JDHarding Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 I decided to try a couple of John's "italian" bowls. The large, flat style one, and the other regular style bowl. The flat one is odd. I'm still not sure how to pack it, and even more unsure how many coals it needs. The small, regular one is great. Using it now for the first time, actually. Some Nakhla Mizo Watermelon. Great stuff. The bowl doesn't require much shisha, and sort of counts as a "small" bowl. Only one of John's coals and I'm getting pretty good clouds. I also like how it has a "lip" on it, which half the coal rests on while the other half heats the shisha. This helps keep harshness to a minimal. I tried 2 coals, but sheesh, that was huge, thick, difficult to swallow smoke. Anyway, anyone else have any experience with these italian bowls? Or has this topic already been done to death and I missed the train? ;P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71903DC5 Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 I've been wanting to pick one up I think I might now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDHarding Posted November 20, 2010 Author Share Posted November 20, 2010 The quality of them is far better than other bowls I've seen, though I notice some "patch" work where they used clay to patch cracks. I think my favorite is the small, regular style bowl. Nothing beats my Tang phunnel, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71903DC5 Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 Phunnel ftw. I was just unterested in trying them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmccoy90 Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 I was intrigued by them. How in the world do you pack the super shallow one? I'm not a big fan of having shisha touching the foil and being immediately singed by the coal, but I don't see any other option with the depth of that one. It's similar to the "flower" style bowls I've seen around. I'm all for trying something new and getting a new, potentially great experience, but what's the point of a bowl that shallow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71903DC5 Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 im thinking about picking them both up after i replace my crown point of a shallow bowl is to save shisha and use fewer coals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmccoy90 Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 I dig saving shisha and coals. I love my small egyptian bowl. Put in 10-15 or so grams of tobacco, split a Coco Nara in half, when that's finished put one more split CN on there and it's done. 2 coals, a small (read: perfect) amount of shisha for me (and my girl, when she's in the mood), and I'm a happy camper. I just don't see how you can pack that shallow bowl and not burn everything to hell. That's got to hold MAYBE 5-10 grams of shisha. And once you throw a coal on top, I don't see how you could possibly manage the heat aside from putting the coal on, torching it, taking the coal off, letting it sit, lather, rinse, and repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71903DC5 Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 id just use one coal and keep rotating it but leave it hanging off the side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 [quote name='kmccoy90' timestamp='1290240453' post='488887'] I was intrigued by them. How in the world do you pack the super shallow one? I'm not a big fan of having shisha touching the foil and being immediately singed by the coal, but I don't see any other option with the depth of that one. It's similar to the "flower" style bowls I've seen around. I'm all for trying something new and getting a new, potentially great experience, but what's the point of a bowl that shallow? [/quote] Touching the foil isn't a bad thing, it's pretty normal. These bowls aren't bad, mainly good for OG Nakhla. If you pack it real tight around the walls and leave the middle over the hole open as much as possible then it works pretty well. I have one I bought years ago and use it for OG Nakhla every time I smoke it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassouni Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I have THREE of the shallow bowls, in male configuration, from the vendor in Beirut he got his from. I use them for Nakhla, but really haven't got a good smoke out of them - it just gets harsh fast and the flavor/smoke doesn't develop so well....I'm also curious as to what other people do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDHarding Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 I get the shallow bowl to smoke somewhat okay using a windcover as help. Use one coal, on one of the edges, cover, smoke a little till harsh, take the cover off and move the coal, recover, rinse, repeat. I pack the bowl by putting a light layer of shisha on there and covering with foil. I don't care too much if the foil touches, but if you do then just squish it down till it's level below the rim and cover. I think putting some sort of metal support in the middle before packing, like a tea candle light tin with holes in the sides, to prop the foil up, then packing around it will help some. Infact, I'll try that next time I pack a bowl and see how it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoapplesplease Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 this kind of bowl is for zahloul , khan el khalili and like black moassels , mound it up high and use no foil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epoch Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 [quote name='twoapplesplease' timestamp='1290336741' post='489000'] this kind of bowl is for zahloul , khan el khalili and like black moassels , mound it up high and use no foil [/quote] You sir, are one bad motherfucker, and I respect that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71903DC5 Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 no foil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoapplesplease Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 no foil .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmccoy90 Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 How is that tolerable as far as harshness is concerned? I can't imagine that would be much better than inhaling cigar or pipe tobacco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoapplesplease Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Thats the point, its like smoking a cigar or pipe.....its delicious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epoch Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 When going screenless, I light the coals up as hot as possible, and let them sit on top of the tobacco for about ten minutes before puffing. Not too harsh. Never tried this with zaghloul before... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71903DC5 Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Damn that's bad ass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 TAP is right, thats how its meant to be smoked. Haven't had zag in a while, thanks for making me crave it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ih303 Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I've got Zag and Khan at my lounge. Actually, got rid of the Khan, only have Zag now. The only people who order it are the cats from Saudi. I can't smoke it for too long before it makes my eyes water. I've never been a cigar/cigarette person and this is as close as you can get with a hookah. Same with Tombac. Cool bowl though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassouni Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 FWIW, John and I got ours from Lebanon, yeah? I've seen plenty of people there smoking flavorless stuff with the coals straight on, and they NEVER use bowls like that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmccoy90 Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I've heard of being going screenless and putting the coals right on. I'm intrigued. How is it different than smoking a pipe or cigar? Doesn't it defeat the purpose of smoking through a hookah? Not that I'm not interested in trying, I'm just curious because it seems a bit counterintuitive to the idea of hookah. Someone enlighten me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukhookah Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Would this work for af soft black? As soft black is more moist? Wouldn't it just burn the sucker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epoch Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 [quote name='ukhookah' timestamp='1290476462' post='489227'] Would this work for af soft black? As soft black is more moist? Wouldn't it just burn the sucker [/quote] Using the technique I mentioned before (red hot coals, let them sit on top of a dome of shisha for a few minutes before smoking) and it should work fine for anything. I've smoked Romman this way, and it's about as wet as shisha comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now