Need Help From The Hookah Gods

[keadan_usa]

I know this is a long post, but please read it and help me out, I am desperate!!!!!!!!!!

Hello All,

I have a particularly annoying problem for the past two years and it is bugging me. I love smoking hookah and frequent local hookah bars, but when I make the hookah at home, ITS AWFUL! Really bad aftertaste and almost no fruit flavor. I have read everybody's threads about troubleshooting and tried every solution in the book but I cannot make it right. So, I will share some photos of my setup and tell you how I make it and hopefully someone will give me a solution! Before I spend my life savings at hookah bars.

My setup:
a) Syrian and Egyptian hookahs, I have both
starbuzz/al fakher/nakhla shisha
c) three kings quick light coals
d) mya hose/syrian hoses/ egyptian hoses

Before I start, I have tried about seven different hookah and tried to eliminate the factors that could cause the bad taste, but I have never came to a solution.

Here is the gist:

1. I clean the hookahs stems and bases with lemon juice and baking soda


2. I have washable hoses and non-washable hoses. I have tried over ten different ones.

3. I use Syrian and Egyptian bowls and I have read lots about the right way to pack them. These are my pictures of how I pack the bowls:



I really clean my hookahs very well and I have tried so many different setups and still got the same bad aftertaste, so I kinda eliminated that it is the stem or base. Then I tried new hoses and different bowls, still tastes bad. And I even tried different shishas, flavors, brands...still not right. And I tried several kinds of coals, natural wood, quick light.... still not right. So, basically, I have NO CLUE what to do to make it right. I really really need help with this because it is an expensive thing if you always have to go out to smoke. I tried all the packing techniques on the forum too, below the rim, above the rim packing less shisha, too much shisha etc., and I put the coals on the edge of the bowl. I wait a really long time on the coals too and make sure they are ready and without black spots before I use them. I have wasted so much money trying to figure it out , around 500 bowls, and cannot figure this out. Im about to bang my head on the wall. I only recall one time, about two months ago, I ordered a new can of starbuzz blumist, and it tasted pretty good for about 2 sessions, then back to the bad aftertaste.

Please help. At this point, Im so desperate, two years with only 2 good sessions, that I will award somebody 250gm of shisha if they can give me a solution. Before I go, this is the description of the taste. Its like a burning taste, but the tobacco is not burned if you lift up the tin foil. So, shoot out some solutions and we will see what happens, hopefully before I go broke.

Thanks!

[hookah hippie]

Hmm...what kind of charcoal are you using

[theotherone31415]

this sounds hard to believe so im gonna go with crazy solutions here...

people's taste buds naturally change over time. stuff you liked as a kid you may hate now and vice versa. in other words, maybe your taste buds hate hookah now. God help you if that's the case...

have someone else whose opinion you would trust smoke out of your set-up. if they think it's good tasting and get good clouds...you owe me a 250 g. pack my friend

[Zinite]

Have you ever been diagnosed as a supertaster?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster

even though it seems like you've tried everything... try splitting your coals up into thirds (crack the 3-kings with a screwdriver or something) and put them on th ebowl to spread the heat out.

[Sisonpyh]

I must say you are very devoted to hookah! Good for you. Seems like you have tried pretty much everything that people suggest. The only thing I can think of now is suggest using less coal, see how well that works for you.

[evilded777]

Have you ever been diagnosed as a supertaster?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster

even though it seems like you've tried everything... try splitting your coals up into thirds (crack the 3-kings with a screwdriver or something) and put them on th ebowl to spread the heat out.

Seconded on breaking the coals. My early attempts were awful as well, but learning to manage the heat properly has made a world of difference for me. I went from the occaisional smoke to just about every day, a few times a day on the weekends.

[keadan_usa]

Thanks a lot for the replies.

Honestly i let a lot of people taste my hookah and they all agree that it sucks pretty much and I already tried breaking the coals but still no luck.


Any more ideas???

[ryno]

Sounds to me like you may be using too much coal. Experiment with different coal amounts and try breaking them up.

[Tom1]

This thread should be stickied as the format to ask for help, pictures AND descriptions! Good job Keadan.

I would say use slightly bigger holes, but less of them, everything else looks pretty good.

The only other thing I could suggest would be to get new coals, 3kings should NOT look like that when they're lit, it looks too crumbly. That means it's old or defective.

[ilikemyusername]

you woudn't happen to live in florida would you? because if so, I'll swing by and check it all out in person.

[keadan_usa]

I live in KY is there anybody from Kentucky that can help me?!?!?

[Sonthert]

Do you use well water? Or do you get your water from a municipal source?

Either way, you might look at water quality.

It might be a foreign contaminant being absorbed by the tobacco, messing with the flavor.

Some people have a lesser problem, similar to this, with Tangiers. Something in the air around you may be being absorbed by the tobacco. Do you live in a rural area or on a farm or near large-scale agriculture? Is there grain dust in the air around you? Livestock?

Do you smoke outside or inside? Do you store the tobacco inside or outside?

I think your problem is environmental if everything you mentioned is reasonably true.

[delSol_si]

I live in KY is there anybody from Kentucky that can help me?!?!?

Where at in KY? I live in MO, if its not too far I'll come over and help ya out.

Have you tried using a different bowl? Maybe a bigger bowl? Might also try using warm water in the vase. I know it sounds crazy, but a guy on the boards here tested it out and got better clouds from cold water, but better flavor from warm. I tried it myself and got the same results. You might also try using less coal and a foil windcover to trap the heat in.

Also, one more thing, take an unopened container of shisha and stir it heavily before every bowl.

[keadan_usa]

Do you use well water? Or do you get your water from a municipal source?

Either way, you might look at water quality.

It might be a foreign contaminant being absorbed by the tobacco, messing with the flavor.

Some people have a lesser problem, similar to this, with Tangiers. Something in the air around you may be being absorbed by the tobacco. Do you live in a rural area or on a farm or near large-scale agriculture? Is there grain dust in the air around you? Livestock?

Do you smoke outside or inside? Do you store the tobacco inside or outside?

I think your problem is environmental if everything you mentioned is reasonably true.

(1) I get my water from a municipal source.
(2) i tried different brands of tobacco that i got from different destinations like a local shop, NM, CA, NY, KY, and even Egypt and Syria.
(3) like what i mentioned before, I had 2 perfect sessions like a couple of moths ago that i can't repeat.
(4) I tried to smoke it inside and outsid

[keadan_usa]

I live in KY is there anybody from Kentucky that can help me?!?!?

Where at in KY? I live in MO, if its not too far I'll come over and help ya out.

Have you tried using a different bowl? Maybe a bigger bowl? Might also try using warm water in the vase. I know it sounds crazy, but a guy on the boards here tested it out and got better clouds from cold water, but better flavor from warm. I tried it myself and got the same results. You might also try using less coal and a foil windcover to trap the heat in.

Also, one more thing, take an unopened container of shisha and stir it heavily before every bowl.

I live in Murray, KY.

Where do you live at??!?!? Maybe we could meet up sometime!

I will give 500gm of shisha of your choice if you can come over and help me out.

Thanks

[liquidglass]

Well I commend you for not giving up.

Here's my 2 cents.

1) washable hoses esp can retain a taste for a while, so that could be contributing
2) breaking the coal up will def help one half on each side or quarters
3) in a standard egyptian bowl blow thru the bottom to make sure it gets good air flow
4) don't pack all the way to the top with it or it will burn.
5) try double foiling if you need to.

[hookah hippie]

try varying the amounts of tobacco you place in the bowl perhaps there is too much or too little in the bowl

[kajon]

I agree with Sonthert. I have half assed packing my bowls, or have been drunk while doing it and I still get decent smokes. You said that the first 2 session with blue mist were good then it got bad. The only thing would be how do you store your shisha? Maybe your not storing it airtight and something is getting in there that is messing it up. Check how you store your shisha.

[sleeperhit]

Wow, I'm actually surprised no body has asked this yet.

How have you been storing your shisha?

[Pilgrim]

sacrifying an ox might please them hookah gods

[keadan_usa]

I agree with Sonthert. I have half assed packing my bowls, or have been drunk while doing it and I still get decent smokes. You said that the first 2 session with blue mist were good then it got bad. The only thing would be how do you store your shisha? Maybe your not storing it airtight and something is getting in there that is messing it up. Check how you store your shisha.

I do store my shisha airtight and even when I open a new shisha package I still have the same problem! Actually I tried like 10 brands of tobacco and still get the same flavor!

[keadan_usa]

sacrifying an ox might please them hookah gods

How about a Chihuahua? my dog is getting on my nerves. Somebody is buying it next week though so decide fast

[keadan_usa]

Any other ideas guys?

[contristo]

apart from the other suggestions, water level could be a problem

others should feel free to share their suggestions, but a strong bubble tends to work best for me. i fill the water to the highest point possible without it becoming even slightly intrusive with the hose. there is little need for massive amounts of smoke to linger in your base.

also, make your holes slightly larger. try using a small toothpick and carefully poke holes, steadily poking to the bottom of the bowl so you can make airways. make sure not to pull the toothpick up quickly after you use it, or it will create a tear.

bowl looks fine, just make sure it's not too compact. nakhla bodes well for packing somewhat tight, al fakher usually likes it loose, starbuzz and tanigers tend to like it in between (though tangiers requires a more intricate packing process).

random suggestions: make sure your hose is in all the way, the grommets are all tight, there are no air openings (exhale into the hose and look for leaks)... any leaks could allow for foreign air flow to interfere with the flavor quality and cause harshness because of the temperate differences.

[liquidglass]

Sounds like Contristo has some good ideas.

But I would like to respectfully disagree with the water suggestion. I find that the more water you have, the more diluted the flavor becomes, could just be me, but that's my experience. Thus why most suggest 1/2" to 1 1/2" above the bottom of the stem. Too little water and it's harsh, too much and it's not as flavorful, don't take this to mean that you have to have it at an exact point or measurement but just around that seems to work best in my experience.


Contristo makes a good point about making sure everything is sealed. Prep your hookah, put the bowl on with no tobacco in it. Then put your hand on top of the bowl to create a seal. After that take as hard a pull as you can through the hose. If everything is sealed properly you should get no water bubbles at all and if you still get air with the pull, it's the hose seal or the hose itself.

Keep up trying man we'll get you on the right track so you can join the ranks of happy hookahers. And with all your experience you will be a Hookah Master to your friends