Tangiers Issue

[aethiolas]

So I've been watching this forum for about 2 years now and reading everything I can on Tangiers. I figured that after all I had read and all the movies I've watched that I could manage to get this stuff smoking but I'm dying here and need some help. I've tried about 6 bowls now and failed epically on all so any suggestions would be GREAT. I've tried watching the HookahJohn video and tried that same method. I've tried the Rayver video method. I've tried overpacking, underpacking. Everything. I'm using a large tangiers phunnel with either spearmint or orange soda. I can get it smoking great but as soon as the smoke gets good and start getting flavor I get that bad tickle in the back and then I start getting the cough. I've tried using heavy duty and regular aluminum foil and I'm using jap coals. Anything I'm missing here or should I just keep screwing around?

[agunn1231]

Try other kinds of coals, stove top wood based may work. however i have had no experience with tangiers shisha, but its worth a shot.

[bobbo21]

I'm pretty new to tangiers myself, but I can proudly say that I think I've gotten it to smoke correctly. The biggest problem I had was heat management. My small phunnel bowl took 3/4 of a coconut coal, or 2 japanese coals (which I recently switched to). You're going to need more than that for a large phunnel. In one of Eric's videos, he demonstrates smoking a bowl, and he used 4 japanese coals. I think how your hookah is set up itself (excluding the bowl) will have an impact on how heat gets distributed to the tobacco, but a large phunnel should definitely require more heat than a small. The moral of my post is if you're pretty sure that you've got your bowl packed correctly, start experimenting with what heat level it takes to get it to start smoking correctly. A quarter of a coal can definitely push you over the limit into a harsh smoking session. Once you've found the sweet spot, rotating your coals is crucial to evenly heat the tobacco.

[PSU Smoker]

id just keep screwing around. Try different amounts of coals, try spiting them in half. It seems like your problem is definitely with heat management tho if the smoke is getting harsh - which i'm assuming the problem is. When you start coughing does it still taste tasty or icky?

[Webbles]

Ive had my issues too. Ive tried everything and what it came down to was heat management. I always used to much coal, causing way to much heat. So i picked up some golden canaries because thats what Eric uses @ the lounge.

I tried to mimic exactly what he was doing. Used the same amount he uses (1 stick, broken in half @ each end of a LARGE phunnel), i got it to smoke properly. And at that point, you start scaling back the coal as the bowl gets smaller. I personally still use 1 stick for a medium bowl, but some of the coal is hanging over the side.

My point is, invest in some golden canaries and follow this rough idea:

Large phunnel bowl = 1 stick broken in half and placed evenly on both sides of the bowl (not hanging over - directly over the shisha)
Medium phunnel bowl = 1 stick broken in half and placed on the edge of both sides of the bowl (mid point of the stick is hitting the edge of the bowl)
Small phunnel bowl = 3 peices (1 stick = 4 peices) spread along the bowl on the edges (edge of coal is aligned with the edge of the bowl)

Now these are ROUGH as each flavor differs. But start here and start moving the coals either closer to the funnel (want more heat over the shisha) or move to the outer rim (less heat over the shisha)

Give it a try!

[aethiolas]

So first of all, the smoke starts tasting bad as soon as it gets harsh. Its rough and crappy is the best way to describe it. I'm currently using 4 jap coals(don't know the brand b/c I threw the box away a while back) they're square and I've had them around the bowl. I attempted to use 3 coals and it wouldn't heat enough to produce anything worth smoking. I normally use exoticas so I think I may try those just for something different until I can order some canarys.

[dizzbizz]

I think it either needs to acclimate more or you need to use warm water. I got that tickle when I first started to use Tangiers. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me and then I read somewhere that Tang likes warm water. I tried it and it went away. I must have gotten better at packing it cause now I use cold water and don't get it. Make sure you acclimate it in the environment where you smoke and try the warm water. I've never smoked it out of a large phunnel but I'd try one more coal, maybe a half of the jap.

[PSU Smoker]

why not try 3.5 coals =)