was some of the flavors were not so great when i got spoiled by more "premium" brands and the tobacco tended to not last as long either. i still may have a 50g box or 2 of strawberry i may have 2 open up for old times sake.

[ryno]

I think a lot of people talk down on Nakhla because it's so "common". In Norway it's basically the only brand you can get, so on this Norwegian hookah-forum everybody talks down on it like it was SOEX or something similar. And i can relate, because some years ago I did the same. I remember reading these forums, about Starbuzz, Tangiers etc, and I was sure Nakhla had to be crap. Now that I've been "playing the field" for a while I realize that I was wrong. Tangiers is my number one, and I think AF is my second favorite. But Nakhla isn't far behind...

Just a bit curious: Do you get much smoke with Nakhla? Been a while since I've smoked it and I don't really remember. I'm definatly picking up a pack of Double Apple tomorrow, though.

It depends how much heat your putting on it, I had 2 jap exoticas on there and they werent doing much and all of a sudden (15 min later)it started kicking in and getting semi thick. I put a 3rd one on and it was very thick but about 3 min later it was too much so I took it off and it was still very thick but at least not burning it.

I think it just needs time to start burning and get thick the smoke.

If you are using QL's 1 40mm will do the job 1 33mm will do the job too.

+1 Nahkla takes some time to heat up. I usually use a windcover when starting a bowl. The second set of coals though always seems like the best. I usually use 2 thirds of an Exotica on an Egyptian bowl and it smokes fine, but I do add some honey to mine

[Codename067]

Nakhla is rather easy to smoke.

Requires less heat then other tobaccos, thats for sure, hence its notably drier.

[Gift3d]

Few things you should know when smoking Nakhla...

The flavors are hit or miss, for the most part. There's awesome flavors like Sweet Melon, and there's not-so-great flavors like Caramel (it's pretty bad when smoked alone, makes for a good mixer though). So if you don't like it, it might just be the flavor. It's a nice cheap quality shisha which is why i think everyone should find flavors they like, just for the price for a good smoke.

The dryness doesn't necessarily mean it's sensitive to heat, in fact it can handle quite a bit of heat without burning. That doesn't mean you should go ahead and load the coal on it though, haha. And yes it can take a few minutes to get going before you get good smoke out of it (about 5 minutes, depending on which coals you're using) so that's normsl.

Acclimating, hmm... The day i first got a shipment of Nakhla Strawberry in i smoked it right out of the box, and it was pretty bad, tasted all chemical-y. But i let it acclimate for a bit and after that it was great. Seems to have made a difference for that one, where other flavors like cherry and sweet melon were great right out of the box. Edited September 27, 2008 by Gift3d

[mattathayde]

just smoked my first bowl of nakhla (found a local place that sells some shisha and went down and grabbed some lemon nakhla).

i put it in a mod bowl with 3/4 of exoticas and it was fine, maybe a touch to much heat here and there but it was fine. its dry but its not too touchy and gives some good clouds for a while. im starting to like the drier shishas cause you get more bowls per kilo

-matt

[MR Bubble]

You may want to check out Nakhla's new "Mizo" line. The stuff is dripping wet. The apple Mizzo is like a double apple and so juicy red, it looks like someone slaughtered a hamster .

However, it takes less heat. With normal Nakhla, I usually use a 3 kings disk, broken into quarters. With Mizzo, I quarter a 3 kings, and use only 3 pieces. When re-coaling time comes, I use 3 more quartered pieces. By the way, I've been hookah smoking for almost 10 years, and I consider Mizzo to be the most successful re-coaler.

For a bigger bowl, like the ones that have the built on wind cover (which I tear off and throw away) I use 3 each 1/2 pieces of 3 kings with normal nakhla. With mizzo, I use 2 each 1/2 pieces. So, in a nutshell, I generally use only 1/3 the normal amount of coal for mizzo that I would for regular Nakhla.

But no matter which nakhla you smoke, I would always recommend breaking you coal into pieces, as this helps keep it from burning, and distributes the heat more evenly. Nothing is as nasty as burning Nakhla.

By the way, Nakhla is my #1 tobacco. If I could have only one tobacco, it would be regular Nakhla apple. Yes, I like the absurd.

MR Bubble

[chinamon]

The flavors are hit or miss, for the most part. There's awesome flavors like Sweet Melon, and there's not-so-great flavors like Caramel

the same can be said about every brand.
there is not one brand that makes every flavour perfectly (though there are some that come close).

[nicko]

I've been at this for about a year and don't consider myself an expert by any means. It's taken me this long to start to feel confident that I at least know how to crank the thing up and make it work well for a half hour or so.

Have tried quite a few brands and Nakhla is my leading favorite. I recommend the peach, apricot and apple (but definitely NOT two apples, as that is really a licorice flavor - why they call it two apples is beyond me). I'm playing now with combinations: my best is Nakhla apricot and Nakhla apple 50/50. Am also getting nice smokes by putting Nakhla apricot in the middle and surrounding it with one of the wetter types, like Starbuzz apricot or Al Fakher apple or peach. I like the buzz and haven't yet found any other shisha that gives the nice little oomph that Nakhla does. AF and Starbuzz don't seem to (if that's important to you).

Does seem to take two or even three coals to get Nakhla to deliver a nice thickness in my 19-in hookah with Egyptian style bowl. And, yes, it is definitely dry compared to other lines - sometimes too dry, and then I mix it with some of the too wet types (AF is really wet).

IMO, for what it's worth, it seems to me that you first have to find the brand line you like and only then pick the flavor. I started with an assortment of Al Waha (12 flavors) and couldn't get along with any of them. I recommend beginners start with some of the less radical flavors, like apricot or apple, and try several brand lines - then when you know the style of shisha, begin to focus into the flavors or combos that suit you best.

I used to be a pipe smoker (as in briar pipe) for many years, and after trying probably 100 brands and flavors, I found the one style that I always liked above all others...and stayed with it (flake cut Virginias) because anything else was sure to disappoint. After a year of wasting money and giving shisha away, I feel pretty safe with peach, apricot, apple and sometimes plum in AF, Nakhla, and Starbuzz - several other lines I would never buy again, no matter what the specific flavor.

Hope this helps. Puff on, bro!

[chinamon]

I've been at this for about a year and don't consider myself an expert by any means. It's taken me this long to start to feel confident that I at least know how to crank the thing up and make it work well for a half hour or so.

Have tried quite a few brands and Nakhla is my leading favorite. I recommend the peach, apricot and apple (but definitely NOT two apples, as that is really a licorice flavor - why they call it two apples is beyond me). I'm playing now with combinations: my best is Nakhla apricot and Nakhla apple 50/50. Am also getting nice smokes by putting Nakhla apricot in the middle and surrounding it with one of the wetter types, like Starbuzz apricot or Al Fakher apple or peach. I like the buzz and haven't yet found any other shisha that gives the nice little oomph that Nakhla does. AF and Starbuzz don't seem to (if that's important to you).

Does seem to take two or even three coals to get Nakhla to deliver a nice thickness in my 19-in hookah with Egyptian style bowl. And, yes, it is definitely dry compared to other lines - sometimes too dry, and then I mix it with some of the too wet types (AF is really wet).

IMO, for what it's worth, it seems to me that you first have to find the brand line you like and only then pick the flavor. I started with an assortment of Al Waha (12 flavors) and couldn't get along with any of them. I recommend beginners start with some of the less radical flavors, like apricot or apple, and try several brand lines - then when you know the style of shisha, begin to focus into the flavors or combos that suit you best.

I used to be a pipe smoker (as in briar pipe) for many years, and after trying probably 100 brands and flavors, I found the one style that I always liked above all others...and stayed with it (flake cut Virginias) because anything else was sure to disappoint. After a year of wasting money and giving shisha away, I feel pretty safe with peach, apricot, apple and sometimes plum in AF, Nakhla, and Starbuzz - several other lines I would never buy again, no matter what the specific flavor.

Hope this helps. Puff on, bro!

very well said!

[dakingkevin23]

Nakhla tends to need a little more heat for me, but if I go a little too much, it gets really harsh and ruins the session.

[Bulldog_916]

Nakhla is like the Toyota of tobaccos. It can take a beating and go forever. I love how it can take the heat where most other shishas would burn. Feel free to pack some heat on your bowl. If it's a deeper bowl, you might need even more coal. For example, the mya bowls are deeper, you might need some more substantial heat to get it started and keep it going. Even then, you might have a lot of unburned shisha left on the bottom. Enjoy it.

[newjacksm]

So i smoked about 3-5 packings of the mango it seems like it does need a little heat but once I introduce that heat to it (2 cocos on a KM Egyptian bowl) i get a bit of a burnt taste to it with not much clouds. Any suggestions?

[ryno]

So i smoked about 3-5 packings of the mango it seems like it does need a little heat but once I introduce that heat to it (2 cocos on a KM Egyptian bowl) i get a bit of a burnt taste to it with not much clouds. Any suggestions?

Try one with a windcover or rotate the coals more often

[head_in_a_cloud]

Another noob question: What is the purpose of acclimating the shisha, and how is this done? I use more Nakhla than any other brand. Peach is the flavor that hooked me.