First Post And A Call For Help

[Lunatic768]

grumble grumble
i just smoked some Nakhla lemon and strawberry mix
no flavor
nice smoke
so frustrating
next bowl i smoke there is just gonna be a shitload of pictures i guess
i used one coal, two coals, single foil double foil heavy pack, less heavy pack
i do need a toothpick or somehting because there was a lot of ash in my shisha
i finally said fuck it and had a djarum black
less hassle, more flavor
but i want this shit to work

[alibaba]

I'll weigh in with the little experience I have...


Try acclimating your shisha... I put mine in a wide Tupperware and let it sit for 15-20min out in the open. Then when I actually smoked, i made sure to mix the shisha really well so that it's wet. It helped a lot with the taste! No more roughness and more taste (I got the roughness and the lack of taste with my phunnel when i first got it!)

I'm gonna smoke some Al Amir Grape tonight, see how this goes.

[alibaba]

Well, I tried the Grape again... and I'm disappointed.

Packed it tight but not rock solid, poked toothpick sized holes all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Damn thing didn't have much flavor. Lots of smoke but no flavor, I tried with one coal and mediocre smoke barely any flavor, then i put 1.5 coals and got decent smoke but still not that much flavor (Jap coals btw). I smoked for about an hour or so... and the top half of the bowl was black while the bottom was still red when i was done.

I'll try it again tomorrow and i'll pack it a bit lighter...

[Lunatic768]

alibaba
you and i seem to have the Exact same problem
i do all the things you do (except acclimating, that'll be my next try)
and we both get no flavor

[alibaba]

To tell you the truth... even lounge shisha doesn't taste very ... flavorful. I've been to a couple here and non have made me go WOW!!!!!

Either we're expecting too much or we're doing something wrong.

BTW... i have to mention that i don't pack the whole phunnel with shisha, I pack about 1/5th of it. The phunnel is WAY too big to be packed fully and smoked in one sitting. I would waste a lot of shisha this way. (There's a mod in the How-To section about how to do this by LongJohnHookah)

But yeah, the acclimation helped a bit, but not as much as I would like. I'm gonna pack it a little lighter and quite a bit below the rim. I'm also gonna try packing it all around the bottom of the bowl but just a thin layer... i'm gonna see how that works.

[BLUE&GOLD]

To tell you the truth... even lounge shisha doesn't taste very ... flavorful. I've been to a couple here and non have made me go WOW!!!!!

Either we're expecting too much or we're doing something wrong.

BTW... i have to mention that i don't pack the whole phunnel with shisha, I pack about 1/5th of it. The phunnel is WAY too big to be packed fully and smoked in one sitting. I would waste a lot of shisha this way. (There's a mod in the How-To section about how to do this by LongJohnHookah)

But yeah, the acclimation helped a bit, but not as much as I would like. I'm gonna pack it a little lighter and quite a bit below the rim. I'm also gonna try packing it all around the bottom of the bowl but just a thin layer... i'm gonna see how that works.

I know what you're talkin' about...I always get thick smoke but no flavor(except mint) or just a hint of flavor.
BUT i have had extremely flavorful smoke sessions twice on my old hookah and it was amazing. Never have been able to replicate it tho. It was thick, and flavorful(almost to the point of where it was almost like taking a bite out of a fruit). EXTREMELY ENJOYABLE.
Maybe our taste buds are shot....
Trying to replicate those 2 sessions are the only thing keeping me interested in Hookah.

[Lunatic768]

Trying to replicate those 2 sessions are the only thing keeping me interested in Hookah.

same here
i brought mine to my friend and he got it to smoke fantastic
i'm just trying to copy that one smoke

[Sylren]

This probably won't be a popular opinion, but get some starbuzz. The flavors are really strong and it's almost impossible to eff up. Blue mist is the best. I usually have crappy, flavorless, smokeless sessions when I smoke Nahkla. And to me the AF flavors don't really taste like what they are supposed to.

[Nikon1323]

ok man idk if anyone else said this but i had the same problem with my mya qt....when you pack the bowl do it lightly like everyone has said but make sure you take some tooth picks and slide them through the shisha and out the 5 holes on the bottom of the mya bowl... those bowls are terrible and wont heat up the bottom shisha instead they just burn the top unless you put those holes through for the heat to move to the bottom of the bowl...try that

[mattarios2]

This probably won't be a popular opinion, but get some starbuzz. The flavors are really strong and it's almost impossible to eff up. Blue mist is the best. I usually have crappy, flavorless, smokeless sessions when I smoke Nahkla. And to me the AF flavors don't really taste like what they are supposed to.

sounds like you aren't packing nakhla quite right

lunatic ... def pack lightly then slightly push down with your palm, and as others have said ... ditch the coals.

alibaba ... what kind of jap coals are you using?

[alibaba]

alibaba ... what kind of jap coals are you using?

Golden Canary Japanese Coals

[4d1ct3d]

Ei Lunatic just ditch the mya bambino's stock bowl. It is a really terrible bowl. It is really thin and the holes are really small which makes it almost impossible to smoke finner cut, wetter shishas (such as AF or Layalina).

If you want to perfect your packing technique with a regular bowl before moving to a funnel just get a standard egyptian clay bowl. It will give you better results.

However, if you still want to give a try with your bambino bowl, I suggest you smoke Nakhla. This is how I do it:

1 - Get your tobacco and your bowl. I'm using Nakhla Sweet Melon.



2 - Pack your bowl. Just sprinkle the tobacco a little under the rim. Don't pack it down or it will ruin the airflow on this bowl. Remember the bowl has really tiny holes. It's very important that you leave some space between the tobacco and the foil or you will burn it.



3 - Double foil and make lots of tiny holes. This will prevent from hot ash to fall through the foil and burn your bowl.



4 - Assemble your pipe. Make sure it is clean and airtight.

5 - I understand you use 3 kings. Break a coal in half and light both pieces.



6 - Put each piece on opposite sides of the bowl. Keep them in the sides and don't let them get to the middle of the bowl (they tend to do this). Remember you want to cook your tobacco, not to burn it.



7 - Make a windover out of foil. If you feel that the tobacco isn't producing much smoke put the windcover on. If the smoke is getting harsh take the windcover off and move the coals towards the side of the bowl. Ash the coals regularly.

8 - Enjoy! You won't be getting big fuck-off clouds, but if you follow these steps you'll have a good, relaxing and flavorfull session




9 - Really, get a funnel bowl. It will make your packing and heat manegement much easier. And your sessions will be more flavorfull and last longer too!

Hope this helps

[alibaba]

Nice writeup 4d1ct3d !!

I wish I could good results out of my phunnel without filling it all up (I never tried filling all of it since it holds WAY more shisha than i smoke in a session).

I'll take a few pics of my next load and post em up here, maybe you guys can point out what i'm doing wrong...

[4d1ct3d]

I forgot to say, but you should not take too many drags/puffs repeatdly. As you are using a thin little bowl, this would cause excess heat making you're tobacco to cook faster and eventually burn, producing harsh smoke.

So, take your time with relaxed intervaleted drags and you should be fine : ) Edited May 15, 2009 by 4d1ct3d

[4d1ct3d]

Nice writeup 4d1ct3d !!

I wish I could good results out of my phunnel without filling it all up (I never tried filling all of it since it holds WAY more shisha than i smoke in a session).

I'll take a few pics of my next load and post em up here, maybe you guys can point out what i'm doing wrong...

Alibaba you can try using a scalli mod to use less shisha. You can make one easilly. Just search the how to section ; )

[Lunatic768]

THANK YOU 4d1ct3d!!!
that was perfect
next time i get get out to smoke i will follow your instructions
to the tee
except i'll be smoking Nakhla lemon
i just got some toothpicks
you using HD or regular foil? just curious
really i cant thank you enough
i will post an update following my smoke
it'll be this weekend (parents out of town)

[4d1ct3d]

Lunatic, one more thing, remember that some flavors are rather weak and no matter what you do they will never have much flavor.

Nakhla Strawberry is one of those flavor in my opinion. It gets better mixed with vanilla though, dunno why.

Never tryed Nakhla Lemon though. But Nakhla Sweet Melon, Peach, Mint, Mandarin and Orange are examples of really good products with loads of flavor.

Don't forget to say if the session went well.

[alibaba]

Alibaba you can try using a scalli mod to use less shisha. You can make one easilly. Just search the how to section ; )

I did check out the mod section, but I just don't wanna use a copper pipe end. Copper releases harmful toxins when heated up since it oxidizes faster. I'll try making one out of a piece of foil and see how that goes.

[4d1ct3d]

Hey you don't need to use a copper end. You can make one out of a tealight candle. Check how to do this in the how to section. I tryed it and it worked great.

I'm talking about this:



Or you ca just order one from mnhookah.

[alibaba]

Hey you don't need to use a copper end. You can make one out of a tealight candle. Check how to do this in the how to section. I tryed it and it worked great.

I'm talking about this:



Or you ca just order one from mnhookah.

damn... why didn't i think about that !!!!

I'll try this tonight and see how it works... Do I just sprinkle the shisha like would in a regular bowl ?!

[4d1ct3d]

Yes. Fill the shisha under the rim and keep the coals on the edges.

[Lunatic768]

another update from an unhappy smoker
so i tried some Nakhla peach
packed it light, sprinkling it in to under the rim of the bowl
double regular foil
small toothpick holes
i tried two halves, i tried on whole coal
i tried with and without the windcover
i am outside and it was moderately windy
no flavor
clouds were on and off depending on how much heat was on the bowl
and now after cleaning my hookah, i think i have a tiny tiny leak where the stem connects to the bowl grommet piece
this is just not going well for me at all
im starting to think that its because im smoking outside, since the one time i smoked inside (friends apartment) i got some good flavor
i guess i'm just gonna buy a windcover, egyptian clay bowl, regular mya bowl, and a small phunnel on my next order
who knows when that'll be
sigh

[mattarios2]

Nice writeup 4d1ct3d !!

I wish I could good results out of my phunnel without filling it all up (I never tried filling all of it since it holds WAY more shisha than i smoke in a session).

I'll take a few pics of my next load and post em up here, maybe you guys can point out what i'm doing wrong...

you can pack half a phunnel and still get ok to decent results. I've just bit the bullet and pack the shit out of my phunnels (trust me when you see the clouds you get, you will realize its worth it) and then after im done, i either light another set of coals, or just dump off all the burnt shit and put the good stuff back in the tub.

For nakhla, just stuff the shit out of the phunnel so it is a bit above the rim of the bowl, foil, poke holes all the way to the bottom of the bowl with a toothpick (it makes big holes) and i use 4 .5 pieces of cocos. If you do that, you will get insane results.

[alibaba]

So i finally got some awesome results out of my phunnel and some Al Amir White Grape!!!

Packed it light just like a regular bowl, made a scalli mod out of those aluminum candle bases.
One layer of foil (very very thin) and two rows of holes about 1/4 of an inch in between.
Lit two jap coals and got the same old boring results.
Then i put a third one, and i just got the BEST results EVER (no hooka lounge compares to what i achieved)
I went through about 7 coals just by replacing the ones that were burning out.

At the end on the ~2h session i checked the shisha and it was all black.

All in all i'm very very happy with the results.

I'm gonna try my AF Lemon next since it's much juicier than my Al Amir, and I have a feeling I will get even better results!

Thank you for your help 4d1ct3d!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy smoking