A Bit Ovverated Or Just Me? (No Disrespect Intended)

[frenchyfam]

so I feel that Tangiers seems to be a little overhyped, what are you're opinions? I've had Orange soda which wasn't that great same goes for schnozzberry static starlight maraschino cherry. only flavors I can see buying  again are cane mint horchata and cactus fruit, im pretty disappointed but any suggestions that are creamy and not floral. also would like to add that for 7 bucks ive been getting fumari a lot and actually love it. finally would like to say that no disrespect was intended as well..  just my 2 cents. and yes I can pack perfectly

[Chreees]

No disrespect towards you, but I have a feeling that perhaps you did not properly pack your bowl, or you did not properly manage your heat. Those are the top two reasons why people say they are dissatisfied with Tangiers.

 

Please tell us your equipment and the process you are doing. Tangiers Phunnel bowl? A legit one can lead to success more easily compared to other phunnel bowls. This isn't to say Tangiers can't be smoking out of anything other than a Tangiers phunnel bowl. Hell, some folks even use clay Egyptian bowls to smoke Tangiers. And while that is fine, it is recommended for newbies to use a legit phunnel bowl so that they get a successful bowl. The way you pack the bowl is crucial to getting full flavor and smoke as well- Tangiers likes to be TIGHT, about as tight as it comes in the package, but not to the point where you are squishing the juices out from the tobacco. Also how high you pack is an important factor- I do mine up to the inner spire, but just below the outer rim.

 

What's your heat looking like? If you use coconut coals, try splitting them or standing them up on their smallest side (often referred to as stonehenging). Tangiers requires less heat and I have personally found it is better to apply the heat slowly, having the coals hanging off the edges of the bowl opposite each other, and moving them in slightly as the session progresses. I also try not to ash my coals often. This serves two purposes- 1) the ash acts as an insulator, and generates less heat, and 2) the coals seem to last longer.

 

For more advice on what I do and have found is successful for Tangiers, feel free to check out my thread on it: http://www.hookahforum.com/topic/40379-chreeess-guide-to-tangiers-success/

 

I hope you will keep trying and see if you don't perhaps change your mind. :)

 

Cheers,

Chris

[Hassouni]

It's not just you. Tangiers is highly overrated. The flavors Eric gets right are great, but there are a lot of bombs, and I've been buying it since 2006. Many of the flavors are not strong, and don't cover up the underlying Tangiers tobacco taste, which at least in Noir, is TERRIBLE. 

 

It's also overrated in that EVERY. SINGLE. OTHER. MU'ASSAL. COMPANY. IN THE FUCKING WORLD! manages to get their product (such as it may be) to smoke fine under many circumstances. Tangiers is the ONLY ONE that requires the stars to align and the Messiah to return to earth for it to smoke right, and I see that as a huge, intrinsic, and fundamental flaw. If some dude in a village in Jordan or Egypt can do it, then why can't Tangiers?

 

I will say that there are several Tangiers flavors I do enjoy, but I do not enjoy the absurd finickiness of it, and there are many more flavors I do not like at all.

[Chreees]

Well it's obvious who here is the optimist and who is the pessimist. :P

While I agree with a good bit of what Hassouni said, I think you shouldn't give up on it just yet. I have had issues with it in the past yet it's about the only tobacco I smoke now.

[Anxiety]

I too once thought it was over-rated, and gave up on it for a while. I kept seeing all of the hype on it and got kind-of frustrated that I was missing out on this "hype train". After spending a lot of time watching youtube videos on how to pack/manage heat, and wasting A LOT of tobacco to finally get it right, other brands just don't do it for me. Once I got the heat management down, and bowl packing right I fell in love. I'll still smoke al-fahker every now and then because I feel their orange goes un-contested, but the main core of my stash is tangiers. It's defiantly not for every one, but some of the flavors tangiers has just packs such a punch of flavor and clouds, it's amazing :)

 

In the end, to each his/her own :)

[joytron]

First off, taste is highly subjective. Either you do not like the flavor because you do not prefer the taste, or you are doing something wrong in which case you may be missing out. 

 

Secondly, as far as Tangiers being difficult to smoke, I disagree with that, but it should not even matter. Look at any other hobby, quality is not judged by ease of use but rather performance at its best. The most expensive tennis rackets and snowboards used at the highest levels have nothing to do with ease of use. If you are unexceptional you will be severely disappointed with the way it performs, but a reduction in usability is the price you pay for peak performance. When suggesting a product for new members I see nothing wrong with with trying to steer them in a direction that will provide them for the best experience for their ability, but that does not mean that Tangiers is lacking.

 

You can spend the rest of your life playing the recorder, or you can learn to play the trumpet.   

[Travis]

Like Jess stated, taste differs from person to person. Personally, I've been smoking Tangiers for years and have never had an issue, and I love the stuff. Not saying that there aren't any other brands out there that are just as good, because there are, it just comes down to what you like. Other peoples opinions shouldn't matter too much, other than suggestions which should only be taken into account as such. If I could get Fumari that cheap, I'd probably smoke a ton of it. Fumari is a good brand, just a little on the expensive side for those of us that have no local supply. 

 

There is always going to be hype around Tangiers. People do blow it up way more than necessary, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. Just ignore all that and keep trying to get it right, or don't. Either way nothing that anyone else says shouldn't influence your opinion completely.

[king_lunchb0x]

to each its own, but for me its greaat stuff. Now its better than ever because of the different lines. I wil agree several flavors are subtle ( just got some raspberry and nectarine seem to be little flavor) but what brand doesn't have that. Its one brand i never get a headache from, prices is fair ( not cheap but fair).  Fumari is excellent but for the price of just 100g its just to rich for me. If you are interested in tangiers still try some Birquq. Not as much tobacco taste. Of course this is just my opinion.

[mattarios2]

For me blackberry is subtle, tastes like a mild cigar with blackberry notes here and there. Smells wonderful but definitely tastes subtle.

[frenchyfam]

I pack my bowls perfectly lol, i have 2 picos and two smalls my heat management is also fine i use 2 Jamras on a pico and 2-3 on a small dense packed.. My packing isnt the problem im just dissapointed with the flavors moreover then not knowing how to pack.... Outve the maybe 10-12 flavors ive tried i would only repurchase maybe 3-4 of them

[frenchyfam]

I have a love hate relationship.... Either i love the flavor or i hate it to a point where i cant smoke it lol ... Never been in the middle for me ...so u thought id see if im the only one

[mattarios2]

I have a love hate relationship.... Either i love the flavor or i hate it to a point where i cant smoke it lol ... Never been in the middle for me ...so u thought id see if im the only one

 

I completely agree. I believe I posted this same thing in a different thread. I am either saying holy shit and can't stop puffing it or I am like ... meh.

[Hassouni]

I have a love hate relationship.... Either i love the flavor or i hate it to a point where i cant smoke it lol ... Never been in the middle for me ...so u thought id see if im the only one

 

I completely agree. I believe I posted this same thing in a different thread. I am either saying holy shit and can't stop puffing it or I am like ... meh.

 

Yep. And more often than not the non "holy shit" ones are just too weak to cover up the frankly shit-tasting tobacco that's used. An unflavored Tangiers would be disgusting. Now, if Eric used, say Khan al Khalili for his base....

[kenshinx23]

if you smoke to fit into a crowd, smoke tang or star buzz, if you smoke because you like hookah and would still smoke if all the forums went down, smoke AF, Nak, fumari. If you smoke because your addicted to hookah smoke afzal and desi murili. 

[frenchyfam]

my go to tobaccos in my stash are Tangiers, Fumari, Nakhla and some AF just it seems with tangiers some flavors are fucking bollocks.. gotta admit that starbuzz white mint aint half bad.

[mattarios2]

Khan el Khalili is god status as far as I'm concerned. That stuff is incredible.

[Hassouni]

if you smoke to fit into a crowd, smoke tang or star buzz, if you smoke because you like hookah and would still smoke if all the forums went down, smoke AF, Nak, fumari. If you smoke because your addicted to hookah smoke afzal and desi murili. 

 

I'm with you on this except AF...

[Travis]

if you smoke to fit into a crowd, smoke tang or star buzz, if you smoke because you like hookah and would still smoke if all the forums went down, smoke AF, Nak, fumari. If you smoke because your addicted to hookah smoke afzal and desi murili. 

 

Smoke what you want regardless. That's what I've been doing for years. I like Tang so I smoke Tang, I like Nakhla so I smoke Nakhla. Hell, there's even a few Starbuzz flavors that I don't mind. 

[agunn1231]

my go to was nak, but it started making me sick, i havent gotten sock smoking tangiers or fuumari, so i switched over to those so i could feel less crappy while enjoying hookah.

[mattarios2]

Certain flavors bothered you right? Not all of them?

[agunn1231]

Certain flavors bothered you right? Not all of them?

correct, but after taking a break from nakhla for aout a week then going back to it, most flavors were bothering me so i decided it would be better if i just switched over.

[mattarios2]

weird

[agunn1231]

yeah, it really sucks, but luckily i have found a good three or four flavors of tangiers that i can keep going back to.

[mattarios2]

I definitely believe it bothering you. But do you think that since a few flavors bothered you, then when you went back to it, and you found most of them bothered you, that it could be in your head a little bit? Like for sure some of them bother you, but psychologically now all Nakhla bothers you?

 

That happened to me with snus, then I realized it was only certain brands that got to me and now I snus happily lol.

[mustang67n]

I do think Tangiers is Overrated.

 

But it's not overrated in the same sense that starbuzz is/has been. Tangiers is overrated, but is still a quality product. SB is overrated but is garbage. I'd found pieces of plastic in a SB mix.. that was my final straw.

It has been years, mind you, since I've smoked SB.

 

But I digress. Tangiers has many flavors that are unique and unmatched by any other brands. The intensity of some of the flavors are, likewise, unmatched. On top of this, the cleanliness of flavor (this is a big one for me).. If it's a mild flavor, i taste a hint of coal, the mild flavor, and whatever might be ghosted in the hose/pipe.

Unlike you, Chris(hass) I don't even notice a tobacco flavor from any tangiers other than Burley, unless I overpacked the bowl or am burning it.

Aside from that, Tangiers is the only brand I can smoke constantly, most others (nakhla mizo line included) give me headaches or taste chemically and that really REALLY turns me off from them.

 

I think, smoke what you like, and to hell with what others tell you.

i will say this though, I thought I'd been packing tangiers right for the longest time. I didn't realize how wrong I was until I'd gone to the lounge and had a bowl there... This stuff can be really finnicky, but once you get it right, it really can be a whole new hookah experience.