Tangiers & Its Use

[Pink Smoke]

I hear that Tangiers is a really strong Tobacco. I also hear that you have to air it out a little before you smoke it. I really don't want to get sick, and I hear that this is an excellent tobacco for the seasoned smoker. I was just wondering if anyone would mind telling me the process of preparing Tangiers? I'm not just talking about packing the bowl. I'm talking about airing it out (if that's necessary), packing a normal bowl (I don't have a funnel bowl), and just plain enjoying the smoke.

Thank you for your time, and I hope that I can gain some positive feedback from this post.

God Bless You, and have a wonderful night.

[Travis]

From the man himself:.

[color=#1C2837][size=4]Try 4/20 Acclimation. Leave it open for 4 hours, seal it up for 20 hours if you are having persistent acclimation problems.

Don't overthink it. Anybody that tells you they have the best way to do something doesn't. Tangiers or otherwise.

Original post:

1. Acclimate using 4/20
2. My phunnel bowls are superior. A Chinese phunnel will work, not as well (for anything...not just Tangiers). The next best option for you is the crummy clay Middle Eastern Bowl that frequently comes with the hookah. Its also solid clay, but not a phunnel. Always choose a solid clay bowl if you can for superior heat distribution. Bowls that are hollow, cast or made of exceedingly porcelain-y clay should be avoided. Metal bowls are OK, but not reliably.
3. Don't freak about the holes. Poke as many holes, as large as practicable in the foil. Go to the bottom, don't go to the bottom, who cares? The point is getting air to go through the foil. Kris Jones swears by poking all the way to the bottom. It somebody says "shit gets stuck to the fork" when they poke the holes too deep, either the fork is too sharp or their tobacco isn't packed tightly enough.
4. Chill out. Pack the bowl first, then light the coals if you will take some amount of time to pack.
5. Don't be a dumbass. Use regular tap water. Don't overthink this. I put absolutely no thought into packing Tangiers. I just put it in a bowl, poke holes in the foil, put charcoal on.

Second Set:
nwheeler doesn't have a good grasp of how the phunnel bowl works, as they imply. It is not driven by hot air (AKA convection), it is driven by direct heat (conduction). If convective heat was the principal driving force, then a hollow Chinese Phunnel or vortex bowl would work equally well as the Tangiers phunnel. Since there is a mensurable difference...well not mensurable, but perceptible...the materials of construction must make some difference. Materials that create better heat conduction make better performance. A hollow, cast bowl does not, because the air gaps act similarly to a "vacuum flask" or a Thermos, which is a conductive glass tube, suspended in an air gap to prevent heat loss.

Your Reply: I can't really estimate how many Fumaris to use on a Chinese bowl, since all the Chinese bowls are different. I would guess three dead center would work well. Its always better to apply charcoal directly to the center than to "sneak up" from the sides. It also uses less coal having them in the center than it does to have them around the outer edge. Don't be afraid to add more Fumaris directly to the other ones to have them light. This is one of the most convenient parts of using them is lighting them directly on the bowl from other lit coals.



From your 3:45 pm post: The tobacco should be well packed to a quarter's width below the outer rim of the bowl. Not the tower itself. These guys are not fully plugged in here. You are having charcoal issues...you pack a proper bowl THEN put the appropriate amount of charcoal on there. You don't have to overthink it again. try three Fumaris in the center, at first. If you need more coal, put it on. If its too much, move it towards the edge of the bowl or take one off of centered. The tobacco touching the foil doesn't burn it by necessity. Having too much tobacco in the bowl makes it touch the foil and then makes it smoke bad, but not by necessity touching the foil. If you see what I'm saying. The same sort of myth is propagated in bars "Don't mix drinks...it gets you more fucked up. You get a bad hangover." If you only have one drink, you can't get too fucked up. If you have two drinks (a necessity for mixing liquors), you more of a chance of getting fucked up. You must be by mixing drinks having at least one more drink than just drinking the same general type of liquor. IF you have two gin martinis, or one gin martini and one bourbon Manhattan, you aren't in any additional risk (provided the spirits in question are of reasonable quality). Mixing drinks [i]isn't[/i] the problem...drinking too much is the problem. From that, in the same vein. touching the foil with tobacco isn't the problem. Too much tobacco is the problem.

In general, one Coconara or CH John Coconut Coal is equal to 2 Fumaris/Golden Canaries. You probably should be in the range of 3-4 Fumaris. Which means you should use 3-4 [i]Halves[/i] of Coconut coals. Bust them into halves before lighting.

That soy sauce smell is from bad acclimation issues, generally only found when the package is first opened (owing to a [b]vastly[/b] different humidity level. Once the newly opened tobacco gets in line, it will only vary with minor to medium acclimation problems in general. The wide swing in humidity is the problem, but you may not notice it until you have more experience smelling and smoking Tangiers.

The important thing in acclimation is the absolute humidity which is measured in dewpoint [i][b]NOT[/b][/i] relative humidity. Relative humidity may be useful in anticipating how long it takes to acclimate...not whether humidity shock will occur.

Your description is an acclimation issue. It happens to us periodically too. That is most often seen when the temperature goes up and the dewpoint goes down. Use 4/20 accliamtion in your storage tub. Don't leave it open for 24 hours. Don't spread it out on foil or whatever. Open it for four, seal it airtight for twenty.

Every tobacco has a background flavor. With Tangiers, mis-acclimated, or with too much coal, you get more of the dark pipe tobacco base to come out. Fruit flavors are volatile and sensitive to water. If you have a tobacco that is based on honey or corn syrup, you will get a different base flavor out of it. If the moisture in the air to an untreated "natural" tobacco like Tangiers is out of proportion to the moisture in the tobacco the imbalance will tend to dissolve the water-soluble fruity flavors and reduce them in quantity. The more the imbalance or mis-acclimation, the more of a reduction in the flavor. In some cases, the flavor of the tobacco will begin to predominate. In some cases, it will remain relatively flavorless, depending on which direction the imbalance is.

[color=#2B3730][size=2][b]Quote[/b][/size][/color]

[size=2]I cannot imagine a Hookah lounge ever serving this stuff to laymen customers off the street and managing to stay in business- it is so far from what the popular conception of what hookah smoke ought to taste like- the 1 star yelp reviews would drive it into the ground even if dedicated smokers might be able to develop a taste for it over time. On the other hand, the guys I spoke to were definitely pretty knowledgeable- and they admitted that I might be missing out on some flavor because the tobacco had been laying flat in the pyrex during my acclimation, and so the stir might not have gotten enough juice (although it seemed juicy enough to me while i squished it down into the bowl with my fingers). According to those dudes, this is just the way its supposed to taste. Has anyone tried these flavors? Is this really the end result of all that effort at acclimation and fiddly packing and constant coal maneuvering? If so then I am very disappointed.
[/size]

Thanks for your opinion. If you have a legitimate problem with Tangiers, I'll help you, Kris will help you, Chris will help you, Stuie, whatever. If you want to be a dick and flame, go somewhere else. I get tons of people that have no problems ever. Other people keep having the same problems over and over. I pack their bowl, its fine. They pack it, it tastes burnt. Same tobacco. No difference. I can't have insight into every reason why a person can't pack a bowl or use charcoal in a manner that is consistent with the tobacco they are smoking.

We don't tolerate people flaming around here. If you think we're going to go falling all over ourselves to help you when you're shit-talking, guess again. If you think this is HP where people flame recreationally, wrong again. If you think this is RHF where they give you a polite response to your flaming, still wrong. There are quite a few lounges that are incredibly successful serving Tangiers. They often in relatively short succession get rid of their other lines of tobacco and do even better than they did when they served Starbuzz, Al Fakher, etc. Tangiers is completely consistent with types of the tobacco that are sold and enjoyed in great quantity in the Middle East. They have no problem packing it. People go to some dipshit lounge that puts 5g in a bowl and charges you $20, it won't smoke well. The Arab guys say that's how they all do it back home to convince you they're not screwing the white guys over, believe them...go ahead. However, that's the nature of the tobacco. Try cigarettes: they're foolproof. The cheap, lack-luster water-laden tobaccos that most American people are used to have made their way to the Middle East, but still Middle Eastern people are smoking things we've never heard of in the United States. They are astoundingly better than the average hookah tobacco available in the US. I know quite a few people, on the other hand, that take Tangiers [i]back[/i] to the Middle East with them, because they feel it is the best and they keep smoking it. The mystifying part is they don't have a problem packing a bowl or figuring out how much charcoal to use. It comes naturally to them...perhaps Tangiers is more like the tobaccos from the Middle East and this is more like the way they pack bowls in the Middle East? I go hours with never picking up my tongs, using new coals to adjust the old coals. I never fiddle with coals.

This is not meant as a flame: but you have tons of ridiculous habits that I read about are not conducive to good hookah smoking. You have to adapt your style to what tobacco you're smoking. There is no one way to pack a bowl. There is no one best way to do things in regards to different types of tobaccos. Your own statements to me indicate you're still off-the-mark when it comes to packing and probably bowl preparation in general. There is always a hint of background flavor of the tobacco. It is tobacco, it is not washed and chemically treated like other brands. There are lots of guys who smoke Tangiers, enjoy it, and still get a lot when they check out how to pack a bowl from me. They are surprised at how much better it smokes compared to the way they were used to it. Some people like to smoke it that way though. You can achieve great Tangiers smoking...but you have to give up ideas of "best" "Perfect" "proper" so and so forth. You have used inferior equipment, lousy charcoal and crappy tobacco and you are trying to make a fundamental shift on all fronts. It takes some patience and trying to get things right.

You're inability to pack a bowl right or figure out how many charcoals to use means that lounges will fail by serving Tangiers? Perhaps you should reexamine your viewpoint...it is ludicrous.

If you have a have a problem, ask. If you want to flame, fuck off. [/size][/color]

[Travis]

Just realized I didnt read the bulk of that post....


Just pay attention to the first part about the 4/20 acclimation.

[Chreees]

1. Put the shitbrick of Tangiers into a wide, shallow, rectangular tupperware container. Break up the brick thoroughly and level out the tobacco.

2. How does it smell? If it smells like the flavor it should be, then you're most likely good to go. Does it smell like soy sauce or BBQ sauce? It needs to be acclimated then. For acclimation, use the 4/20 method, as this decreases the time the tobacco is open to the air, which can lead to flavor loss. Stir the tobacco in the container, then let it sit for four hours open to the air. Stir every hour or so. Then seal it up for 20 hours. Repeat until it smells right. If it just never smells right after trying this many times, then try the freezer method, which "resets" it if it is in humidity shock. Put the tobacco sealed into the freezer overnight. Then try the 4/20 method again.

3. Time to pack! If it smells right, of course. A legit Tangiers small phunnel is best for beginners. Other bowls will work, but it complicates the whole thing. So my recommendation is get an actual Tangiers phunnel. So what you want to do is pack the tobacco TIGHT, as tight as it comes in the package in its shitbrick form. Don't leave gaps or loose spots in the bowl. I like to press it down with my palm instead of Eric's "foil test," so that way I get a good feel of how tight it is. I like mine just a tad and I mean JUST A TAD below the outer rim of the bowl. The tobacco rises just a bit, mainly because the juices are boiling, so you want to compensate for this. Just have to make sure you don't underpack it. That is the common mistake when packing Tangiers. When in doubt, add more tobacco. Either way, it WILL end up touching the foil in your session. It's just a matter of how much it touches (in my opinion, anyway). Use the palm press method or the foil test method. Or you can look at it this way- make the tobacco flush and level to the edge of the inner spire, so that it is slightly below the outer ridge of the phunnel bowl. This is for legit Tangiers phunnels, as the Chinese knockoffs commonly have inner spires that are too high.

4. Heat. Try to use a low heat coal, as Tangiers is a low-heat tobacco. I recommend Golden Canaries, Fumaris, or Cocomazaya. Golden Canaries and Fumaris are low heat Japanese coals. Perfect for Tangiers. Cocomazaya are coconut cubes that are a bit smaller than most coconut coals that are square or more rectangular. Less surface area in contact with coal = less heat. Either way, start the coals out on the edge. You can then move them in slightly as they die down in size. GCs and Fumaris are a little different. I just have them right at the edge, and 15 minutes or so into the session I add new unlit coals on top of the already-lit ones. Within about 5 minutes, the new coals will be lit. This process is repeated throughout the rest of the session. Note: This method, called "piggybacking," will NOT work with coconut coals, so Cocomazayas , etc.

Practice makes perfect. Just follow these basic guidelines and you will find success.

[Coleman]

Ok umm I was gonna try saying something new but chris covered it all....


so chris this is for you

[Big Boss]

Chris pretty much said it all. Only thing I'll add is that if you're worried about Tangiers being "too strong" for you, try the Lucid line first. The Lucid line is a washed version of the Noir line and has less buzz.

Now, get out there and enjoy what is sure to be the first of many Tangiers experiences!

[Epoch]

Lucid is perfect for new folks!

[Cp44]

Whatever Incubus said, follow that.

[evilded777]

Wow... not much to add here.

I'm iffy on the whole acclimation or "airing out" thing, because I rarely have to do it. But... there are always exceptions as I found with my first batch of Regal Flower. I still don't acclimate, but my Regal Flower tasted almost completely different the second time I smoked it.

[Pink Smoke]

Thank you so much for your help! I just received my Tangiers today. I am so happy! I ordered [u]Sour[/u], [u]Cinnamon[/u], & [u]Chocolate Mint[/u]. I loved the Sour, but it didn't smoke long because I didn't do it right. I intend on doing it right the next time so as not to waste the shisha. Tangiers is definitely my tobacco of choice. Funny, I didn't get sick at all. The buzz was pretty strong, though. Best tobacco in the world!

[Chreees]

Great to hear! Any more issues or questions, we're here for you.

[king_lunchb0x]

[quote name='INCUBUSRATM' timestamp='1312869120' post='519325']
1. Put the shitbrick of Tangiers into a wide, shallow, rectangular tupperware container. Break up the brick thoroughly and level out the tobacco.

2. How does it smell? If it smells like the flavor it should be, then you're most likely good to go. Does it smell like soy sauce or BBQ sauce? It needs to be acclimated then. For acclimation, use the 4/20 method, as this decreases the time the tobacco is open to the air, which can lead to flavor loss. Stir the tobacco in the container, then let it sit for four hours open to the air. Stir every hour or so. Then seal it up for 20 hours. Repeat until it smells right. If it just never smells right after trying this many times, then try the freezer method, which "resets" it if it is in humidity shock. Put the tobacco sealed into the freezer overnight. Then try the 4/20 method again.

3. Time to pack! If it smells right, of course. A legit Tangiers small phunnel is best for beginners. Other bowls will work, but it complicates the whole thing. So my recommendation is get an actual Tangiers phunnel. So what you want to do is pack the tobacco TIGHT, as tight as it comes in the package in its shitbrick form. Don't leave gaps or loose spots in the bowl. I like to press it down with my palm instead of Eric's "foil test," so that way I get a good feel of how tight it is. I like mine just a tad and I mean JUST A TAD below the outer rim of the bowl. The tobacco rises just a bit, mainly because the juices are boiling, so you want to compensate for this. Just have to make sure you don't underpack it. That is the common mistake when packing Tangiers. When in doubt, add more tobacco. Either way, it WILL end up touching the foil in your session. It's just a matter of how much it touches (in my opinion, anyway). Use the palm press method or the foil test method. Or you can look at it this way- make the tobacco flush and level to the edge of the inner spire, so that it is slightly below the outer ridge of the phunnel bowl. This is for legit Tangiers phunnels, as the Chinese knockoffs commonly have inner spires that are too high.

4. Heat. Try to use a low heat coal, as Tangiers is a low-heat tobacco. I recommend Golden Canaries, Fumaris, or Cocomazaya. Golden Canaries and Fumaris are low heat Japanese coals. Perfect for Tangiers. Cocomazaya are coconut cubes that are a bit smaller than most coconut coals that are square or more rectangular. Less surface area in contact with coal = less heat. Either way, start the coals out on the edge. You can then move them in slightly as they die down in size. GCs and Fumaris are a little different. I just have them right at the edge, and 15 minutes or so into the session I add new unlit coals on top of the already-lit ones. Within about 5 minutes, the new coals will be lit. This process is repeated throughout the rest of the session. Note: This method, called "piggybacking," will NOT work with coconut coals, so Cocomazayas , etc.

Practice makes perfect. Just follow these basic guidelines and you will find success.
[/quote]

nicely done maybe you should turn this post into its own thread and sticky maybe?