still cant get tangiers to smoke. Pix of my setup

[jakescakes]

well, i resorted to making a thread on here. i just dont know how to get this tobacco enjoyable. its always harsh, and hardly any smoke is coming out. Im pretty much struggling, and coughing after each puff. its horrible.

kashmir peach is what im using, tried several methods, looslely sprinkling, now im filling the bowl evenly, blowing through the bottom.
I got maybe 3 good puffs today. Thats when i took a small 3kings and broke it into 4ths. still, im clueless here. i included some pix, they probably wont help. I guess im just unlucky, and will prolly toss the tobacco out.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v519/jakescakes/Picture017.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v519/jakescakes/Picture015.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v519/jakescakes/Picture018.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v519/jakescakes/Picture019.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v519/jakescakes/Picture022.jpg[/img]

[speel]

I wouldn't pack it so much you simply might just not have enough air flow also try poking more holes in the foil.

[[LB]]

dude that is way overpacked, and the holes are waaaay too few. Also you should put 1+1/2 charks at a time. Good luck brotha, make sure the tobacco is loosely stirred around and airated.

[DizzyGuy]

[url="http://hookahwiki.com/index.php?title=Tangiers_Standard_Bowl_Packing"]http://hookahwiki.com/index.php?title=Tang...rd_Bowl_Packing[/url]

Thought there was supposed to be alot in it...

[oryon1033]

Your packing is fine, but I would suggest keeping every little piece in the bowl not hanging out. Also make sure that you fill around the edge of the bowl completely. Try creating a divot by using your palm like in that tutorial tangiers gave us. You definitely need more holes and when you poke them drive all the way down to the bottom of the bowl. As far as the coals go. When I use quicklites I just use one whole disk at a time. I light one put on the bowl and put towards the edge but not too far so its hanging off. Then start smoking. It should smoke fine. If it gets too thin, and you lose flavor just light another disk and either put it right next to the first coal or directly across. Repeat til the bowl is done. Pretty much do it exactly like in the tangiers bowl packing tutorial.

[SanguineSolitude]

if 4 quarters is too much... take one off. maybe its just too strong for you? though to be honest i had alot more trouble smoking it out of a standard egyptian than either a large egyptian or tangiers bowl.

[EvansLight]

ok ive had this idea working in my head. I think the way some of the flavours of tangiers is made, makes it hard for some people to smoke. Like flavours like licorice, or lime, more gentle flavours (best way i can think to say what i mean), dont cause any problems. What i call the harder flavours, like juicy peach, red tea, and i guess kashmir peach, tend to scratch some peoples throats. I had the same problem with juicy peach and red tea.

Its not that its getting harsh, its that theres something about it just scratching your throat. Whats weird is i dont get it as much if i use the funnel bowl.... hmm i need to start looking into this more. it could explain why tangiers is only for some people, i gotta find out what he uses that could do it....

[DizzyGuy]

Something else that you could try that was meantioned before... An herb grinder. Grind the shisha up fine and try that way

[Calcartman]

hmm, well a thought for you.

Using the halfs of the 3 kings, i always turn them sideways so they face eachother (like a whole circle, just split).
You may have burned it with them like that (though i probably used that much heat), and then even after moving and splitting coals the taste would be there.

But other than that, yeah, i cant really think of a problem.
I couldn't get Tangiers smoking right with natural coals, but my japanese ones worked flawlessly.

[Oggie505]

you setup looks good, just need many more holes and stick with the 4 pieces of 1 3King

[entrailsgalore]

looks like you need more heat.

[xblakex]

So I'm a big pussy and could never smoke tangiers before. But he just came over so allow me to offer some of the tips that I got from observing him.

Definitely dont listen to the fact that it's packed too tight. If anything pack more, and press it down more, it will puff back up naturally on its own after you pack it down. Second, for sure try going with more holes in your foil. When Eric packed the bowls at my house, he poked a lot of holes for more air flow...I'm not saying that you have to or that that makes it better, that's just how he did it, and it smoked great. He used a decent amount of heat too, so dont worry too much about coals. If there is enough shisha in the bowl, the heat will get distributed throughout the shisha in the bowl, and not just burn the top leading to thin harsh smoke.

Hope that helps.

[Skimo]

I only used 1 3kings split in halfs like cal said above and it was nice. Although the flavor is going to be strong so you can't take long as puffs like you can with most shisha

[KiKaL]

Yea like everyone said poke more holes. It looks like you went with the hole set up that I and most others use with a funnel bowl.

[Sonthert]

Your pictures don't help too much, unfortunately...a little though.

Smoke is thin and harsh...three possibilities:

a. The airflow should be better than it is...don't compensate using less tobacco by using fewer or smaller holes. More holes, more tobacco, but you should be able to blow on the port of a completed head (including foil and holes) and have the airflow largely unrestricted. It should feel like there is something in there, but the airflow is free.

b. you discarded the juice from the bag or didn't stir it well.
c. Humidity shock.
Don't be afradi to duplicate the same bad technique (other than b.) to make sure it wasn't the humidity. I assure you, its so easy, it confounds people. Stir well and then take a bowl sized clump and put it in your bowl, spread it out to conform to the size of the bowl (retaining the same density as it was in the bag/jar/tub). Add foil and holes.

If you leave too big a gap between the tobacco and foil, ou will have to use more heat to get it to smoke well which may have the effect of scorching it, despite the thin smoke...which is similar to having too little tobacco in the bowl (because technically, you do have too little in the bowl. Try it with the tobacco touching the foil...see if that works.