Drying Shisha

[fcbayern]

Ok so I went to my local HB today to p/u sum Sb.. I got into a conversation with the owner about AF grape. To make a long story short,, he told me I didnt know how to pack shisha. I was like "why do you say that". He said " you need to dry it".. I thought he meant acclimate it. after not understanding he proceeds to take me to the back where they prep the bowls,, and shows me, they spread the shisha in the counter and press a kitchen towel on top of it to dry it.. I asked " you do this with everything?" he said "yes even SB"..

So has anyone ever heard of this? tried this? This goes against everything I've been tought about shisha..Shisha is supposed to have juices.. What are your thoughts?

I have to add, I have never actually sat down and smoked a bowl at this place (maybe I should). I have taken a drag here and there of what he maybe smoking to get a taste of a flavor or mix.

Do you guys suggest I try this?

[SilentBob]

have never done this or heard of it being done

[Sonthert]

I have heard of it and even seen it, but I don't advise it.

If you ask any MOST middle eastern people, they know more about chess, backgammon and shisha than I do. I'm not convinced of it, since I'm pretty good at chess and backgammon.

[Scoop]

ive seen this, but logically this seems completely backwards.

i had a friend who put sprinkle water on the bowl before putting foil on. dont ask me why...he thought it was a good idea to get the juice to drip outta the bowl lol

[DrunK]

ive seen this, but logically this seems completely backwards.

i had a friend who put sprinkle water on the bowl before putting foil on. dont ask me why...he thought it was a good idea to get the juice to drip outta the bowl lol

haha how did that work out for him?

[Hippo_Master]

This isn't Mclelland Christmas Cheer... Jesus! This guy's an idiot.

[SuburbanSmoker]

just because they do it at one bar, or however many doesnt mean its the correct thing to do. its sad, but most of the HB;s around me have no clue about half the shit they do.

however hookah smoking is a personal hobby, some people have different ways of doing things. what may seem silly to most(like drying shisha...) seems like the right thing to do(when obviously its not.)

[inino]

ive seen this before too. more smoke less lasting bowl. long story short not a good idea.

[BaronIV]

personally this just sounds like hes trying to make the bowls not last as long so he can sell more... just me though

[fcbayern]

I have heard of it and even seen it, but I don't advise it.

If you ask any MOST middle eastern people, they know more about chess, backgammon and shisha than I do. I'm not convinced of it, since I'm pretty good at chess and backgammon.

I think this guy might know what he's talking about
So I will take his advice, if he says not to try then thats all I need!!!!!!

[ilikemyusername]

seems pretty smart from a lounge owners point of view, of course, knowing this, its not a lounge i care to go to.
double edged sword that could potentially be crammed up his ass

[antouwan]

i've heard this before being done at lounges and cafes, there are a few reasons for it, i'm sure economis is one, but another has to do with juices getting everywhere (which i personally doesn't happen to me, but think about all the bowls they pack/day)

meh, it's probably economics

[gunsboy]

Some very moist shisha like the bottom of the AF double apple 1 kg bag needs to be squeezed or else it does not taste good.

It drips too much if you don't and for some reason it tastes like burnt shisha too soon.

I squeeze it and dry it then spread it before pack the bowl. But I only do this if it very moist.

[Scoop]

the flavor and smoke aspects of the tobacco come from the juice. lol@ soaking it

[delSol_si]

Ahh, I was talking with one of the guys I smoke hookah with and he said this exact same thing. We just had spring break not too long ago and when we came back, he said he went to a HB and was watching them pack the bowl. He noticed them extracting the juices with a towel and asked about it. They said it makes it smoke better and last longer or something like that. I thought it was a bullshit idea, but went ahead and tried it myself.

I didn't use an actual towel, just paper towels. I notice that yes, it actually does seem to produce better, denser, more smoke. BUT, I noticed a lack in flavor when doing this. I had some Layalina strawberry shisha that was sooo moist that I couldn't even get it started, may try doing it to this stuff. I did notice as well that the bowl doesn't last nearly as long when extracting the juices either. Overall, I like this method.

My main goal when smoking is to get as much smoke and as dense of clouds as possible. I don't mind sacrificing a little flavor for better clouds. I also don't really care to smoke the same flavor for very long anyway, so the duration isn't a big deal to me either. So in summary of using this method:

Smoke: more smoke
Flavor: slightly less
Duration: bit shorter
Overall: good IMO

Word of caution: if your supply of shisha is limited, I would advice against doing this method as you do waste some shisha as specs of remain on the towel (unless you want to waste time on picking every little piece off, which I don't)

[Charley]

i have seen this before as well but when i saw it they also just broke there coal up and actually mixed it into the shisha.

[erufiku]

i have seen this before as well but when i saw it they also just broke there coal up and actually mixed it into the shisha.

wtf? i hope this is a joke

[contristo]

i have seen this before as well but when i saw it they also just broke there coal up and actually mixed it into the shisha.

mmm... choco-coal flavor

that's very odd though. I have never heard of this drying technique, but if such an alteration really enhanced the hookah, wouldn't the main shisha manufacturers just put less molasses in? it would cut down the cost of production if it really worked.

but as everyone said, it's all in the hobby. i'm a guy who values taste most, but for someone who just enjoys chilling and watching the smoke rings (which is fun as well), maybe this technique works. at a hookah bar though, i'm surprised he would engage in this sort of practice. all the HB I go to just want it to be as flavorful as possible