Sublime-Silence Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 First off I'd like to say hello to everyone. It's nice to actually find a cool hookah smoking forum, perhaps I can make some friends here and solve my problem I am currently facing. Problem: This is my issue, I had bought some Nakhla 250g containers one melon in a pop top type can and the other being strawberry in a jar with a plastic red lid. This was about three to four months ago I purchased this tobacco but both remained sealed(never opened) and in room temp until this week. Now whenever I attempt to smoke either flavor I get EXTREMELY harsh smoke. Both containers have good looking tobacco and I can't seem to get what's happening here. Background: I understand heat management ESPECIALLY with Nakhla brand tobacco. I've owned my own hookah and smoked for six years now and the first tobacco I started with was actually Nakhla. In fact of all the tobacco I smoke 90% of it is Nakhla, it's the brand I know and trust. Generally I have purchased my Nakhla tobacco from one of the many pakistani/arab grocery stores in one particular neighborhood in Chicago and have always had good experiences(other than unreliable stocking of certain flavors). Also I have always gotten the tobacco in the boxed rather than a sealed jar or can(though I doubt this makes any difference). This time I had bought this tobacco from Hookahcompany(I'm not blaming them at all nor would I, just giving all potential info). I tried multiple bowls: my Tangiers med phunnel, the small phunnel, and a variety of Egyptian bowls I own. I have also tried two different coal types switching between the Three King 40mm and the Nour wood coal(my personal favorite). I've tested my setup with all five of my hookah's and a variety of hoses. I've cleaned all my hookah's to test if even that was the problem. I've literally tried everything and can't put my finger on what's making the hookah smoke so harshly. Recently I got a hold of some Starbuzz from a local hookah shop(for the most insane price of $20 for 75g which still pisses me off I bought it, but I was desperate) and the stuff smoke extremely well. Sorry for the long background info, but I want to give you all as much info as I possible can to figure out what's going on with this tobacco here. Was there a bad batch of Nakhla running around this past year? Or am I perhaps just retarded and setting up something wrong? If anyone can help me out here I'd be VERY grateful. Also I'm willing to answer any questions anyone has regarding my problem. ~Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon` Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Most of what I smoke is Nakhla, I don't know what your doing wrong because you could basically do anything to Nakhla pack it any way and it will smoke. Maybe its ur whole pattern Nakhla requires big wholes and few of them maybe around 15. It may be the coals your using try using CoCoNara's. Three kings are shit and nours are hard to use, Try getting ur hands on something that burns hotter. Nakhla is not really heat sensitive I can usually put anywhere from 1 to 4 coals on small phunnel and I always get nice smoke. Also make sure that your butting a good amount of water into the base, make it a inch or inch 1/2 above the downstem to make the draw harder and u wont really feel the harshness if its a hard draw. Let me know if this works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacob Shock Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 this is an od problem you have. like brandon said nakhla isnt very sensative, it can take a real beating. i would sugest just trying it in an eqyption bowl. thats how i smoke my nakhla, it makes no pint to put it in a phunnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuie Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I think we need a vid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Stuie's right- need a vid to see what you're doing wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zinite Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Video or pictures please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcane Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I know you said you're familiar with heat management, but it honestly...it sounds like a heat management issue, also may be related to packing. either way, harsh smoke usually means you're burning something... i've been buying a steady stream of nak...and havent hit a bad batch....and letting tobacco sit unopened for months won't do much to harm it... or if you're using different coals, the coals may be the culprit too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 It sounds like too much heat coupled with underpacking to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalowlow Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I personally would change the coals myself. I remember when my friends and I used to use nour wood coals. That was back in the day when we actually thought the hookah bar was superior to our own setups...lool....you can see where I'm going here. The shape of them is all messed up and you're probably over doing it in terms of coals because it won't smoke with the regular two or three coals. You end up way overheating and nakhla doesn't burn easily, but when it does...it can be quite harsh. Try to find some japanese style coals, or find some coconut coals and use those. Heck even lemonwood naturals. Also, maybe pack a little tighter in your phunnel with the nakhla and you will probably have better results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublime-Silence Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 (edited) Thanks for the comments thus far. Currently I can't take any pics because I took my camera to a beach party this summer got a little drunk and the camera got a little sandy so the mechanism that opens the lens won't open work due to sand being in the gears. The thing is I use Nak all the time and I know how much coal to use. Generally I keep the Three Kings only for when I take my hookah out of the house and the wood coals are something I've used ever since I started smoking(again six years ago). Though I have thought about switching to coconut coals for a while now, it's just all the paki/arab grocery stores carry either Three Kings or wood coals so that's what I've always gotten. From what I've been reading here on the forums though it seems coconut coal is all the rage. My Egyptian bowls are generally speaking my go to bowls. I started smoking with them and only recently, until this summer, have gotten the phunnel bowl. I will admit right now that I'm not experienced with them AT ALL(phunnels). One change I can tell you that I definitely have done recently is that I've been packing my bowls much lighter. December first I quit smoking cigs so I've been sitting down to have a hookah here and there for only about 20-30 min sessions. Because of this I have been packing my bowls much lighter than normal to compensate for the shorter sessions. One thing I have changed is going from Reynolds aluminum foil to the Aldi brand. Perhaps this may have something to do with it, but who knows. I've noticed that everyone here does differently than I do, is that I use a needle to poke holes in my foil, I just make MANY holes all around the bowl. But over the years this always worked very well for me and produced great quality smoke until now. Who knows? Edited December 18, 2009 by Sublime-Silence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcane Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 well, you've obviously changed methods....different coals AND different packing (maybe foil too)...so, it's most likely one of those factors... it's kind of obvious really... 1. you had good sessions 2. you changed something 3. you are now getting bad sessions eliminate #2 and you should be set...if you have to make the change, you'll pretty much have to subject yourself to trial and error to find out what works with your new setup/techniques... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I would look at the amount of charcoal and/or the type of charcoal you are using. Your technique might have changed since you started smoking, so you might have to revisit how you pack a bowl, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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