Figured Out The Burning Taste. Read On.

[hookerman]

I posted here a few days back about the burning taste, some recommended the natural coals. well, yesterday we ended up using natural coals, and guess what, same burning taste. i never had this problem with my cheesey $10 hookah, so i was shocked that $120. Mya would be doing this. I tried diff water levels, washed the darn mya inside out, got new hoses,
last night, my friend and i started a new session and he said that man, this thing is got burning taste. so then i knew it wasnt me.
We tried some of his tobacco (cheap ass Nakhla) and we got great taste and flavor and no burning taste.

What i had was Al Fakher strawberry and Al Fakher golden Strawberry, i guess all tobacoos don't burn the same. I am disappointed that my favorite tobacco being strawberry and being a good brand, is actually burning and giving that burning taste.

Any comments?
I am thinking to go and get some Nakhla today since long ago i used that and it was nothing but clouds.

BK

[Dragonsmettle]

dont mind me, i havnt had a hookah long enough to expertly asses the situation and provide remedies (i used alot of big wurds coledg dos wurk!!) anyways try useing less or half a coal, or not packing as much tobacco in it? thats all i can say that may help.

[hookerman]

Tried half tobaco, half coal, natural coal, turning foil upside down, trying different bowls, no matter what as soon as you take the first puff, you can taste the burning taste. No more Al Fakher for me.

dont mind me, i havnt had a hookah long enough to expertly asses the situation and provide remedies (i used alot of big wurds coledg dos wurk!!) anyways try useing less or half a coal, or not packing as much tobacco in it? thats all i can say that may help.

[kram]

okie somettimes when o put new coal on, some lit coal bits fall into the tobaccy, and the taste is foul. cld be why however i dun really know

[Zerodynamic]

can you post up your hole punching pattern and coal placement? That could be problem.

[DizzyGuy]

I <3 strawberry... but I had the same problem when I got some Golden Strawberry in... I ended up just trading it Wish I could be of more help... have you tried different bowls? I've noticed that some brands in some bowls don't smoke as good. Why? I dunno... just an observation.

[hookerman]

after putting the foil on the bowl, i put holes all over the foil separated by 3 mm. Then i put 2 coals,

if only using 1 coal, i try to put the holes just in the center about a size of a quarter.

[bigmahlman]

after putting the foil on the bowl, i put holes all over the foil separated by 3 mm. Then i put 2 coals,

if only using 1 coal, i try to put the holes just in the center about a size of a quarter.

my set up is. a ring around the outside about 3 mm apart then an x through the middle about 5 mm apart.

[EvansLight]

Well cant really solve for the AF strawberry, cause i dont smoke washed brands (except starbuzz, thats just too good) but if you want another good strawberry, Layalina strawberry smells like those lil strawberry candies

[ksblazer]

[quote name='hookerman' date='Dec 14 2006, 11:09 AM' post='89611']
Tried half tobaco, half coal, natural coal, turning foil upside down, trying different bowls, no matter what as soon as you take the first puff, you can taste the burning taste. No more Al Fakher for me.


I've noticed this with AF before as well. I ordered a sampler and a majority of the flavors smoked harsh. I ended up giving away most of the stuff. But I'm glad I gave the mint a try. It was the one exception. I kinda wonder if it has something to do with the MYA bowls or and the AF being a thinner cut than most shishas I've seen? Plus the funny thing was that the person I gave it too said it's great shisha . Maybe you should think about picking up a differnt bowl as well and see if you are still getting the same harsh smoke or not. I would hate to see you get rid of all your favorite flavors of shisha, when it may be just the MYA bowl.

Oh ya EL: I thought Layalina was a washed brand as well for some reason. Edited December 14, 2006 by ksblazer

[Zerodynamic]

I just finished smoking a bowl of Pharoh's Extreme Strawberry... it was the bombness.

[MrBubbler]

make sure the holes in the foil arent to big. try using double foil. some flavors and brands require less heat so start small with the coals and add coal until you get a desired thickness. also the way you pack a bowl can also effect how it smokes ( try to flake the shisha into the bowl dont just add clumps) also make sure the coals are resting on the outside of the bowl not on the middle. hmm all i can think of right now let me know if any of these work

[hookerman]

if i have holes on the middle and then put the coals on the outside, then how does the heat get through the holes in the middle.
oh boy, just more confusion.
I think i gotta take my tobacco to local hookah shop and have them make it, if it's harsh , then i know it wasn't me.
if it 's just perfect, then it's my methods.
fyi, i have 7 different bowls. this hookah stuff is not only becoming annoying , but more time consuming , more money, and no taste. talk about waste of money and no pleasure in return.

[Zerodynamic]

if i have holes on the middle and then put the coals on the outside, then how does the heat get through the holes in the middle.
oh boy, just more confusion.
I think i gotta take my tobacco to local hookah shop and have them make it, if it's harsh , then i know it wasn't me.
if it 's just perfect, then it's my methods.
fyi, i have 7 different bowls. this hookah stuff is not only becoming annoying , but more time consuming , more money, and no taste. talk about waste of money and no pleasure in return.

Dude, have you ever looked at the foil? Notice how thin it is? Heat transfer shouldn't be a problem. With a clay bowl, the heat dispurses through out the bowl. The holes are more are less there to break the seal around the foil and the bowl to draw in the air. The hot air gets to the center of the bowl, but you need heat all around it simply b/c foil and clay heat transfer is inefficent by itself, but once it gets going, you dont need a lot to sustain the heat.

I think Erica has some good diagrams of bowl patterns and bowl placement. Edited December 14, 2006 by Zerodynamic

[SanguineSolitude]

hmm. heat management im thinking.

my af always smokes well and can take alot of heat too.

[hookerman]

How do i get hold of Erika's diagrams? who is this Erika? another forum member?

[LuxOR541]

Dude it's ALL about heat management.

I smoke AF all the time. It is a little more sensitive than some brands, but not overly so. Heres what I would try.

Fill your bowl LOOSELY, just sprinkle the tobacco in.

Fill just UNDER the rim, and cover with foil so that the foil is not directly touching the tobacco. The foil touching the tobacco will transfer more heat to the surface of the tobacco than necessary, and it will burn and be harsh at first until that top layer is completely toasted. Once it's totally burnt the rest of the bowl might have a chance, but probably not. It will all taste like ass.

Use regular thin aluminum foil. Contrary to popular belief, regular thin foil has less mass than heavy duty and therefore transfers less heat. It doesn't take as long to heat up true, but it also takes less work to cool it down. It has more surface area relative to mass. Doubling up or using heavy duty isn't really necessary.

Punch a bunch of toothpick sized holes in concentric circles, or a star pattern, or in the shape of the mona lisa. it doesn't matter so long as they are consistent, and there are enough of them so that when you cover the head with a piece of charcoal, there are still plenty of holes not covered by the coall. You want to draw in air, not just burning charcoal fumes.

Light 1 33mm quicklight, or an inch long chunk of natural, and wait until the whoel thing gets completely cherry red before you put it on the bowl. You will probably have to blow on it some to get the cherry red color going all over the coal.

Put the coal on the foil and leave it toward the edge of the bowl. Give it a littel time to heat the whole thing. It should be going strong and not harsh within 5 minutes or so. If not, give it another HALF a coal right next to the first. Once it starts getting harsh, purge the smoke through the valve and remove some of the heat. Move the coal to a new spot on the bowl that has not been burned yet. I like to move my coal every 15-20 minutes.

You just gotta be patient and be consistant. Don't try to change too many things every time to nail down the problem. Change one thing at a time until it smokes right. Al Fakher is a quality brand that should smoke well out of any hookah. Whether or not you like the flavor will be subjective, but it should produce a good thick smoke without harshness.

good luck. keep trying.

[hookerman]

Thanks a lot for the detailed info. I will try your suggestions tonight.
I was using double foil not to mention that sometimes i put foil in the bowl first, then put tobacco and double foil it on top,
put 2 charchoals in the center, take a puff and nothing but harsh taste.

Is it necessary to put a foil in the bowl first? i remember with Nakhal , i did that and it tasted so good with lots of thich clouds.

if not, i just go with thin foil per your suggestion and the 1 coal then 2 coals..

thanks again.

[SanguineSolitude]

no foil in the bowl first. NO. that will mess up your heat management since it will make the bowl hotter. 2 charcoals... start with one maybe. sounds liike too much heat.


almost noone puts foil in the bottom of the bowl. theres really no need. i mean if you ahve 1 unglazed bowl and thats it. it might be neccessary. but with 7 bowls at least a couple have to be glazed(meaning they wont absorb the shisha) thats the only reason for using foil in the bottom, to keep the bowl from absorbing the flavor. but most bowls wont anyways, and if it does.. who cares it doesnt taste bad.

luxors method is pretty much standard and is well explained. give that a shot.

[fizzgig]

I think if you use Luxor's method you'll have no more probs.... but if you need someone to take that Al Fakir off your hands... I'm willing!!

[art_official]

wait you put in holes the size of quarters? did i read that right?

smaller holes and most likley less
basically repeating everyone else ~ heat management FTW

[SanguineSolitude]

cover it with evenly spaced small holes. no holes justi n the middle. when you put the coal on it you cant get much air going through so youre not gonna get much smoke, only burning.

[ASUSEAN1]

less holes in the foil.. a lot less, less tobacco in the bowl.. do both see if it still burns Edited December 16, 2006 by ASUSEAN1