Brand New To The Forum And To Hookah! Advice?

[Skunkle]

I'm really overwhelmed by all the advice. Very glad I started posting here - I looked at a few other hookah discussion groups, joined one other but didn't find nearly as much information as here.

Mya QR it is. Hookah-shisha.com. Best price I find on a two-hose, and that cage carrier idea is growing on me.

Aside from Tangiers which gets a lot of attention and rave reviews... What might be considered the 'premium' shisha of shishas? Is Al Waha or Al Fakher one of them?

[mattathayde]

I'm really overwhelmed by all the advice. Very glad I started posting here - I looked at a few other hookah discussion groups, joined one other but didn't find nearly as much information as here.

Mya QR it is. Hookah-shisha.com. Best price I find on a two-hose, and that cage carrier idea is growing on me.

Aside from Tangiers which gets a lot of attention and rave reviews... What might be considered the 'premium' shisha of shishas? Is Al Waha or Al Fakher one of them?

the main go to shishas are going to be AF, starbuzz, nakhla and tangiers, then there are the kind of so so ones that some people love and smoke a lot and others dont like them those being al waha, hooah-hookah (and all variations there of) , havana, romman

there are other bands but for the most part they are not huge names at least in the states

now the thing that really matters is what you like, if you think havana trumps starbuzz then smoke havana, etc
-matt

[Zinite]

I'm really overwhelmed by all the advice. Very glad I started posting here - I looked at a few other hookah discussion groups, joined one other but didn't find nearly as much information as here.

Mya QR it is. Hookah-shisha.com. Best price I find on a two-hose, and that cage carrier idea is growing on me.

Aside from Tangiers which gets a lot of attention and rave reviews... What might be considered the 'premium' shisha of shishas? Is Al Waha or Al Fakher one of them?

Al Fakher and Nakhla are the most popular. Nakhla is the cheapest at about 6 or 7 dollars for 250g. All brands have hits and misses with flavors. Starbuzz is about twice as much as other brands, but for the same quality (or worse).

Tangiers has a large learning curve for some. Master Al Fakher or Nakhla, then take on Tangiers.

You'll love the Mya QT!

[Giant Ninja Robot]

Well hey I'm glad everything went well with the ordering.

for the record the term is NHT - non-hookah tobacco

Premium shisha is a relative term. I actually prefer nakhla for many flavors which I can find for 5 bucks and can be had online for 5-7 per 250g. AF has been having quality issues with their product, you never know what you're gonna get. Tang is a must if you can get the methods down, Eric has great quality control. I also like certain Starbuzz flavors although it's too expesive and tends to wane in flavor quickly. Fusion is hit or miss, some flavors are strong as all can be some are weak at best.

You'd be better asking what everyone thinks smokes well, or just asking for favorites.

good luck!

[slingham]

It really comes down to personal preference. Since joining the forum I've mainly been smoking AF, SB, an Fusion. Personally my favorite is Fusion but it doesn't seem to be to popular on here. Just keep buying 50g samples, find your favorites, and then begin you kilo collection. I just realized last night I'm up to 2 kilos of shisha.

[Skunkle]

By the way, is it "M-eye-ah" or "m-ee-ah"?

[modisess]

meeeeeyaaaa i think

[mattathayde]

in johns videos form hokahjohn he says meee-ah but every one in my area says mi-ah/ my-uh

-matt

[slingham]

I think it's my-uh

[Skunkle]

Okay, all set. I'm picking up the Mya QT two-hose in cobalt blue, a $4 plain brown Egyptian bowl, and a Phunnel - whatever size it is they sell - a real Phunnel, not a generic. Took Cherry and Double Apple as Romman flavors - they're only samples, if I don't like them I'll give them to someone else. I'm really looking forward to this. Got two friends I'm going to invite over for my first session, one of them has smoked hookah before and enjoyed it.

I think I'll enjoy this one. Just gotta find a name for it... Nothing inanimate I own - save childhood plushies - has a name, but my friends usually name their cars, and I don't drive. Nothing better to name than my hookah.

I think this little guy will be a hit at parties, but I'll have to make up a little rules list to tell... Number one, naturally, is that no one touches, moves, adjusts the hookah without my permission. That should be common sense, but it'll be told to everyone. Break it more than once, and no hookah for you. And as much as they're not necessary, I like the sound of the traditional rule of setting down the hose when you're done or, at least, passing it pointing at yourself. Is tapping the hand of the giver to indicate 'thank you' actually done anywhere, or is that just a myth? I'm, known in local circles for an affinity for old-fashioned gentlemanly things done for the sake of doing them, and this sounds like my kind of teensy-weensy step back to older decorum.

[Zinite]

I think tapping the hand is an older Arabic tradition, definitely not practiced by the majority of modern day American smokers.

[mattathayde]

Okay, all set. I'm picking up the Mya QT two-hose in cobalt blue, a $4 plain brown Egyptian bowl, and a Phunnel - whatever size it is they sell - a real Phunnel, not a generic. Took Cherry and Double Apple as Romman flavors - they're only samples, if I don't like them I'll give them to someone else. I'm really looking forward to this. Got two friends I'm going to invite over for my first session, one of them has smoked hookah before and enjoyed it.

I think I'll enjoy this one. Just gotta find a name for it... Nothing inanimate I own - save childhood plushies - has a name, but my friends usually name their cars, and I don't drive. Nothing better to name than my hookah.

I think this little guy will be a hit at parties, but I'll have to make up a little rules list to tell... Number one, naturally, is that no one touches, moves, adjusts the hookah without my permission. That should be common sense, but it'll be told to everyone. Break it more than once, and no hookah for you. And as much as they're not necessary, I like the sound of the traditional rule of setting down the hose when you're done or, at least, passing it pointing at yourself. Is tapping the hand of the giver to indicate 'thank you' actually done anywhere, or is that just a myth? I'm, known in local circles for an affinity for old-fashioned gentlemanly things done for the sake of doing them, and this sounds like my kind of teensy-weensy step back to older decorum.

ive never seen any one do the tap but i also have not smoked with any one really from the middle east. no one i smoke with does the hose down or pointed back honestly, but i usually pass the hose pointed back to me. as to the breaking it thing, i dont care if my friends break my hookah, but its the you break it you buy it rule, no questions asked. honestly with the stuff that is traditional its kind of d-bagish to get mad at people if they dont follow that if you are not of a culture where those traditions were followed, so if you and your close group want to follow that more power to you but dont expect random friends that come over to follow it.

hope you like your rig
-matt

[Skunkle]

I won't *expect* people to follow it, esp. at parties, but then, with my close friends, most of them enjoy the older unusual stuff I dig up.

And yes, you break it, you buy it, part or whole.

[Skunkle]

Even at parties, I may pass the hose with it facing me, and may mention that it's traditional decorum, but I'll nwever ASK others to do it - only mention it because I find such things interesting.

Party rules:
-- You break it, you bought it. No matter what it is.
-- Don't touch, move or adjust the hookah without permission. Even if you know, or think you know, how to do it.
-- If we're sitting on the floor, don't stand up hose-in-hand or step over the hookah.
-- If you're going to join in the session after we began, don't complain about the chosen shisha.
-- Use your mouthtip. Always. I don't care if "I swear I'm clean, really!" because that's not going to sway me. Are you the same guy who says you won't wear a condom because you "don't have ay STDs"? STFU.
-- Don't hit while others are hitting, please.
-- Don't bogart the hose. You're welcome to hold it two or so minutes and take your time, but then pass it on.
-- Do NOT blow into the hose. It isn't funny. Thank God my one friend who tells/does awful jokes/pranks, even if no one else likes them, because (as he openly states) "At least one of us thinks it's funny, and that's good enough" has asthma and won't be around it.
-- If we're outside, and you have asthma or can't handle smoke, and you can see we're smoking from a distance, don't come hang by us and them complain. If we're smoking indoors at a party (with permission) and more than a few complain, we'll be happy to move it outside; unless the host says "We stay, you go",. though even in that case I'll offer to go.
-- We're using mouth tips for a reason. Don't deepthroat the hose. Reminds me of the guy to whom I gave an extra Missouri Meerschaum. He claimed to be a pipe smoker. I had my doubts after he bit down on the stem...with two-thirds of it inside his mouth. And on that same note...
I may also grin at people who hold the hose like they're holding a microphone (or part of male anatomy). You 'use' the hose, you don't 'service' it. Won't get you kicked out or warned, it's not a "rule", but it looks silly and I reserve the right to get a chuckle out of it. Do you hold your cig that way, too?

I'll advise people of these at the start of a session. Save for no. 4, of which I'll inform you as soon as you sit down. Break one of these once, you'll get warned. I might give a second. Enough warnings, and no hookah for you. Sorry.

Am I forgetting anything...?

[Skunkle]

Keep looking at local Craigslist too. I swear there's going to be a fight if I keep seeing this one guy re-re-relist one under the title "hookah (NHT term that sounds like a bell)". It's getting more than annoying. Still, I'm going with the Hookah-shisha one, only way I'll buy local off CL is if it's (1) good-looking, (2) something I'd like an an extra unit and (3) VERY inexpensive. But oh, the stupidity of some of these sellers - I'm a beginner and I still facepalm when I read these.