The Dude Abides Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I've come to the conclusion that I can make any ma'assel produce light smoke, thick smoke, heavy and harsh smoke, smooth smoke, any "quality" of smoke. It comes down to how I manage my coals, and partially to how I pack my bowl. Foil hole patterns mean nothing--just have to make sure enough air can get through. Am I wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 And yes, flavor is a different issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahwahoo2006 Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 i agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djnick Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 once you know how to "tune" your particular hookah its not hard to get smoke out of it, since you know heat management on your hookah the best. But like others said, its all about the flavor, and there are different ways of getting the best flavor out of the tobacco, whether it be the coals you use, or type of instrument you are using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 I just remember being told "this or that brand produces the fluffiest smoke," and I actually believed it. And reviews of ma'assels reinforced that idea. But I've found that that is far from the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 hmm..ya i've been saying that in my reviews for a little while now..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityboyyy Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 so your saying that if a tobacco is a dry type then it can smoke as well as a wet af type of tobacco ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 dry like nakhla vs wet like AF? I'd say yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityboyyy Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 i guess i have some experimenting to do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Thats half the fun man! Since to say you use 3 kings, try using half pieces in your heat management experiments... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityboyyy Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 do u cut the coals with the tongs? and you do it before or after theyre lit ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I THINK most people write that thye break/cut them BEFORE lighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownZero Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I totally agree. After experimenting w/ the different brands I have, I was always able to get very thick smoke by managing the heat. I was always just using one 3 king coal at a time for everything.. but I tried adding halves of the coals along w/ the whole and WOW... But don't get me wrong, some shisha smokes very well w/ just one whole coal. I believe when people say one sort of brand doesn't give a lot of smoke, I take it that the shisha isn't at it's full potential due to lack of heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
web250 Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 What if you just keep the way you do your heat management, and coals the same, and then changed different brands of tobacco?Keep your heat/coals as the "stable" part of the experiment. That'd allow you to find out which brand really does smoke best under equal conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 web: why limit the tobaccos you can smoke because you don't want to put 1 1/2 charcaol disks on instead of your standard 1? Thats like saying Starbuz isn't worth smokign becasue it doesn't work well with the same heat as your Al Amir.... Besides, I'd rather heat up charcoal i'm not going to use than pack a bowl I can't smoke...charcoal is cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 Yeah... obviously brands have varying levels of moisture and consistency so they're not all going to smoke the same with the same amount of heat. That doesn't exactly require an experiment to find out, just logic. My point is that no brand produces "the best" smoke, because with simple tinkering I can make anything produce nice smoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Dorian Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 This is an interesting thread but I have to humbley disagree with the dude and mush rat. Yes, it is possible to get smoke with differing thickness or harsness depending on how a bowl is packed or how much heat is used, regardless of the type of tobacco. But this does not mean there arent qualatative differences in the smoke produced by different brands of tobbacco. The smoke is made mostly of the particulate matter and combustion products produced from heating the shisha, since different shisha are produced with different components and chemicals, they have different combustion products and hence, some sort of difference in the smoke. All that changing the heat and air flow (by virtue of how you pack the bowl) changes is the rate of combustion, and possibly the ratio of the combustion products as the more unstable products are produced with higher heat. This difference in combustion products also leads to differences in the size of the particles which make up the smoke. For example I am convinced the particles in the smoke from AF and al-amir are smaller than those from nakla or al-waha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityboyyy Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 yo that was a pretty deep explenation .... so your saying smaller particles will make nakhla smoke denser than al fakher? or al fakher denser then nakhla? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Dorian Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Well, the density of the smoke is more related to the rate of combustion and amount of particles and combustion products being produced. The size of the particles has more of an affect on the opacity and color of the smoke, as well as the feel of the smoke on the mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityboyyy Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 soooo bottom line which one in your opinion has the smoothest/thickest smoke capability ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 I don't have a PhD in thermodynamics, but what I can tell you is what I've experienced. And in my vast experiences with various ma'assels and coal management, I have found that there is unequivocally no difference in "quality" of smoke amongst brands, because it all comes down to how I heat the ma'assel with the coals. Thus, I am able to produce any "quality" I so desire. Again, this is emperical evidence I've collected through my personal experience, so if any of you have had different experiences, I guess thats just the way it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownZero Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Well I have been able to get the tickness of smoke I desire from all the tobacoo I've used, just some needed more help than others.. help being extra coals or throwing the wind cover on. I would say I pack all my bowls relatively the same by breaking up the clumps of tobacco, almost filling the bowl to the top and blowing into the bowl from the bottom. But if there is more science behind it... then I obviously don't know. But I will continue to adjust the heat to get more smoke to my satisfaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanguineSolitude Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 i guess i agree with you dudeabides, BUT at the same time, if i have tangiers smoking as thick and puffy as say havana or nakhla, it hurts to smoke it. and i dont even mean harshness. just it doesnt seem to perform best at the huge cloud stage. I mean i can get it chugging along with a full head of steam but the train also accompanies it at that point and knocks me down. Now havana smokes best when i cant see through the clouds of smoke and still stays smooth and wonderful. tangiers seems to be at its most enjoyable with less heat and less smoke. i agree that i can get any shisha to produce the same amount of smoke, but whether it will also be smooth and smokable at that amount is another story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Dorian Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 SS hit the nail on the head, because of differences in hookah tobacco is processed, or even the type of tobacco that various companies use, there are qualatative differences in the smoke. It is almost as if different ma'assels have a different "equlibrium" level of smoke, where the smoke is enjoyable and burning properly. It seems that this level of thickness varies for different brands, would you agree Dude? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted June 22, 2006 Author Share Posted June 22, 2006 What you say makes sense, and a little while ago I would have completely agreed with you. But after dabbling with many many brands and coal management, it became really obvious to me that any brand could be made to have a high "quality" of smoke (thick + flavor). Now, I never said that all brands have to be tended to in the same fashion. No no no... each brand requires it's own coal-tinkering in order to achieve perfect smoke. Some brands can handle more coals while others you have to constantly look after, but in the end I am still always able to achieve the same goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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