Olive Wood Coals, Wtf Am I Doing Wrong

[Scheetz]

Alright, I am a solid 3kings person. And using these olive wood coals I bought from Social Smoke to try them out is pissing me off. They are glowing red when I put them on the bowl. It doesn't smoke for jack. So I put another one on, I now have 2 2.5-3inch fingers on my bowl of 15gs. It should be burning the shisha from to much heat. But no, it smokes but tastes like crap.

Next I remove half of a coal to tone down the heat. And again, its terrible.

Any suggestions, I am thoroughly disgusted right now.


Nevermind, after cooking half the coal off it finally smoked. I put it back on the stove for the past 10 minutes and so its doing well. I think it originally ruined the bowl though. The raspberry tastes like crap now. Oh well, 10 minutes later it smokes. Now we will see how long it lasts.

[Test]

Let me know how they do because I've wanted to try out some olive woods or Japanese coals for a while and I'm a big 3Kings man(that's all iv'e ever used).

[DizzyGuy]

Let me know how they do because I've wanted to try out some olive woods or Japanese coals for a while and I'm a big 3Kings man(that's all iv'e ever used).

I can't say anything about naturals because i haven't had much experience with them, but japanese coals are nice too if you dont' mind waiting a few extra minutes... real ones are more expensive than the chinese knockoffs though *aka the Easy Lights*. I've had god luck with them, but I've only used the chinese knockoffs. Some people swear by the real japanese coals

[speel]

I've used natural nour coals but not the olive ones. But what I do is i head up one side of the coal on a stove till its red hot and its no bigger then an inch and I repeat the process with 2 other coals till i have 3 totally coals and for me it smokes like a champ.

[ASUSEAN1]

yea you have to wait until they are red throughout the whole coal, not jus the outside. the only thing i dont like about naturals is they cash out quickly and require a lot of maitainance. stick with the 3 kings

[Scheetz]

yeah thats what I am going to do, stick with the 3kings. But I have a kilo of these so I will use them anyway. Just more of a pain in the ass.

[EvansLight]

3K FTW!! My few expereinces with natural coals have sucked XD i just dont have the patience for it. Hell i lite 3k with a torch XD

[cymptom]

I haven't had the best luck with naturals either. I've tried Nour Fingers (too much maintenence, too much coal needed to get the bowl going which means an unnecessary increase in charcoal inhalation, and awkward shape,) and bulk natural coals, which smell awful when lighting and sometimes actually catch on fire and start smoking as though you're burning a piece of wood. The odd shapes are simply inefficient for controlling heat.

I'm an advocate of the Japanese Goldens -- the real ones. I picked up a back of the Easy-Lite brand, and I must say they're completely different in terms of consistency, the way they burn and most of all the charcoal taste. I prefer Three Kings over the Easy-Lites, but have had the most success with Japanese Golden Canarys. Edited December 14, 2006 by cymptom

[JoeLipinski]

my first coals were quick lights. I don't like quick-lights at all, in fact I try to avoid them at all costs. I use either nour natural finger coals (cut down into smaller pieces) or I use the easy light Japanese coals. I don't believe that the silver coating that the easy light Japanese coals have does anything except give you an indication as to when the coal is done, because the silver crap will be easy to scrap off by that time. When I light my natural coals, I stick them in between the metal things that circle around the burner. I then turn the burner on, wait until one side of the coal is completely grey, or sometimes if there is a black spot I will blow on it, until the whole side is either grey or red. I usually put the coals on before I start cleaning the hookah, that way the coal is done by the time I am done cleaning the hookah. Good luck with your natural coals scheetz!

[MrBubbler]

I think the main problem people have with naturals is waiting for them to cook all the way through. I dont like jap coals i find they give off a bad taste (never had the expensive ones though). The best way ive found to cook natural goals is if you have a gas stove in your house just rest the coals on the things that hold the pan, i let them cook probably 4-5 min then about 1-2 min on the other side. if there is any black on the coal it is not ready to use. before use make sure to shake or drop the coals to remove all the ash from the outside of the coal (this should just show a bright red coal) normaly on average i would use two three inch naturals for a bowl and they will smoke for about 30-45 without needing replacment. although you will need to drop the coals to remove ash every 15 min or so, i find these coals burn very clean and leave no bad taste! i find that ive had my best smoking experiances on naturals so to each his own just try to use them so they work properly -= ) ~cheers~

[Scheetz]

well I can get them to smoke, doing it right now. I just have a problem with heat. These things are a bitch to break. I think I dented my table corner when I smashed it across it to break it up. It didnt even crack, pulled out the hammer and hit that bitch. Still didnt break apart, just put a crack through the center. Hit it again and it finally broke.

But like I said, since they are so hard to break, if its a bit to much heat, I cant take a piece of it off.

SS smokes real well with it though. My next test is with tangiers, but even that is heat sensitive. Layalina on the other hand needs more heat, I believe its because its so wet. But it smoked great last night, just ruined the flavor cause I dont think it was lit all the way through the first time.

[djbomberto]

well I can get them to smoke, doing it right now. I just have a problem with heat. These things are a bitch to break. I think I dented my table corner when I smashed it across it to break it up. It didnt even crack, pulled out the hammer and hit that bitch. Still didnt break apart, just put a crack through the center. Hit it again and it finally broke.

But like I said, since they are so hard to break, if its a bit to much heat, I cant take a piece of it off.

SS smokes real well with it though. My next test is with tangiers, but even that is heat sensitive. Layalina on the other hand needs more heat, I believe its because its so wet. But it smoked great last night, just ruined the flavor cause I dont think it was lit all the way through the first time.

Hey i was in your boat for the longest time, but i found a good way. Just let them sit on the burner for like 5minutes. Then flip and repeat. After that flip it again and then for like 2minutes take them off and ash the living hell out of them right there and put on the bowl. Then you'll have great smoke for like 1-2hours

[JoeLipinski]

regarding your problems with breaking them, you know how almost all tongs come with that long metal thing... MYA has theirs attached to the tongs. I just get a hammer and then put the pointy metal thing at the point on the coal where I want to break it at, and just hammer it. You will not get it exactly where you wanted it usually, but it does a pretty good job of breaking the coal into smaller pieces. Hope that helps you.

[Scheetz]

hmmm I dont have one of those foil punchers on mine. So I will use a nail I guess next time I light a bowl up.

[PeaceinIsrael]

I used to be an avid 3kings user, but then I started trying out other coals here are some of my opinions

Rolland Quicklites: NASTY! HORRIBLE! HARD TO LITE COALS!

Nour Naturals: great smoke!, kinda hard to break tho..............

Rolland naturals: BIG SURPRISE HERE Easy to break, 7 minutes to light, pretty good smoke <---------What I am using for now

3 Kings: My basis of judging the others, first and favorite coal, BEST QUICKLITE MONEY CAN BUY!

[ASUSEAN1]

well I can get them to smoke, doing it right now. I just have a problem with heat. These things are a bitch to break. I think I dented my table corner when I smashed it across it to break it up. It didnt even crack, pulled out the hammer and hit that bitch. Still didnt break apart, just put a crack through the center. Hit it again and it finally broke.

But like I said, since they are so hard to break, if its a bit to much heat, I cant take a piece of it off.

SS smokes real well with it though. My next test is with tangiers, but even that is heat sensitive. Layalina on the other hand needs more heat, I believe its because its so wet. But it smoked great last night, just ruined the flavor cause I dont think it was lit all the way through the first time.

Are you trying to break it before or after they are lit? I find if you light them completely and then try breaking them, with tongs or what not, then most naturals will come apart without a problem

[Lukasa]

Yeah, I've also used those olive-wood round coals... they sucked dick. Three kings beats them anyday. If you feel like fooling around with a stove for half an hour, go ahead, but from my expierience nicely lit 3 kings taste the same, if not better.

[hookah hippie]

I use the Nour natural wood coals and honestly they are the best coals I have ever used.

[Scheetz]

well I can get them to smoke, doing it right now. I just have a problem with heat. These things are a bitch to break. I think I dented my table corner when I smashed it across it to break it up. It didnt even crack, pulled out the hammer and hit that bitch. Still didnt break apart, just put a crack through the center. Hit it again and it finally broke.

But like I said, since they are so hard to break, if its a bit to much heat, I cant take a piece of it off.

SS smokes real well with it though. My next test is with tangiers, but even that is heat sensitive. Layalina on the other hand needs more heat, I believe its because its so wet. But it smoked great last night, just ruined the flavor cause I dont think it was lit all the way through the first time.

Are you trying to break it before or after they are lit? I find if you light them completely and then try breaking them, with tongs or what not, then most naturals will come apart without a problem

Before they are lit. I dont have anything right now to break them up in once they are lit. I know it is easier when they are lit. Just dont need coal burning up my apartment floor. :X