Smiley's Coconut Shell Lump Coals

[lazria]

Smiley's Cocoshell Coals

(not sure if they would be considered lump or formed, since some look formed, but mostly broken pieces)

Ease of Lighting - 7, I have a gas stove, it was relativily easy for me. You will need a stove (gas or electric) or a grill or propane torch. No lighter in heck are gonna light these babies. Took 5-7 mins, turning to expose all sides to flames. When glowing red - they're done.

Smell - 10, NOTHING! I was very happy.

Taste - 10, Again nothing. All I tasted was the shisha.

Heat - 10, Wow - keep fingers away! I saw heat waves rising from these puppies. Never saw that from ANY OTHER COALS I've used.

Ash - 8, they did produce a good bit of ash, but less than even the 3kings or goldens. Ash was fine and powdery - don't sneeze anywhere near them.

Longevity - 8.5, lasted a good long time, even when broken apart. Smaller chunks did last less, but that is to be expected. Large chunks lasted very well - provided good heat till the end.

Price - 10, at leass than 7$ for a bag, it was a steal.

Size Consistency - 5, the chunks could range from finger tip sized to 2" pieces (full rounds). It's appearently they were formed from something into a octagon-ish shape then smashed up.

Overall - 9. If i could find them locally, I would make this the ONLY coals I would use. But, due to the fact you need a good heat source to light them (they aren't really portable for most) and I have to order them online, I would exclusively use these babies.

TIP: They are supposed to re-useable. Place in water to put out... they go out, but word of caution - DO NOT LEAVE THEM IN WATER! They expand into a brown pile of ground cocoshells... and aren't reusable at that point

[Shifty]

Smiley's Coconut Shell Coals:

Ok. I've done naturals, I've done quicklights, I've done Jap EZ lights. Time for the cocoshells from Smiley.

I decided not to take a picture of how it was packaged because really, do you need to see a picture of a brown paper bag? Inside were 2 sandwhich sized ziplock bags filled with lump coals. I took both bags and poured them into a thicker larger bag. So without further ado, the review

Size: 8.5/10
Sorting through the pieces they come in a variety of sizes ranging from small about the size of a quarter, to large chunks about the size of a golfball and bigger. It would appear that how they make these things is in some kind of octoganal container with a rod through the middle because each piece is angled like a rooftop with a rod cut out in the middle as shown below. All in all there is a wide variety of pieces to choose from




Lighting: 7/10
You need a stove or torch to get these going, and then on top of that, a fan. They are very dense and heavy pieces. I have a blowtorch and it took about 6 minutes of constant heat to get the sides lit, then I sat next to my fan outside while they heated up. After about 10 minutes I considered them hot enough to start using. I packed my standard Mya bowl for this session and the piece sat pretty much directly on top of the whole thing. There was a smell while lighting them. I cannot describe it in words. Didn't smell chemically, just a little off, it is the smell that caused the score to drop slightly. While it isn't a horrible smell, it is enough to make the room off a tad.



Taste: 9.5/10
So far, I am tasting shisha with only a hint of something else, I would assume the something else is the coal, but it's only very faint, very. The session has been about 25 minutes so far and doing well. Not bad actually.

Functionality: 9.5/10
These do work, and as someone stated in an earlier review I am seeing heat waves waft off these things above the piece. It is burning slowly and hot. In the picture below, you see what the ash looks like about 25 minutes into the session. The ash is very thick and clings to the chunk, even after dropping it into the tray a few times, it hung on, I used the tongs to scrape the ash off, but it really wasn't needed, the piece is still hot and burning well.



Price: 7/10
The amount of coals you get in the bag is definately less than what I was expecting. This bag, if I were to use it everyday would most likely not last a month whereas some other coal brands are packed. Not too expensive, or cheap, but an ok middle ground.

Overall: 8.9/10
Quite an interesting coal indeed. They do work as advertised, and while I don't think I will be dousing this piece and reusing it, I can see how alot of these chunks could do that as they are quite large. They burn hot and don't have much of a taste. A good coal if you have the means to light them and the time to sit and relax while they burn. The piece I used lasted 1 hour and 5 minutes.



Happy Smoking.
Shifty

[YuoGotOwn3d]

Smiley's Cocoshell Coals

Like you've seen, these come in a Brown Bag with 2 Zip Loc Bags full of Chunks of Coals. When I handled my bag for the first time I got coal dust or whatever it is all over my hands.

Ease of Lighting - 8, I have an electric stove and I just stuck them on there while I got the rest of my Hookah ready. After about 5 minutes or so the coals were ready to go.

Smell - 9, When first lighting them, they gave off some 'BBQ-ish' kind of smell. It wasnt too bad, I just turned my stove fan on.

Taste - 10, NOTHING...All I could taste was the Shisha

Heat - 9, Although I didnt see 'Heat waves' above the coal, it was pretty hot with one good sized chunk.

Ash - 8, The ash was fine and powdery. I didnt remove the ash of it but It still burned pretty good.

Longevity - 9, First time Ive used 'Bulk Coal' as Ive used Quick Lites and Jap Coals. Lasted muccch longer.

Price - 10, Pretty good deal plus from where I ordered them local, they came the next day

Size Consistency - 5, I saw smaller pieces and larger pieces.

Overall - 9. I bought these online which is a Local place but too far to drive. I dont smoke that Often so these should last me a while. I smoke at home so I dont mind needing to use a stove to heat them up.

* I heard they were reusable by putting them out in water. I'll add more when I find out first hand about them being reusuable.