Razwithz Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I've been trying to smoke hookah for about 3 weeks now, I've already had 5 sessions, but I've had some problems that I haven't been able to solve just by searching on the net, I've found myself in the need of a more personalized assistance, so to speak: I don't get those incredible HUGE white puffy clouds I've seen in some videos. Instead I get a lacking weak light transparent smoke. The smoke doesn't really taste good. The smoke tastes bad, shisha doesn't taste as it smells in the pack, It tastes like some fruity chemical burnt sugar thing. The smoke is a bit harsh. I get a bit of an urge to cough when I take big hits, I also feel a slight burn in my the back of my throat. I get dizzy when I smoke. I think that the reason to this is that I smoke to much and don't wait from hit to hit for what I've read so far. I'll explain my experiences and how I set up everything: In the first session me and my girlfriend used a chinese hookah that I bought (looks exactly like [url="http://www.theshisha.com/shopcart/images/T/white_chinese_hookah.jpg"]this one[/url]) Al Fakher watermelon shisha, cheap quick light coals and water. I already knew that I had to wait for the coals to be all ashy and not releasing any smoke and that the shisha must not touch the foil. I packed the shisha, about half the bowl to prevent it from sticking to the foil, used 4 layers of foil, poked holes as I saw in videos, cracked the coal into 4 pieces to get better heat distribution, lighted the pieces up and placed them centered and separated from each other, we proceeded to smoke. We had the problems I mentioned earlier, weak a bit harsh flavourless smoke, and I got dizzy, my girlfriend did told me that I wasn't waiting between hits, that I was smoking to fast and to much. When we finished and I unwrapped the foil I found a small piece of shisha sticked to it and got burnt. I concluded the dizziness was from my smoking technique and that the bad smoke came from the small burnt shisha piece that sticked. My second session was pretty much like the first one, this time and in the sessions ahead I used only 2 layers of foil. My third session was a bit different, I thought "what the hell, I'll set it up as I've seen on YouTube videos, packed to the top shisha and one piece coal in the center of the foil". So, this time I filled the bowl with shisha, even overfilled it, packed it tighter than the past sessions, still used a quicklight which I didn't cut or cracked into smaller pieces, lighted it up, placed it in the center and smoked. I wasn't getting any smoke so I thought that the smaller-coal-pieces technique was better, I cracked another coal into 4 pieces, lighted it up and placed it WITH the first coal. This time I did get a bit bigger puffier and wither clouds, I was happy, but after about 5 hits the smoke turned horribly harsh and had a nasty burnt taste, left a horrid stink in my hookah, which I had to boil in soapy water to get the smell off. I didn't get too dizzy, just a bit, I did waited more time from hit to hit. I figured out that overpacking the bowl wasn't the way to get better smoke, also that I used to much heat, the shisha burnt too fast. I did some research and found that the problem were the coals, that I had to use naturals instead of quicklights, and that the shisha touching the foil was the cause of the harsh smoke. So, I got myself a 16 pack of coconaras and another 50g. of shisha, El Nakhla double apple this time. For my fourth session I was very careful packing the shisha so it wouldn't stick to the foil, I filled half the bowl this time as I did in my first and second sessions. Lighted up a coconara being careful it was all ashy, and placed it. When I placed it on the foil I heard a sizzling sound, like bacon being cooked. I thought "Damn, the shisha somehow sticked again". So I unwrapped the foil and found indeed shisha sticked all over it, I removed it, packed it again very carefully and placed the coal again. I wasn't getting any smoke, so I lighted up another coconara and placed it, then I smoked. Same as in the first and second sessions, weak flavourless a bit harsh smoke, and got dizzy again. When I unwrapped he foil there was no shisha sticked anymore, so, it had to be something else I was doing wrong. After a couple days I remembered reading that tangiers had to be "acclimated", so I googled the concept, what it meant and how to do it. I realized that I did notice a smell coming from brand new fresh shisha when I opened the pack, and that that smell was present in the smoke in the form of a taste, to me it is more of an anis chemically smell, rather than soy or bbq sauce as stated by some people. I also read that non-acclimated shisha could be the responsible for flavourless weak and harsh smoke, I thought "Great, that was it all this time!!". Excited, I left the 3/4 left of my Double Apple Nakhla uncovered for acclimation for almost a day ( the whole night till the next day noon). I changed it from it's original package to a small plastic bag. I did notice the anis smell was gone, I sealed and packed the shisha in the plastic bag "Tangiers package" style and left it like that for about a couple hours. Fifth session and attempt (*sigh*). When I opened the plastic bag it smelled so nice, it did smell now like nothing but sweet sweet apples, without any chemical or anis smell at all. Set up everything as in the fourth session, half the bowl with my now acclimated sweet-scented shisha, two coconaras, careful not to let shisha touch the foil, plain water, and proceeded. Same problems, harsh weak flavourless smoke, slight burning feeling in the back of my throat and urge to cough, dizziness. I've seen some videos of people reviewing products and going like "Oh, wow, this tastes soooo good!!" and has got me wondering: does shisha taste like literally good?, or is it more a relative good, compared to licking cigarette ashes, or burnt sugar?, is it supposed to taste like you filled a trigger sprayer with flavoured syrup concentrate and sprayed it in your mouth?, is it supposed to taste just as it smells? Also I've read that smoking hookah is supposed to be a relaxing pleasant enjoyable experience (obviously) and that you are not supposed to feel any pain or discomfort, but again, are you not supposed to feel anything bad at all? or is it relative again, compared to what you feel when you smoke cigarettes?. So, I want to know what the heck am I doing wrong, or if it's just me that was expecting something that wasn't gonna happen (mouthfuls of flavour and no pain or discomfort at all)., or if I'm just to sensitive to it. I really want to take hookah as a hobby, I always felt intrigued to hookahs, as a kid every time I saw one I couldn't believe it was a pipe, it looked more like a weird fountain or a fancy middle eastern musical instrument, like a flute or a bagpipe because of the hose. Also I've always seen smoke and smoking as a very introspective meditative thing to do, and playing with smoke coming out of your mouth sure looks like a fun thing to do, but I've always kept away from cigarettes because I care for my health. When I researched, analysed, deduced and heard that smoking hookah is not as bad as cigarettes because it doesn't have any added toxic chemicals and is not being burnt but cooked or vaporized, I felt like it was something worth to try out, but I've had nothing but bad experiences and I don't see what I am doing wrong. Anyway, I leave thisin your experienced hands, see you around, peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassouni Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Yes, it tastes literally good. Not compared with other smokeables, but in absolute terms. With the better tobaccos, it should taste like it smells. Not always, but it should. Stuff like Nakhla and usually Al-Fakher typically does. If the smoke is starting to get harsh, you can tell right away, and that means that the tobacco is starting to burn. If it's really bad and cough-inducing and not enjoyable at all, it's usually burnt past saving. By the way, before anyone says anything - shisha is another name for the pipe, NOT the tobacco. But few besides me here abides by that. I see several problems, in general. Firstly, good move switching to Coconara, but you never want to put the coal on the center of the bowl, always place them on the edge. Secondly, for Nakhla, there's no need to acclimate, and you want to pack the bowl dense - it should definitely touch the foil. For Al-Fakher, you don't want it dense but it should also be filled all the way - it's ok if it touches the foil a bit. Do not underpack your bowl, this leads to the weak smoke and possible harshness. However, Al-Fakher burns easily, so don't overpack it either. Don't worry about Tangiers for the moment. Finally, I'm sure everyone here will say the same thing, but those tiny Chinese "pumpkin" pipes are really garbage. I mean this in terms of build quality, but also in terms of smoke quality - it probably contributes to the harshness etc. I'd recommend getting a better pipe, but if you don't want to make the plunge, use this packing method for Nakhla - it's really foolproof most of the time: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te7ydKLgttk&feature=youtu.be[/media] Then, use your coconaras, fully lit, on the edge of the bowl, with a bit hanging off each side. You should see immediate improvement. Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassouni Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Also, check this out for Nakhla. It's for a funnel, but it's basically the same in any bowl http://www.hookahforum.com/topic/33144-nakhla-og-tutorial/page__p__406093__fromsearch__1&#entry406093 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassouni Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Also this, a brief, easy, and informative guide to coconut coals http://www.hookahforum.com/topic/40339-coconara-heat-management-tutorial/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I started typing a post, but it seems that Hassouni has already covered everything I wanted to say. I can't think of anything else to add except that if you do look into getting a better hookah, check out these brands: Mya Saray, Khalil Mamoon, Magdy Zaidan, Farida, Al Nawras, etc. Going with a brand name we recommend here on the forum ensures you get a quality pipe that shouldn't give you problems. Either way man, just experiment using the advice you are given here and you'll soon get the hang of it. Also, I love Jay's packing video! So many lulz every time I watch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassouni Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Honestly, Razwithz, even a no-name Egyptian pipe from Ebay or a smoke shop will suit you well for the time being. A lot of the brand names are very overpriced. PS, Chris, I saved that video to favorites because otherwise there's no way to find it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Good point about no names being good as well, Hass. I just think that going ahead with a brand name ENSURES (more or less) you get something that is quality. Most of the time, the no-names are hit or miss. Especially if you don't have a good eye for spotting quality hookahs (as I'm sure most newbies don't). Yep, I had to save it to my favorites as well. Jay has it unlisted, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassouni Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 True about hit or miss. The answer, of course, is to ask us here if X is a good pipe or not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I agree. Sucks that a lot of hookah smokers don't come here first before purchasing a hookah, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavo21 Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Talk about the TC clinic people get them interested in that 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 its not for you, send me your stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcane Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I forgot about that video...it may be deleted soon. Maybe. Unlikely...... ...but, maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Why on god's earth would you delete it??? It's pure internet gold! Now I gotta go download it, just in case you do delete it, so I can watch it and get a good giggle every now and then (I wouldn't share it without your permission, obviously). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcane Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I may do some more packing videos then. Nothing fancy...basic iPhone camera, no editing and a bit of ridiculousness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='Arcane' timestamp='1343852566' post='553084'] I may do some more packing videos then. Nothing fancy...basic iPhone camera, no editing and a bit of ridiculousness. [/quote] Do it! Sounds good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razwithz Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Well, firstly thanks for your replies, helpful indeed! I tried to pack the bowl with the video's method but the tobacco touching the foil still made it harsh. I tried then to pack it a bit tighter and separated the tobacco from the foil and got a much better result!. Yet, I've figured out that maybe the problem is my pipe, that cheap chinese pumpkin thing. I was searching for some more info on harsh smoke and read somewhere that harsh smoke could be because of air leakage in the pipe?, mine has some, cause I cover the bowl and drag air and some does manage to come out, I think that also the bowl is pretty small, and maybe the heat is just too much, thus the harsh smoke. Anyway I've been thinking and I'll get a bigger better pipe, there's a small store in my city that sells egyptian hookahs that go by the brand of [url="http://www.aladin-hookah.com/"]"Aladin"[/url], I checked out their cheapest (still twice as much of what I paid for the chinese one) model [url="http://picture.yatego.com/images/4e2ebfdab870e6.8/big_Aladin-Tummy-Shisha-qmh/aladin-tummy-shisha.png"]"Tummy"[/url] and seems to be good, in the store's site says that it's all stainless steel and glass, and that the stem is screwed in instead of pushed for better sealing. Here's a [url="http://www.theshishashop.com/ice-black-tummy-aladin-shisha-pipe-53cm-p-1150"]description [/url]of it, it's pretty much what the site of my city's store says. What do you think of it? Also, do you think it's a good idea to get a vortex bowl with it?. Seems to be more "foolproof" to pack than a regular bowl, and it's supposed to deliver better quality smoke, isn't it? See you around, peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassouni Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I've never see one like that before, but if it looks good it should work fine. Here's what to check: make sure all the welds look clean, the ports (like, the various openings throughout the pipe where the smoke flows through) are decently sized, and that the metal looks good, and not just cheap chrome over rustable steel, or worse. As for a Vortex....stay away. Frankly, if you have an extra £20, I'd recommend this: http://www.theshishashop.com/km-khalil-mamoon-shisha-cafe-style-75cm-with-long-blue-km-handle-hose-p-652 However, if you're in Mexico, it might make more sense to order from an American site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razwithz Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 Yeah well, they say that are designed in germany and handcrafted in Egypt (Aladin hookahs) so I guess that after all it is an Egyptian hookah, right? If not I might give the khalil mamoon you showed me a go. I'm thinking of ordering some shisha and I read about these shiazo steam stones and sound like something I'd try, I want to order some but I've found 3 different "official" shiazo sites, any of you guys know which is the real one?, I don't want to get ripped off. [url="http://www.shiazo.com/"]http://www.shiazo.com/[/url] [url="http://www.shiazo.us/"]http://www.shiazo.us/[/url] [url="http://www.shiazo-shop.com/en/?r=g"]http://www.shiazo-shop.com/en/?r=g[/url] thanks for your reply!, peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razwithz Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 or better yet, is this site good-reliable? [url="http://www.shishashop.co.uk/"]http://www.shishashop.co.uk/[/url] see you around, peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex.padmore Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 [quote name='Razwithz' timestamp='1344283214' post='553487'] or better yet, is this site good-reliable? [url="http://www.shishashop.co.uk/"]http://www.shishashop.co.uk/[/url] see you around, peace [/quote] yes, but id have thought shipping from that site would be more than any american site to mexico.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Yeah, as Alex said, go with an American vendor, as I imagine a UK vendor will be hefty on the shipping to Mexico. Just about every American online vendor carries the official Shiazo Steam Stones now, so don't worry about being ripped off. Just make sure you order from a legit American vendor (check out the vendor reviews on here- [url="http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/17-vendor-reviews/"]http://www.hookahfor...vendor-reviews/[/url] ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geraldzito Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I am having the EXACT same problem as Razwithz. I have a Khalil Maamoon hookha. I use a vortex bowl. I use coco nara coals. Two weeks now and I cannot stop coughing. I tried a wind cover. No difference. I really would like to enjoy this hookah, but I can't stop coughing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 I am having the EXACT same problem as Razwithz. I have a Khalil Maamoon hookha. I use a vortex bowl. I use coco nara coals. Two weeks now and I cannot stop coughing. I tried a wind cover. No difference. I really would like to enjoy this hookah, but I can't stop coughing. Any way you could post a video or at least pics of how you're doing everything? That will expedite the process of us helping you figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geraldzito Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Yes..I will work on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geraldzito Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 (edited) Well I have pics, but I can't seem to put them in the post. I copied from URL, but does not open. Edited October 21, 2015 by geraldzito photo wont insert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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