What is the shisha supposed look like once it's done?

[OBXSurfer]

Im not sure if I am burning it or cooking it properly....what is the shisha supposed to look like when it cant be smoked anymore....For example...last night I was smoking for about an hour and it started getting harsh so I took some coal off...that seemed to help, but then it started ot get harsh again.....So I stopped smoking, and when I dumped out the bowl...the bottom half of the shisha looked brand new and uncooked at all, and it really pissed me off becuase I dont want to waste shisha...any suggestions?

-Nick

[mushrat]

should be a hard black puck in the shape of your bowl, if you have sucked every ounce of liquid out of it. Its not uncommon for me atleast, to have a little bit at the bottom that looks uncooked. Its hard getting everything out of your bottom layer without burning the top....

Perhaps a little less heat when you are smoking will allow the bowl to "cook" longer without crisping the top layer.

[aronparsons]

Ideally, all the tobacco is cooked (black and dry). However, this often does not happen; the main culprit is the bowl and how the heat is disbursed. I find that a nice wide, shallow bowl (a typical "large Egyptian") does a better job at cooking all the tobacco versus something like a standard clay bowl (which is usually deep).

So things you can do to help fix this is either use a different bowl, take out the top layer of tobacco during the session (the stuff that's already cooked), or just deal with wasting tobacco.

[Lakemonster]

That could be an indication that you are packing down too much. I've found personally that if I pack too much in and in too hard..... and then use the airspace technique, that that I will end up scortching the top and having good shisha below.

Try backing off as much tobaccy and make a looser pack.

[SanguineSolitude]

learn how to manage heat better? less coal can be adequate when managed properly.

[azcoyote]

I have found that when a bowl gets really hot it can become harsh even without "burning". A few times I started up the same bowl the next day and it smoked fine.

[Macho555]

That just your bowl not being hot enough in comparison to the coal...I have that trouble to sometimes, it usually happens when I don't wait for the bowl to heat properly. Some people flip the puck but...I can't be arsed.

[spoolinspoon]

try not to pack as much. Is the tobacco touching the foil? If it is then thats the culprit. I use to have it touching a bit and it would burn and get harsh real fast. Another thing is work the coal outside in. Don't just drop in the middle.