Nakhla Double Apple

[JDHarding]

I've acclimated this double apple for 2 days now, then just finished smoking it out of my pipe.

I'm curious if the minty flavor I'm getting from it is normal. It's also not very sweet or strong flavored. I packed my funnel bowl almost to the top (so the coals don't burn the shisha), 1 layer of heavy duty foil, a 2 ring hole pattern, no middle blow hole, and 4 coco nara coals so hot they were on fire. At first the 4 coals were too much heat and the smoke was a bit harsh, but after a while they cooled down and it was better. But all I really got from the shisha was a minty kind of taste, and hardly any sweet or apple flavor. Is the shisha not acclimated enough? Do I need to do a "sprinkling" technique instead of the "drop in and light pack" technique? Does anyone else have trouble with double apple?

[Hippo_Master]

It doesn't really need to be acclimated at all. So that's not the problem.

What's your favorite mint shisha?

(seriously) Edited February 14, 2009 by Hippo_Master

[ColibriDon]

I always drop in and pack lightly.

Pack it to the top of the center hole using two circles of holes with four holes in between the two holes in a diamond pattern. Finish it off with three cocos in a triangle and smoke till you drop.

That's how I smoke DA and it works almost every time. I never acclimate it so don't worry about that. As far as the mint goes, it's probably just a ghost flavor in your hose or pipe, try washing out your pipe and running a brush through it and, if your hose is washable, rinse it out.

[JDHarding]

I did drop it in and pack it lightly.. I guess my hole pattern must not have been very good? 2 rings of holes is not enough? Should I use the scalli mod?

[Hippo_Master]

I think you need a good 'ol fashion hookah cleaning.

if you have a leather hose, it's probably a mint ghost flavor stuck in there. If you have a nammor or the likes, wash it out. Edited February 14, 2009 by Hippo_Master

[JDHarding]

I think you need a good 'ol fashion hookah cleaning.

My hookah's clean.. I clean it after every use. The hose, a nammor, is also clean.

Oh, and I don't smoke mint flavors.. I don't like them. Edited February 14, 2009 by JDHarding

[Hippo_Master]

Mont flavors don't appear from nowhere without there being mint somewhere. Does the DA smell like mint at all?

It should basically taste like a ton of licorice and a bit of apple.

[JDHarding]

Licorice.. ya know, I think that's what the minty flavor is. It's a licorice type flavor, but a spicy licorice. Like black licorice. I mistook it for mint.

Since this is molasses based, and I'm used to honey based shishas, that's probably why it's tasting like black licorice. Edited February 14, 2009 by JDHarding

[Hippo_Master]

Licorice, in mixes with certain other flavors, can have the non-cooling mint-like taste, more like a cardamom than a mint; so it may be mixing with the other flavors in the bowl or something, who knows. I would say keep smoking it until you can taste it like it's suppose to be tasted.

There's a thread in which people state they have a single hookah used for Nakhla DA.

[JDHarding]

Just packed my little glass hookah-style pipe with this shisha and I can deffinately taste licorice this time. This smaller pipe allows me to taste the shisha better.

[ryno]

Try using it in an Egyptian head. I've found it smokes and taste better in those over phunnels

[ilikemyusername]

methinks its the anise flavor. its kinda "minty" in the back of your throat. i hate anise myself, so an apple flavor that didnt taste like butt would be nice.

[Giant Ninja Robot]

I've found Nak DA to have much less of an anise presence than any other DA flavor so I dunno.

The Nakhla DA I've had has had a predominant and slightly sour apple flavor with a nice anise backdrop.

[JDHarding]

I actually wasn't using enough shisha in the bowl, and this bowl seems to require the scalli mod by bending a tealight base into a scalli mod shape. I tried this in my little glass pipe and decided to go heavy on the shisha packing. It made sucking more difficult, but the flavor was intense. Black licorice and sort of a sour apple thing going on, but the black licorice over-powered the flavor. I think their molasses to flavoring ratio might be off.

[Bulldog_916]

Do with the Egyptian bowl. Trust me. I use it over a phunnel and never have a problem with Nakhla DA. Tastes sweet, anise and apple undertones, delicious.