alibaba Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Hello everyone... as most of you already know i've been having some problems getting my hookah sessions more flavorful... I managed to get awesome results with my phunnel bowl, and a homemade scalli mod using the aluminum base of those small round candles. Two AMAZING sessions full of flavor and buzz I was so happy that i decided i must buy AF Eskandarani Apple... so i went out and bought 500g of the stuff...And now i think I'm cursed, because i keep getting SHITTY taste. So I decided to look at what has changed from my two amazing sessions to these horrible ones.The tobacco smells amazing and is very juicy, so this is not the problem.I'm using the same exact setup, same number of coals, same hole pattern.The differences are:Smoking the hookah outside rather than inside (I had a windcover on both indoors and outdoors).The cut of AF golden is much smaller and finer, there are no large strips of tobacco, it's "minced" for lack of better words. Because of this i can't pack it as "fluffy" as i did my regular batches of AF and Al Amir. So in essence it's somewhat packed down but not heavily.Finally, I'm using a different scalli mod since my gf threw out the original one, however i made sure to make it almost identical to the one she threw out (as best i remembered).End result... top part of the tobacco is very dark (but not charred or burnt) the 2/3 on the bottom were practically untouched after 3 full jap coals and then another 2 halfway consumed. The smoke was rough and I didn't get as much flavor as I would have expected! The only thing I will do now, is try smoking it again indoors and try to pack it lighter (if that's possible... but i'm afraid it's not).HELP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattarios2 Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 when you poke holes do you poke all the way to the bottom of the bowl? I think this can help with the "new" AF cut. Since its minced and gives you less ability to pack it fluffy, i say you use a thin toothpick or needle or something along those lines to poke the hole in the foil then push all the way down to the bottom of the bowl. That should open up some space in between the shisha and help give you better air flow.if you haven't tried that, try it and report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alibaba Posted May 26, 2009 Author Share Posted May 26, 2009 Yeah I already tried that... I used the toothpick to poke one of the rows of holes ALL the way to the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 3 jap coals AND a windcover... try scaling the heat back a bit. the extreme heat is causing it to burn (sounds like to me) and thats fuckin up your flavor and making the smoke rough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delSol_si Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Esk apple is your problem imo, tastes like shit to me. I used to love 2x apple and esk apple until a few months ago, now I can't stand it. I actually thew away about 150 grams of 2x apple a couple weeks ago because it taste like shit to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alibaba Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 QUOTE (ilikemyusername @ May 26 2009, 06:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>3 jap coals AND a windcover... try scaling the heat back a bit. the extreme heat is causing it to burn (sounds like to me) and thats fuckin up your flavor and making the smoke rough.I've never had problems with this setup, and like I mentioned in the OP, the shisha isn't burnt :S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxik916 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 You might want to give your hookah a good cleaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 QUOTE (alibaba @ May 26 2009, 07:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>QUOTE (ilikemyusername @ May 26 2009, 06:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>3 jap coals AND a windcover... try scaling the heat back a bit. the extreme heat is causing it to burn (sounds like to me) and thats fuckin up your flavor and making the smoke rough.I've never had problems with this setup, and like I mentioned in the OP, the shisha isn't burnt :SI smoke esk apple in a small phunnel, and if I was to put 3 jap coals and a windcover, it would get really hot, really quick.The way I do it personally that gives me great results is to sprinkle it the best I can into the phunnel, and when its just above the rim, I foil it. Then i poke my holes all the way to the bottom of the phunnel, no holes over the center, 2 coals, 1 one each side and a windcover for the first couple of minutes, then when its nice and hot I take the windcover off.after the 1st 2 have died down half way i get 2 more cooking, move the 2 original pieces on 1/3rd of the bowl and the other 2 on the other 2 thirds, sort of making a triangle. My next set of coals goes where there was foil the last time around. of course, thats just how i do it, and its a firm favorite of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Green Apple flavor tastes like ass when its not acclimated. Yes, I know its not Tangiers, but other brands can get out of whack, too. Also, its possible that, although you stir it, you need to take tobacco evenly from the top and bottom of the tub, siphoning off only the top tobacco might make the top flavors get used up too quick. Tangiers isn't that different from other brands, really...same problems can occur in lots of brands. Green Apple flavor is disagreeably light...I can see it hovering on the top of the tobacco. If you did deplete the flavor, its ruined...try a new tub of it, stirring well and taking evenly off the top and bottom...like a wedding cake...cut out squares to use and use the whole square, top to bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delSol_si Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 QUOTE (Toxik916 @ May 26 2009, 07:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>You might want to give your hookah a good cleaning.+1 It really can make a world of difference. I noticed my blueberry tasting like shit, never thought that could happen, so I gave my hookah a good cleaning and I was back in business. You could also try some Tasty Puff. It gives me headaches, but man, it really packs a punch of flavor. If you do try this, add it to the shisha, NOT the water. Putting it in the water intensified the headache for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Maintenance could be an issue too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4d1ct3d Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 What kind of pipe do you have? I have a Mya Bambino and it does ghost like crazy, so I really have to be careful when cleaning my hookah to smoke a light flavor such as AF's esk apple.Another note, did you make sure to clean all the wax of the new scalli mod before smoking with it? Because the wax remains can really ruin your bowl's flavor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alibaba Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 I thoroughly clean my hookah after every smoke. So it's not related to it being "contaminated". The hookah is a generic syrian I found at a persian shop, it has no leaks and is very good condition. And like I mentioned before, this hookah HAS performed up to my expectations before.Using 2 charcoals instead of 3 drastically reduces the amount of smoke I get and the taste stays the same.The one thing i did not do is acclimate it before smoking it, I'm gonna try doing that today and give it a go.Sonthert: I mix the shisha thoroughly before i pack it, so I don't think I messed something up that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 No, I know, but if the flavor is poorly soluble, the glycerine wil overwhelm the solvent base of the flavor and the flavor will stratify along the tobacco...even if you mix it. Its like mixing oil and water and stirring it up...it will separate right back out. If you are just taking off the top, or mostly the top, you are scraping the top layers of flavor only. In general, the flavors at the top of the strata are the lightest and frutiest. Cherry is a good example. It refuses to do anything other than separate out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alibaba Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 hmm interesting... I didn't think about this.... I'll start doing that from now on...But the problems started with the first packing and not after a couple of smokes, so i don't think it's loss of flavor in the shisha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 okay, so i totally missed the part about you using a mod, i take back everything i said as i have never had a good session using one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Oh, sorry, I thought you said this started after the third bowl. Disregard stirring information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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