$20 Shisha

[evilded777]

Excluding Tangiers, which to me is really in a class all by itself (and usually does not reach the $20+ mark anyway), what's the deal with $20 tobacco?

Starbuzz, Romman, Java, et al

I have some Romman... just bought 3 250g containers on kind of a nostaglic whim and because I had really enjoyed some of their flavors. Really disappointed when I got it, though... and not over the tobacco itself so much as the packaging.

I've not gotten any of the other $20 tobaccos. It seems a lot to me ... especially when there is Nakhla, and AF, and even some AW out there that is HALF of the price, has better packaging in many ways, and smokes ... ummm... at least as well, better, lots better, in some cases?

Thoughts, opinions, other bon mots?

[Hippo_Master]

I think the main idea with Starbuzz, Fantasia, etc. are the flavors that you won't find in the brands that have been around longer. The ones named after drinks or exotic fruits or deserts or candy or odd mixes.

When people buy blue mist, even though it deosn't taste like actual blueberries, it's a sweet and syrupy and minty experience, and it provides clouds. People love candy flavors and clouds and SB is definitely good at that.

So is $20 shisha worth it? You are the only one that can judge that. Can you justify spending 20 - now 22 - bucks on a can of shisha? How long will it last you? Do you notice the chemical flavors? Is the aluminum tin it comes in worth the extra $$ you shell out for soemthing most people just throw away (hopefully in the recylcing bin...)? Is it the only brand that has the particular flavor?

There's a reason some flavors from SB don't have descriptions of what flavors they really are. They don't want you to be able to make your own mix of the flavor - and they want you to buy into the Mystique of the "new SB flavor!" when they do coem out.

[fcbayern]

Well I'm a die hard SB smoker.. There are a couple of reasons I smoke SB.
#1 it's easy and always reliable.. No Problems with acclimation like Tang and the quality is always there unlike AF
#2 I dont like the buzz associated with unwashed shisha, so this limits my shisha choices to SB, Lucid, and AF,, for the most part.
#3 its available locally,, so I dont mind Paying $20 for something I get right away,, Plus I can open up the tin and smell it (sometimes even smoke a sample) before I decide to buy it.

Basically the flavor and clouds are ALWAYS there with SB and its easy and forgiving to smoke.. Well worth the money in my oppinion..

[GreatPigHookah]

I don't care for the newer $20 tobaccos. I've tried Starbuzz, Fusion, Fantasia, etc. Sure they taste fine...I like some of their flavors, but the flavor lasts about 40-45 minutes, then goes away. I can smoke AF or Nakhla for twice as long from the same size bowl and the flavor holds up. Tangiers...It lasts so long I've never actually finished a bowl, I think. The flavors of these less expensive tobaccos are just as good, quality wise. I've been smoking for over 7 years and have never recieved a bad bag/tub of AF, Nakhla, or Tangiers. For me, there's just no reason to pay that much for 35 minutes of smoking when I can mix up something better for half the price or slightly more and smoke it for twice as long.

[phatlucyhookah]

I love a long smoke and am a Romman fan but with the price hike planning to give AF a chance - just ordered a 250 plus some Tang.

[phatlucyhookah]

I love a long smoke and am a Romman fan but with the price hike planning to give AF a chance - just ordered a 250 plus some Tang.

[jordanneff]

It's all personal preference I think. Starbuzz is good, fantasia is good, never had java and my experiences with Romman were less than thrilling but it all comes down to at the end of the day is do you think it is worth it. If you like a flavor so much that you'd spend $20 on a 250g (or god forbid more like with fantasia and fumari) then it's worth it.

In my personal opinion? No. I'm too cheap to buy that stuff. If someone has it then sure I'll smoke it, but I'm not going to go out and pay that much for shisha when I can get a flavorful and enjoyable smoke from brands like Nahkla, Al Fahker, Al Waha, Al Amir, and Tangiers. Heck, me and AKammenzind have a habit of measuring whether or not to get a more expensive shisha by how much Nahkla we can get for the same price (and sometimes it can be 250g vs a kilo of a nahkla flavor. 250g of anything vs a kilo of anything is almost always an easy decision for me )

But like I said, that's just personal preference. Personally, I'm kinda cheap, I'm a college student, and the idea of spending $20+ on 250g of shisha is just insane. If I had tons of cash to blow on it I probably wouldn't bat an eye at the idea, but for all cases it's just how much you're willing to pay for an enjoyable smoke. Edited April 1, 2009 by jordanneff

[SuburbanSmoker]

To each is own, as in your wallet, your decision. i personally cannot justify spending that much because i can get the same quality of smoke if not better for less.

[evilded777]

Pretty much how I feel... why spend it when there's stuff that is perfectly enjoyable, in some cases even better, for less money.

So glad I tried Nakhla, though... mmmm, mango

[cotsi95]

Shisha is worth whatever your willing to pay for it...we sell A LOT of sb at a higher cost then 22$ a 250. But it is a lounge

[ih303]

I agree with what everyone has said here, specifically about the duration of smoke and reliability. I'll add a few things, though.

Unique Flavors - There are only a couple of flavors I will buy from those brands including SB Blue Mist, RM Good Times, and RM Summer Crisp. I have not found these flavors in any other brand.

Reliability - It is absolutely true that these are fail-safe baccy's. I couldn't get Romman to get harsh if I tried. These brands seem to be the brands of choice for people just getting started and hookah bars. They are incredibly low maintenance and have a virtually non-existant margin of error.

When all is said and done, it really does come down to personal preference. Every flavor of Fantasia I've tried has tasted terribly like chemicals, and SB has the shortest flavor duration of any shisha I've ever tried. I'd say just smoke what you like and don't worry about the price. In the shisha world, you don't always get what you pay for but there are some cases where you do. I mostly smoke AF which is moderately priced and is top shelf quality, IMO. But that's just me. Keep on smoking and build your own opinion.

[gorillA]

The only reason I see is for the different flavors...the exotic, unique type of stuff that SB, Fusion, etc has that Nahkla, AF, Al Waha, and those types don't offer.

Very rarely for me is the $15+ difference between a Nahkla flavor and a "higher end" brand's same flavor worth it.



All in all, Nahkla all the way

[jezter6]

I'm just not into the hip 18-21 "designer" tobacco thing. I just don't get it one bit. It's all the same relative ingredients - why are some brands 2x the price of others? Fancy tin? fuck that.

Personally, I think starsucks blows balls, and I wouldn't smoke it if it was the same price as Nakhla - but at 2-3 times the price --- No flipping way.

[gorillA]

Personally, I think starsucks blows balls

that might be going a little far...it smokes well for me, but not for my wallet.

[jezter6]

It tastes like crap. Every time I smoke it, it has the same almost "powdery" aftertaste in my mouth. The blue mist was ok, pumpkin spice was all right - but I've never took a pull of SB and said "ZOMGWTFLOL!?!?!?!?!"

Each time I'm left dissapointed 35 minutes in when there's no flavor left.

[jeremyk]

I don't think 250g of hookah tobacco is worth $20+ when you can get nak, af, al amir, al wala, and what I consider to personally be the top tier of tobacco on the market, tangiers, for less that $13 and the others $10 and under! Nak is my new favorite tabacco and I got 4 kilos of it for $40 which would only buy you 500g of SB or any other $20+ shisha. Just not worth it to me but don't get me wrong SB has some great flavors just way to expensive for me.

[FactorE]

the worth really depends on each individual. But as for Starbuzz, personally I think its worth it and is also my number 1 smoke, because the quality is there and I never had a bad smoke, the flavors are consistant you get what you buy, most flavors are ok even if its bad not like epic fail, huge clouds, flavors no one else got, and no buzz.

[ilikemyusername]

people buy it, its our (myself excluded) fault.

[a_shimoon]

Price isn't an object when it comes to select tobacco for me. I'm from Canada, and I'm used to paying $70 for 250g.

With the internet, I can have any flavor of any brand for pretty much under $25 for 250g. Relatively, its all cheap as fuck.

It's all relative. You guys are used to paying under 10 bucks for Nakhla and AF. So when you see $20, you freak. I see $20, I buy in bulk.

[chinamon]

it all depends on the individual consumer. some people feel what they get for $20 is well worth it. others do not.

its kinda like the whole "organic" foods thing. some people feel its worth it while others do not.

personally, i think $20 hookah tobacco is not worth it. dont get me wrong, im not saying this because im cheap or poor, but i do believe in best bang for the buck.

[Scalliwag]

I'm basically a very easy going kinda guy but I'd kill a cute and small mammal for a bowl of SB Peach. I think I need therapy though

[jayeee07]

I'm really new so I've only had experience with starbuzz and what I think was AF. The starbuzz gave me thicker smoke and the unique flavors are nice, but today I decided to smoke some of the AF I had(250g's for like 6 bucks) and it was good, just a little less smoke. One convient thing is they sell starbuzz at the place where I buy my cigars, but its 14.99 for a 100g tin! I had a couple gift cerficiates and when I went in last time he told me about the tax hike and that they had 10% off that day, so I bought two tins of starbuzz. I probably should have bought 5 tins of Al Waha(same price) but the Al Waha was only 50g instead of 100 like starbuzz

[Hookie The Hookah]

Starbuzz always seems worth it to me, although I've been able to afford only a single 250g tin of it since I started smoking some four years ago... The thing is, while it is more expensive, I can pack significantly less in the bowl and still get huge long-lasting clouds. With starbuzz I just bust out my absolute smallest bowl and go to town. The 250g tin I bought (about two months ago) lasted me almost two weeks whereas any other 250g I've had lasts half as long. I'm not a stickler on flavor so long as it isn't harsh...

[alive]

I love nakhla. I've tried many starbuzz and AF flavors at the lounge near my house, and ive always enjoyed Nak more.

[shaffaaf27]

IMO SB is worth it.