cymptom Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Well, I've been wanting to try to make my own herbal shisha for a while and finally decided to give it a shot. Two weeks ago I ordered a pound of damiana from herb-hut.com and some flavorings from www.naturesflavors.com. I found a bottle of Blackstrap molasses at the supermarket and a small container of vegetable glycerin at a health foods store. On Thursday I got to work on making my first test batch.I dropped 2 grams of damiana, a tablespoon of Blackstrap Molasses and a tablesppon of water in a pot and turned the burner on low. Stirring frequently to make sure the herb was coated well, the mixture started to thicken after 10-15 minutes. I turned off the burner, let it sit for a few minutes and then transferred the molasses herb to another container. It was very sticky, clumped together and stringy when pulled apart. Two days later it was a very solid clump of molasses-coated herb. I thought I probably cooked it for too long and considered it a failure. Just for the hell of it I decided to try mixing in a few drops of water, and then the glycerin with a little bit of Peach flavoring. Much to my surprise, the consistency changed drastically and it actually looked somewhat close to the normal consistency of shisha.I let that sit for the rest of the day, stirring occasionally. Then last night I decided to try it out and dropped the clump into my QT using the Mya ceramic bowl. I put 3 halves of Three Kings around the edges of the bowl, and very much to my surprise, it started to produce thin but flavorful smoke within a few pulls. 5 minutes later, moderately sized clouds, and after 10 minutes the smoke was actually rather thick! And as I'd hoped, I got a nice mellow buzz from the damiana. I really wasn't expecting it to smoke at all, considering I really had no idea what I was doing The peach flavoring didn't really taste like peach, but the overall flavor was actually enjoyable. I have some Apricot and Blueberry flavorings to try out too. If anyone's interested in hearing more about my experiments, I'll keep you guys updated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
web250 Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Wow, nice beginners luck there.Sounds good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGuy Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 lol cool stuffso what did the peach taste like then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dikydave Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 [quote name='cymptom']If anyone's interested in hearing more about my experiments, I'll keep you guys updated[/quote] hearing? i'm interested in trying! keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macho555 Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 [quote name='dikydave'] [quote name='cymptom'] If anyone's interested in hearing more about my experiments, I'll keep you guys updated[/quote] hearing? i'm interested in trying! keep it up.[/quote] Me too. Actually, I'm getting ready to give it a shot with some blue lotus, and a few other things, when I can scrounge the money up for the order. Keep up the good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymptom Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 I don't know what the peach tasted like, haha... all I really can tell you is that the smoke was enjoyable. The smoke didn't last for very long, maybe about 25-30 minutes but the flavor lasted all the way through. I just went and looked under the foil and damn, that stuff is rock hard. It's gonna take a little work to get it out of the bowl I obviously did something wrong with the molasses. Maybe I'm not supposed to use molasses with sugar in it? I've got a second batch in the works, I'll let you guys know how it goes. Dikydave: If I ever make anything that seems good enough to send out to people, I'd gladly do so. That is, as long as your willing to smoke some mysterious concoction cooked up by a stranger Macho: Yeah I'm definitely gonna give Blue Lotus a shot once I figure out what I'm doing. I'm using damiana for now because it's only $12 a pound. Blue lotus is like $12 a gram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGuy Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 if only salvorin A could be extracted at a lower temperature!what flavour is the next batch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymptom Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 I haven't decided yet, but I'm thinking Blueberry. It's the flavor that smells the most distinguishable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalliwag Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Good job Cymp!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angemonkwj Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 i would be totally up for tryin some to!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpimpitox Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 count me in for tryin some!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymptom Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 Don't get too excited now guys... if it's an enjoyable smoke to me, it has to be at least 1/2 because I made it myself. Even if I do get it to smoke well, I probably won't ever find accurate flavorings. I just mixed in the blueberry flavoring with the second batch, and it's looking like it'll be much better than the first. I'll let everyone know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostofdavid Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Kidnap Tangiers and torture him until he tells you how to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hookahnoob Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 What if you added more flavor to the mix? Think it would kick it up a notch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymptom Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 I don't know what happens when you've got too much flavoring in your shisha, but I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later. But the problem isn't that there's not enough flavor, it's that the flavor isn't very accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hookahnoob Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Humm.. Is there a difference in the glycerine? I saw some last night at a drug store. I got another tattoo and was looking for some A&D ointment for it and I saw a bottle of glycerine. Maybe find a molasses with little or no sugar? Have you seen Tangiers setup at his place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymptom Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 I think I may have seen a sugar-free molasses at Whole Foods, so I'll check it out. I haven't seen Tangiers setup except for the pictures he posted a while back. I'm stuck on the east coast for now, though just about everything in my life is telling me to move to San Diego Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldavis Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 all i have to say is every time you try a new bledn with different ratios, write down all exact measurements so you can produce the same results if you like them...my number one mistake when it comes to cooking new things...never remember how i did it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 [quote name='cymptom']I think I may have seen a sugar-free molasses at Whole Foods, so I'll check it out. I haven't seen Tangiers setup except for the pictures he posted a while back. I'm stuck on the east coast for now, though just about everything in my life is telling me to move to San Diego[/quote] Yes, move here. We could be friends.How much did you pay for the flavorings?I would add more peach. Measure how much you put in. Keep track of it. Success is nothing without consistency. Even Geroge Bush got elected a second time. Everybody gets lucky every once in awhile. The ambiguous fruity flavor is ethyl acetate. Its not terribly soluble in water, has a respectible flashpoint, so it tends to be one of the few flavors that makes it when the rest of the stuff dies too quickly. Use regular molasses. Not sugar free. Understand, the recipe exists not because of tehnological developments, but because of the properties that the item in question has. Substituting Sue-bee low carb honey syrup for honey might be a huge mistake. Also, remember, this stuff was invented by Middle Eastern wives who made tobacco for their husbands...are they smarter than you? Probably not...well, maybe not. If they can make it from household items, so can you. You jjust have to make sure you have the same household items. Edit: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding_Heart1 Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 hmm. i this is making me want to go to one of the many many tobacco farms here in kentucky and buy a few leaves to try out.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyGuy Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Nice job. Hope you get it to work right! Herbal shisha like that interests me... curious as to if you could get the blue lotus to work well and how potent the effects are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymptom Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 Yea I'll let you guys know how I make out with the aphrodisiacal properties of damiana. WHO WANTS DETAILS!?! Sign up now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyGuy Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Only if there are picture lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombiedepot Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 [quote name='MrGuy']if only salvorin A could be extracted at a lower temperature! what flavour is the next batch?[/quote] salvorin a + coals = probable house fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGuy Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 [quote name='zombiedepot'] [quote name='MrGuy'] if only salvorin A could be extracted at a lower temperature! what flavour is the next batch?[/quote] salvorin a + coals = probable house fire.[/quote] Like the saying goes "kill or cure" ... but there isnt realy anything to cure.... so....i guess it would prolly just...you know....kill you.... maybe that wasn't such a great idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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