Romman Lemonwood Coals

[Anxiety]

saw them on h-s.com and they looked somewhat cheap, i was just wondering if any one has ever tried them and how they compare to a coco or exotica?

[Barnaby]

saw them on h-s.com and they looked somewhat cheap, i was just wondering if any one has ever tried them and how they compare to a coco or exotica?

I have tried them. The biggest problem with them is their inconsistency of size. They range from being completely unusable as they're so small, to being large 2 inch diameter chunks, that you need to hit with a hammer to break up, thus getting some usable, and alot unusable.

The heat is also inconsistent, so greater heat managment will be necessary from them. I bought a bag when I first got my hookah as they are cheap, and got good reviews on H-S.com's site. But considering that is their product, they try and pimp it hard. I still have a little of these, and I use them when I run out of cocos. When I run out of the romman coals, I will never buy them again, as their complete randonmeness of being any what useful and their complete frustration they cause trying to use them, as they will typically burn uneven, or go out atlot, make them not worth it.

They do not impart any flavor though, so that's nice, but like I said. You don't know what you are going to get. With coco's and exotics, you can atleast know that ok.. I need to put x amount on them on this type of bowl, with this type of shisha. And it's the same everytime. With the Romman coals, it's a guessing game, and more likely than not, you will get a shitty session.

Hope this helps..

[jezter6]

+1. Everything he said is absolutely accurate.
It's such a pain that you have all these wasted shards of crap and this monster log that you have to hammer - only to have it burst into unusable slivers.

I like how they work once lit, however getting to that point is miserable.

[MrMoodz]

I have some olive wood coals that are like those. They look like tree branches and are inconsistent in size. The trick is to use the hammer once they are lit rather than before. I have a deep cooking pot that i use to break them up in so that pieces of hot coal doesn't go flying everywhere. This way you aren't wasting as much.

[Barnaby]

For the time and energy, and frustration of getting them going right, you could've been smoking it right with some cocos and having a blast.. Or if you are more money conscious, get you some exoticas..

[inino]

i disagree with everyone before me. i think they are amazing. yes they are a little bit of a hassle. you need a small oudoor burner to get them lit, and a coal holder. but they give no added flavor. heat management is not hard at all. you just take 3 bigger chunks or 4 smaller chunks and you will get good smoke. i stopped using the romman lemonwood, but i use stuff similar that i get from smart and final for cheaper. i would say get a bag and try them out for yourself, i know you will like them.

[Barnaby]

To each his own I guess. I just like not have to fish throw the whole bag, worry about breaking up too big of pieces, throwing away alot of pieces, as their 2 small, and having to play around with the coals way more than I have to. If none of this bothers you, then yes, they are great if you get them going.

But there are alternatives that are alittle pricier, but they give you the same experience every single time. This to me is worth it to pick up some cocos. I already put too much time and effort to setup the hookah, and do proper heat managment with the cocos. Throwing in a heat source that is never the same is just one more step that I prefer not to have to deal with.

Considering though that these things are like 5 bux a bag, give it a try. You don't stand to lose much if you don't like them.

[Big Boss]

I used them once. Like above, the size of the coals can be quite random. Some being huge and some being tiny. Out of all the coals I've used, they're the only ones that were completely odorless.

[no longer welcome]

obviously i am biased towards coals but before I was in the business my go to coals were always bulk natural. It does take extra work and time. I liked to light a couple of handfuls over fire and put them all into a charcoal holder with a handle and them swing them in a circular motion to get them red hot. When they are red hot you tap them with tongs and they break easier. This method is good when you have multiple hookah smokers as you need to always be using a lot. Some brands are better than others and I've tried a bunch along the way. If you need a quick fix these aren't for you, but they are as natural as they get and traditional imo as well.

[srawas89]

Hookah john you could not have said it any better, in my opinion its all about how many hookahs are going and how frequently they are being smoked, if you smoke alot many of the natural coals end up costing you a lot of money in the long run. I can Romman lemon wood charcoal for like $5 a bag and each is a kilo, I used them at a hookah event that I help set up and they worked great. For personal use tho I would agree and say that I would not use them but if you are tending to large amounts of people or hookahs say at least like 3 hookahs I would recommend using it especially if you are going to do that kind of thing very frequently.

[Stuie]

i think i am gonna order a bag, just to try. I just bought a nifty little thing I will share later when it gets here perfect for bulk coals.

[Anxiety]

ahh thanks for all your input, money isn't the problem but over the summer i do have alot of people over who want to smoke so i guess having 3 hookahs that would be a pretty good way to go

stuie lemme know how it works out for you

[cb1021]

i ordered 3 bags....

flavor good, heat is good (coconaras are TOO hot). plus when they ash, you can eat the ash, it's so clean.

the size is inconsistent, but on a positive note, i sometimes enjoy managing heat.

[jeremyk]

yeah used the romman natural coals for a while and compared to coco naras they are no where near them. From my experiences that were super messy being that that are always in huge chunks which had to be broken down, they ash all over the place and spark really bad one bag we had smoked really bad the entire time they were lit.

[Ralleac]

saw them on h-s.com and they looked somewhat cheap, i was just wondering if any one has ever tried them and how they compare to a coco or exotica?

I like them better than exoticas and japanese style coals. I tend to prefer bulk natural coals, though. They're definitely more of a pain, but I think it's worth it. One downside is that there are some bad coals in most bags that will burn like wood.

I haven't tried coco's so I can't comment on those. Edited November 19, 2008 by Ralleac