A Question That Boggles The Mind

[Kapten Kanel]

I won´t touch this thread... i won´t touch this thread... i wo, ahh fu*k it...

I would argue that it is user error. Here's why.

I used to fail at packing Tangiers daily, it never worked. I tried acclimating it in my apartment (With the AC off) and it failed miserably. Living in FL with humidity changing every 2 seconds, the product was unsmokeable. My packing was also miserable, I never put enough tobacco in and it always failed.

So, determined to get it to smoke right, I drove down to San Diego to learn the technique from the man himself--you can find this technique in my videos and on Eric/HookahJohn's (These are better because they're hilarious) videos. This is the first step, make sure you put enough in. If the user fails at the technique, then they shouldn't blame the product, they should blame themselves. If you have the packing down, acclimate in as close to an unchanging environment as you can get.

This is where AC comes in. With AC set to auto, it changes the temperature of the residence automatically to maintain it at a desired level. And yes, AC affects humidity as well--that's part of the point, to produce a dry, cool environment so mold can't grow. Let the tobacco sit out in this environment until it smells right and then smoke it in the same environment. It says, on the package, expose it to the air it will be smoked in. Acclimating it inside doesn't do jack if you smoke it outside. This isn't a theory, it's a fact. I have tested it myself, if I acclimate inside and then smoke outside, the session is crap.

So, if you smoke outside in a changing environment, I don't know what to tell you. Try acclimating at night and smoking at night--I haven't tested this yet but I plan on it.

I would hate to see the quality of Tangiers, which is the best on the market, in my opinion, compromised because people can't seem to get the acclimation right. Acclimating it near a humidifier and then taking it outside to smoke in Massachusetts where you're so close to the ocean is counter-productive. No wonder it won't work, you're taking it to a very dry environment and then smoking it in a moist one, it just goes into shock again.

This isn't to be as harsh as it sounds but I really do think I am on to something with this AC thing and I know it works, I just want to try and help people.

Ohh shit, here we go again... Please, everybody knows this, that you have to acclimate the tobacco at the same spot you will smoke it, it isn´t a part of the issue.
Argh, this is so frustrating... As mattarios have said,the tobacco not acclimating is not a user error. Bowl-packing-issues shouldn´t even be mentioned here, its like trying to smoke soap, realising it tastes like crap, and then blaming it on the packing technique... If the tobacco smells bad, why would you smoke it? As i said, packing isn´t even a part of the issue.

Do not read this like i am bad-mouthing tangiers, that is not my intent, far from it.

[redjako]

I do hope Kapten you hopped on the "Acclimation Issues by Sonthert" thread?

I believe you said Lucid line works fine for you correct, then just stop buying OG, or drastically DRASTICALLY change your style of acclimation.

Like, try pack a bowl, then leave it 4 hours, 8 hours, or even 24 hours before smoking it..etc.

Or list every single method you've tried, then try the ones you haven't.

[shalowlow]

Here is the problem once again with trying to give one's opinion about a product. The problem is that it is just that....an opinion. Some people on here have stated it as fact that Tangiers can't be smoked well in their area. That may very well be the case, but I can't say that I will fully beleive it until I see it. Having said that, other people will beleive that Tangiers cannot be smoked well in certain areas, based solely on somone else on this board's comments, and never give the product a chance.

Now we live in a society where we don't like companies because we think they're heartless "corporations" but the fact is, if you are detering people from buying a product (which you essentially are, even if you do not mean it) then it's just not fair, esspecially because you are not willing to give in to the fact that it may actually be user error and not the products error.

Having said that, I do know that I have friends, and they simply did not like the taste of tangiers. But it starts to grow on them and now they actually do enjoy it. Some of my friends loved it from the minute they took their first hit. The point is they at least tried it. No one was there to deter that.

I am sure it's pretty frustrating for Eric to continually be coming on to these boards and reading about how it's not working, or when anybody brings it up, someone will comment with the obligatory "but be carefull, Tangiers has a certain packing method" well so does Nakhla then...has anyone on here tried to sprinkle Nakhla recently? Ironically, since Eric started to say that Nakhla should be packed like Tangiers, Nakhla has seen an incredible rise in popularity on these boards.

So I guess my point is, that these threads are doing a disservice to a product, because they imply that the product has an inherent defect. Let me just say....Tangiers has no defect. It is easily the best hookah tobacco money can buy. But that doesn't mean you might not like it.

[Stuie]

Ironically, since Eric started to say that Nakhla should be packed like Tangiers, Nakhla has seen an incredible rise in popularity on these boards.

I have been smoking Nakhla since I started back in the summer of 1999 and Romman a little later when I bought my own hookah... thank you very much. I bet if I tallied it up since back then i was a once a week smoker, based on my rough estimate I have smoked upwards of 35 Kilos of Nakhla. 2001 all i smoked was Nakhla Banana/Coconut Mix.

Well I guess that's your opinion and you are entitled to it...... IRONY?

[twoapplesplease]

I personally have whitnessed the same problems with OG tangiers since I moved to the upper midwest.When I was out in wyoming OG tangiers was awsome and I had no problems getting it to acclimate.But here in upper michigan it simply will not acclimate no matter how long you try.
Now I've been doing a little research and have discovered some intresting weather statistic charts on city-data.com or something like that but here are two year round charts for daily humidity swings through the year.one chart is for san diago and the other is for indy.Notice that in san diago the daily humidy year round does'nt swing much more than 10% on the average not that it won't happen mind you from time to time.But notice that in indy during the late summer months the daily humidity swing is 30% or greater not that it won't stay more stable once and awhile but you can see a drastic differance between the two.Somehow I think this info could be very helpfull in determining wheather or not OG tangiers will work in your area and at what times of the year.If enuff info is gathered a tolerance level for the tobacco could be determined.

[Sonthert]

When I read this thread last night, I typed a long response up, but I decided to not post it when I saw the thread was closed. Now, apparently, the thread is going yo-yo status. I'm debating about posting it. I'll decide in a minute or two. I love you guys, but don't take shit so seriously.

I think the answer lies in the way people acclimate it. I don't leave it open 24 hours a day to acclimate...so hopefully we'll have some answers that work for everybody soon. The early results seem promising. If it doesn't work, some people won't smoke Tangiers or live with the oscillations of the humidity. One or the other. No big deal.

I have the utmost respect for most of the people involved in this grim thread.

The irony is none of you started out angry. You got angry when you thought "The other guy" was angry. Thats the problem when posts are made that are accidentally or intentionally made to sound loud or angry.

In terms of Mattarios, if he says it doesn't acclimate for him, I believe it. Based solely on the weight of his character, as a man and how I know him to be. He wants to get it to work, I believe that too.

Don't try to answer a loud post or a post that you think is loud with a loud reply. Its never beneficial as this thread should demonstrate. Try to keep your cool, as it were.

Thats all off the top of my head, right now.

P.S. nice graphs twoapplesplease. I've suspected that for some time now. Its good to see some data to back that suspicion up.