I need help!!!

[skiracerj1]

So I got my Tangiers and I've really been struggling with it. No matter what I do its harsh and thin. I've tried piling in the tobacco packed tight, then tried it packe lightly, then tried a half bowl, I've tired so many variations in amount of coals its not even funny, and everytime the same thing happens, I get one maybe two good pulls of decent smoke and then it all goes downhill from there, and even more confusing is that when i take the foil off all the tobacco is still moist, save a few leaves near the top, I've let it air out over night too (which should be over kill since im in a realitvely low humidity shock climate). The flavor is good when its not over powered by burning wind pipe. I know this has been delt with before, but i'm pretty sure I've tried most everyones suggestions and I just can't get it, so please help!!!Thanks

[Loumeer]

What kind of coals are you using and how many?

[skiracerj1]

I've tried both nour naturals and three kings, on the nours I've tried anything and everything from a tiny 1/4 inch chunk up to two 2/3inch chunks, and with the three kings i tried a half and two halfs spaced out, and one whole one. All that said the results are all pretty much the same

[Loumeer]

Once when I smoked some Tangiers my holes werent poked by me and the taste was aful and harsh.  I put some new foil on with different holes poked in them the way I do it and it tasted fine.  Sounds like a stretch to me but you could try poking the holes the way I do.  I take a toothpick and poker roughly 20-25 holes all around so they evently cover the foil all around.Then i take 1 coal and move it around the outside of the foil.  Also, the material your head is made out of could be causing some problems.  I know metal bowls tend to be a lot hotter than clay.  Also make sure you get the juicy tobacco from the bottom of your container.I use 3 king coals.I am not sure what else to tell you but I hope that helps your problem.  I will be on ze forums tomorrow, off to be am I.--Amichai Israeli

[Sonthert]

Has it been getting warmer there?Did you notice better results from three kings or Naturals?What type of head are you using?Do you have other heads?Stick towards packing it lighter...don;t leave a gap betwen the tobacco and the foil. The tobacco is best added at about the same densitry it is when it is sitting in the tub or baggie...other brands you have to "spread them out".Where are you located/smoking?If it has been getting warmer, like it has in lots of places, realize that the humidity in the air can change faster than the humidity in the tobacco, so if the weather is getting warmer and warmer, the tobacco will lag behind it until the weather finally reaches some level of stability, temporarily anyways.

[skiracerj1]

I live in colorado, where actually this past week its cooled off about 5-10 degrees, and relative humidity has been a fairly constant 25-30%. I have two different heads that I've tried One is a medium sized (20g) ceramic and the other is a small (10g) clay bowl, both have had similar results, although last night i got the ceramic to smoke decently for about 15 minutes with 3/4 of a quicklight on a half bowl in the ceramic, good thick smoke, and flavor, but id really like how to figure it out with the naturals since i prefer them.Thanks for your help

[Sonthert]

Ah...could be the tobacco was acclimating. Try it with other coals and the other bowl, see what it means. Glad it worked for you.

[EliteHookah.com]

It seems like everyone has a lot of trouble getting the perfect smoke
out of Tangiers.  I have never tried it but am considering getting
some.  I have to ask, is it really worth all of the trouble?

[skiracerj1]

Well after several bowls of trying I'm finally starting to get and yes it is worth it, just basically when you start smoking tangiers you have to throw all your previous hookah instincts out the window, because it requires a whole different technique.

[cymptom]

I've been having similar troubles skiracer. I honestly can't tell whether my technique is improving, or the tobacco is acclimating, or both The weather here has dramatically changed over the past few days, it's gotten a lot warmer. Hopefully the tobacco will stabilize soon -- I only smoke inside and we just turned on the central air conditioning. No more open windows and humidity flucuations. I've been acclimating all day and plan to leave it out overnight too.EliteHookah: Although it can be frustrating tasting and smelling the tobacco without being able to get a nice smoke out of it, I think it's worth it. Once you get it going, it's a different kind of smoke -- it's got balls, as they say. Worth checking out, at the very least.

[SanguineSolitude]

i may be unique but ive had almost no trouble at any time with
tangiers. I pack a standard bowl fairly tightly and cover with foil
with plenty of  mechanical pencil or pin holes in it. i then take
1 whole 3kings and place it with its edge just barely hanging off the
edge of the bowl so it acts as like 4/5 of a disk. i basically just
leave it there until the smoke turns harsh(usually after about 30-40
mins), discard the almost used up 3kings and put a new one on the other
side. this will cash a bowl for me in about and hour and 15 minutes
with good smoke ability. My packing technique is to grab pieces of
tobacco with my tongs, place in bowl and level tobacco pressing down
slightly. you should be able to inhale easily through the bottom of the
packed bowl. on the rare occasion that this doesnt work, i have broken
a 3kings in half and put one piece on either side of the bowl which has
always worked, though its more work and doesnt last as well so i
usually prefer the single 3kings.

other than that man i dont know what youre doing wrong. it doesnt seem
all that tricky to me, even though it does tend to be less forgiving
than other brands. Ive noticed that the smoke never gets as thick as
say havana or al fakher, but nevertheless is plenty for a good smoke.

[SanguineSolitude]

and yes elitehookah when its going perfect its up there with the best ive ever had.

sorry for double post

[Sonthert]

[quote name='EliteHookah.com']It seems like everyone has a lot of trouble getting the perfect smoke
out of Tangiers.  I have never tried it but am considering getting
some.  I have to ask, is it really worth all of the trouble?[/quote]No, actually, the overwhelming majority of people who use good techniques in packing bowls have no trouble...of course people that have no trouble often don't post "Everything went fine", the people who have difficulty with it are far more likely to ask for help. When is the last time you saw a post saying "I smoked a hookah last night, everything was fine."It seems like your post was passive-aggressive...let me reword it a bit and change the names...Since Havana is chopped to finely, I hear that people have trouble getting the perfect smoke out of it. I have never tried it but am considering getting some. I have to ask, it is really worth the trouble?Sounds negative, doesn't it?

[cymptom]

As I've been saying, I don't really think it's as complicated as people (including myself, at first) make it out to be. After acclimating it thoroughly, I haven't had to do anything special to get it smoking great. Actually, my biggest problem with Tangiers is that it burns for too long and I feel as though I waste a lot because there's always tons of moist tobacco left in the bowl!