dizzing Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 well, today i decided to try something that i've always wanted to but never had the initiative. i decided to make some of my own ma'assel. i went to the store and got some honey, molasses, prince albert's pipe tobacco, some french vanilla flavoring. and some glycerine. man, nobody told me glycerine came in little rectal syringe applicator things. that was fun to buy i'm sure if i go to a real pharmacy or GNC or the like i can find a regular jar or bottle or whatever, but these contained only water and glycerine so they were the best i could get. (it was either that or rectal suppositories with extra ingredients ). plus the applicators are similar to eyedroppers, so it's easy to drop into ma'assel - i will have to try this stuff to ressurect some dried out tobacco sometime.anyway, to begin i took what i thought would be about 2 bowl packs of tobacco (it turned out to be only a little more than one by the time i was finished). i rinsed them with some cold tap water for a brief period (less than a miute) [i'd like to try some better water, maybe filtered at least, but i don't think it matters much at this stage] and drained the excess water. i then added about a spoonful of honey and maybe half a tablespoon of molasses. the molasses is very strong, so i didn't use much - seems like it doesn't take that much anway, the more you use the more sweetness is imparted, but other than that it seems pointless. i added maybe 10 or 12 drops of the french vanilla flavoring [i picked up some rum flavoring to try sometime as well, we'll see about that some other day] and mixed it together as well as i could. there was a TON of moisture in the stuff at this point, which is exactly what i wanted. i put the gloppy mess in a pot on the stove, turned the heat on low/medium, and started stirring. after maybe 3-4 minutes most of the excess moisture was gone (i'd like to reduce it a lot further in the future, this seems to be the most important step in imparting a flavor/sweetness). i placed what i had into a coffee filter and wrung it out so thatl it was the consistency of very slightly moist pipe tobacco (visually very similar to the original, just a little darker and damper).. i tried using the oven to dry it further but this wasn't very fruitful. i put the tobacco in a bowl, then added about another spoonful of honey (actually probably a bit less) and dropped some of the glycerine into it. it took more glycerine than i thought it would to offset the immense stickiness of the honey, perhaps 15-20 drops total (i think if i streamline the process these figures could all change dramatically), and about 5 -6 more drops of vanilla flavor just for the heck of it (i wasn't happy with the amount i'd cooked into it). after mixing this stuff up with my fingers, i was left with....something that was almost tthe EXACT same consistency as al-fakher. whodathunkit?? i pressed it together and mixed ita bit, and let it sit out for a few minutes, but i am just far too impatient so i took half the mix and put it into a hookah. incredible. used a 33mm three kings disc on it, broken into quarters, and put my windscreen over it. the bowl was only half full, so this extra heat was probably not entirely necessary but i had to use it to get smoke. the smoke was PERFECT. it was about nakhla-like in the smoke color and texture, but there was a good bit more smoke than i usually get from nakhla. it was INCREDIBLY smooth, i attribute this to the extensive rinsing i did to the tobacco. the flavor, once it got going, was a very mild caramelly-tobaccoey-vanillaey note similar to the smell, which smelled like a baking vanilla cake. the vanilla was really not very pronounced, but it was definitely there, and the sweetness was very subdued (i think this is directly proportionate to how much molasses you cook into the tobacco initially.) it lasted as long as i would expect any ma'assel to last, much to my surprise - i smoked it for about 30 minutes on that 33mm 3kings and then put it down because it was getting weak. since the bowl was only perhpas half full, i was pleasantly surprised. i expected the flavor to burn off immediately, especially since i didn't let the tobacco sit for any appreciable amount of time. i've never smoked vanilla ma'assel from any company, but as far as a very mild vanilla tobacco, this is exactly what i would expect to get. smooth, nice smoke volume, and a delightful subtle sweet vanilla tobacco taste, a cross between captain black royal and vanilla cake and i know prince alberts has some casing, but i think the cold water rinse took care of most of that. i didn't notice any problems, it tasted as i would expect ma'assel to taste. i was surprised that the cut looked just like fakher once the process was complete, because it sure didn't resemble any sort of ma'assel when i started . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzing Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 oh yeah, i forgot to mention the buzz! definitely cleaner than nakhla. i like it a lot, in fact... very strong but never intrusive - nice, calming, relaxing - the way hookah smoking should be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzing Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 [damn the fact that there's no edit button!]haha, i just wanted to add that this really makes me appreciate what goes into making good ma'assel . it would take a whole lot of talent, creativity, ingenuity, and brute force experimentation to make any flavor good enough for release standards. tangiers, many props to you. it's weird, definitely easier than you'd think to make , but far more complicated than i'd ever dreamed.. like they say about chess, minutes to learn, a lifetime to master... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Really cool man... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashman19 Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 So how long until we start seeing a Dizzing brand of ma'assel I was very surprised to see that you actually got some decent flavor out of it, and especially that the flavor lasted decently throughout the session, very cool stuff. Do you think you will try to make fruit flavors in the future? Also, what kind of a shelf life does this homemade stuff have? Do the big brands like Nahkla or AF add perservatives to make their stuff last 1-3 years+? Because of this homemade stuff doesn't have a long shelflife, you'd have to make the stuff in very small batches so it doesn't go bad right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzing Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 you're asking me questions that are beyond me, but i am pretty sure they do use preservatives, yes ....as for fruit, yeah i'd like to try it, if i can get my hands on some good flavoring.as for the fact that it actually worked, yeah, i'm probably more surprised than you anyway, i just mixed up a little bit of rum flavored tobacco, i'm gonna leave that to marry for a little while and then try it - i'll be sure to let you know what happens.and other than for curiosity's sake and perhaps an interesting hobby, i'll leave this up to the professionals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavlakos_politakos Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 instead of fruit flavoring why dont you get some fruit preserves?not sure how well it would work but youd definently have a more natural smoke.very cool by the way.i tried once to make my own and never again.i bought a big block of "persian"tobacco(extremely dry) and added honey and vanilla extract.tasted like sh*t,smelled like sh*t and killed my throat.i didnt cook it or wash it or anything.maybe ill give it another shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahDuck Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Verrrry interesting. I think I might have to give this a shot one of these days =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 The preservative most of us use is called nicotine or molasses or both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahCaterpillar Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 How about adding liquor to the shisha such as chambord(rasberry) or frangelico(hazelnut) grand marnier(orange) baileys irish cream, whiskey, etc.. or would it flame up and not be good at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzing Posted February 11, 2006 Author Share Posted February 11, 2006 well there's alcohol in some of the flavoring i use, it doesn't really matter, it just gets cooked off in the production. that might work, i don't know how those tastes would translate to smoke.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 The alcohol will evaporate, if left for some time, leaving the flavor behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpico Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 Wow, I am so going to have to try this one of these days.I wonder how Omaha Steaks All Natural Steak Seasoning would taste when made into a hookah flavor..hmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartvarg1 Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 [quote name='surfpico']Wow, I am so going to have to try this one of these days.I wonder how Omaha Steaks All Natural Steak Seasoning would taste when made into a hookah flavor..hmmm...[/quote]im gonna put that in the "great ma'assel ideas that will(and probably should) never happen" i.e my olde e 800 flavor idea...great write-up! one day when i get some time and money i'm totally ging to have to try this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahCaterpillar Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 haha so nasty steak seasoning! in the eggnog shisha forum someone wanted a gyro flavored shisha. As far as seasoning if you added some cumin to your shisha i bet it would taste like a gyro that is the main seasoning that goes into most middle eastern cuisine that and cardamom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahCaterpillar Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 Theres a really good hookah store next to the hookah bars i goto in VA and they sell molasses and then they have all kinds of flavored syrups in glass jars so you can make your own shisha. I was about to buy some but i realized the glass jar's metal lid was popped open you know how it says if this seal is popped up do not buy. So i was sketched out to buy it. The jars are also always covered in dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApoC Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 awesome, im gonna make some BBQ sauce flavored shisha!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzing Posted February 12, 2006 Author Share Posted February 12, 2006 [quote name='surfpico']I wonder how Omaha Steaks All Natural Steak Seasoning would taste when made into a hookah flavor..hmmm...[/quote][quote name='ApoC']awesome, im gonna make some BBQ sauce flavored shisha!!!!!![/quote]oh...my..... god.........what have i done......? everyone, please, don't do what i did. i was wrong. it blew up my kitchen. it's bad.. you will die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LB] Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 im actually going to get some barbeque sauce and some pipe tobacco and make some bbq shisha. just watch me im %100 serious, i dont think theres enough meat flavor in our shisha these days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LB] Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 thanks for the process by the way dizzing, im gonna try to replicate your method Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavlakos_politakos Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 i was the gyro guy buy the way.and dizz i have a question.did you use vanilla extract or what? cause i did but it didnt exactly work out.if not what did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashman19 Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 [quote name='[lebanese_blonde']]im actually going to get some barbeque sauce and some pipe tobacco and make some bbq shisha. just watch me im %100 serious, i dont think theres enough meat flavor in our shisha these days[/quote] Holy sh*t...LB, I'm gunna need a full report and feedback on your patented bbq flavor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahCaterpillar Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 That sounds really disgusting to me but if you actually do it let us know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavlakos_politakos Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 yea i agree.i might puke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApoC Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 oh man i totally think honey bbq sauce flavored shisha would be delicious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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