The cypress reviews!!!

[cypress]

Well I am going to say that I am going to have quite a bit of stuff to
review in the days to come. I am going to try to do at least one review
each day.

Hookah Setup. 30 in Engineer Syrian Hookah from Hookah-Shisha.com, Chilled water, Nours Natural coals.

Hookah Hookah Lineup: Strawberry, Hazelnut, Pineapple, Margarita, Menthol, Melon

Al Fakher Lineup: Grape, Cola, Coconut, Plum, Cherry

Romman Lineup: Cherry, Pineapple, Sweet Melon, Peach, Bannana

As you can tell I have quite a bit to smoke and tell.

HH Pineapple

Aroma: My initial take on the smell something very sweet. I kinda
reminded me of a cross between a jolly rancher and the sweet thick
pineapple juice from the can. I enjoyed opening this jar as it filled
my nose with sweetness.

Cut/Wetness: I think I am going to post a picture with all my reviews.
Sometimes its hard to get a visual picture of what it looks like in
just words. The cut looks almost like dipping tabacco. Its a real fine
granular cut. The wettness was not as wet as I though it was going to
be but none the less the smoke did not lack any flavor.
[url="http://img131.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img131&image=dsc041409ku.jpg"][img]http://img131.exs.cx/img131/9274/dsc041409ku.th.jpg[/img][/url]

Taste/Smoking Session: I was amazed how the aroma was developing as I
placed the coal on the foil. When I started smoking I used 1.5 coals.
About 5-7 minutes into the session I had to cut back to just one. The
smoke came out a very thick white. I was a solid smoke. When smoking I
started having a craving for pineapples. It made my stomach growl. The
pineapple tasted very sweet and was pleasingly good. I smoked this
about hours after eating breakfast. My smoking session lasted almost 1
hour. I didn't have any problems with that. The first 30 minutes were
definately the strongest. Even in the latter 30 minutes I was still
tasting the pineapple flavor. It was not as strong but I would say
tasted better than a cheap brands.

Rating: My thougths is that this was a very good smokind session. I would rate this a solid 9.5.
The only way I would rate it a 10 is if the last 30 minutes was as good
as the first 30 minutes. Don't mistake the last 30 as being bad but the
first 30 was exceptionaly good.

[Mathazar]

Great review man!!!  That's exactly the impression I get while smoking the HH Pineaple. 

BRAVO BUDDY ON A FIRST-RATE REVIEW 

[cypress]

HH Margarita:






Aroma: I opened up the jar and the first thing that came to mind
was the sweet & sour mix. This is the basis of a margarita. The scent gave
me a craving for a real margarita. Especially in our almost 80 degree weather
we had in Houston
today:



 

Cut/Wettness: The cut is the same cut as pretty much all the HH cuts.
The wettness was alot more wet than the pineapple. The juice was thin
almost like the sugar free pancake syrip.
[url="http://img113.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img113&image=dsc041421oc.jpg"][img]http://img113.exs.cx/img113/6986/dsc041421oc.th.jpg[/img][/url]

Taste/Smoking Session: Given the aroma I was expecting it to be a blast
of lime flavor. Instead I got a hint of lime and a blast of tabacco.
The smoke was pretty thick cloudy white using 2 coals. I used 2 coals
this time since it was more wet than the pineapple. This session did
not last as long as anticipated. The lime/margarita flavor was pretty
much gone by 30 minuted into it. The buzz factor was way up though as
the tabacco seemed stronger than the pineapple.

Rating: If all are looking for is a good buzz with a hint of flavor
thet this batch would be the one. Otherwise what I am looking for is a
blast of enjoyable flavor. My thoughts on this would give it a rating
of about 6.5.  The
originality of flavor was good but it was not the blast I was expecting
after smoking the pineapple.  Its been about 1 hour after I smoked
and I still taste the strong tabacco flavor in my mouth. Some of the
problems with this one might be is that the syrip is too thin. Looking
at the discolored water in my vase has lead me to believe that quite a
bit of it was dripping down. I think in the next session with margarita
I might go ahead and mix me up a batch with some good tequila and make
it strong to get a good buzz off of the smoke and the drink.

[cypress]

AF Cola

Aroma: When I opened up this bag of stuff the aroma blasted me with a
strong cola nut aroma. My initial thoughs in buying the cola flavor was
that it was going to smell something like a Coka Cola. Then I thought
to myself that Coke is an American product and that there should not be
any similarities between the two.

Cut/Wettness: AF is a premium cut. Its not clumpy or has big stems like
some of the other cheap stuff that I have had. The tabacco was very and
the juice is very thick and sticky. The color of the juice has an
apearance of a deep redish brown.
[url="http://img88.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img88&image=dsc041439xq.jpg"][img]http://img88.exs.cx/img88/6253/dsc041439xq.th.jpg[/img][/url]

Taste/Smoking Session: When I started this session I underestimated the
amount of coals that I needed.  This tabacco was so damn wet I
needed 2 almost 3 good size lemonwood coals. I started out with 2
smaller ones and it was not enough. The cola flavor really shined with
the added coals. The cola flavor was not a sweet flavor. None the less
it was good. My wife pinpointed a taste related to thos Willy Wonka
Bottle Caps. I agreed with her that it tasted like that just without
the added sugar.

Rating: I personally like sweet flavored ma'assel but this was the
exception. It was a very nice rich smoke. The smoke filled my lungs and
the flavor inhaling and exhaleing was there. If you are looking for a
nice cola nut flavor then this is the one. My overall rating is a 9.5. I would give it a 10 if the smoke was a sweet cola flavor but other than that it was verry good.

[cypress]

HH Strawberry

Aroma: Wow when I opened this jar I was a little scared to smoke it. I
kinda had a sour smell.  I could tell it was strawberries but it
reminded me of rotten strawberries.

Cut/Wettness. If you read some of the other reviews on HH then the cuts
is pretty much the same.  The ma'assel did seem dry and I didn't
know how good this was going to actually be.

Taste/Smoking Session: I started off with one coal because I was scared
to have some burn because it was kind of dry. When I got it going I was
amazed that it had a great strawberry flavor. I was not too sween and
not to strong. It was just right. With that one coal I had a real good
thick smoke.  I didn't have any problems smokeing over 1 hour with
this one.

Rating: Overall this was a really good smoke. The favor was great. I
have smoked Al Waha, and Nakhla Strawberries and this was way better
stuff. My over all opinion of this is a 9.5. 
I guess to rate if I rate something a 10 I would have to be my all time
favorite. As of right now I still have quite a bit to still review left
and I make change a 9 and above to a 10 if I find a new favorite
flavor.

[cypress]

HH Melon

Aroma: The aroma of this is about the closest thing to actually
smelling like a cantelope. I would have a hard time telling the
difference having the ma'assel side by side with an actual cantelope.
Maybe the only way to tell the difference is that the ma'assel might be
slightly stronger aroma.

Cut/Wetness: Like I said in the previous post the cuts is pretty much
the same. Althoug the wettness does vary. In this case it was not too
dry like the strawberry and not to wet like the margarita flavor.

Taste/Smoking Session: I started off with one coal and the smoke was
not as thick as I wanted it for me. I almost wanted to put another half
of coal but my dad and wife were smoking with me and I did not want to
burn the tabacco. For the most part we enjoyed the smoke for about 40
minutes.  The flavor wasn't bad. I could taste the cantelope
flavor. 

Rating: If cantelope was one of my favorite fruits I would have rated
this higher than what I am going to rate. The flavor was not a sweet
flavor like I wanted ot to be. I base that sweetness on how you can buy
some fruits that are very sweet and delicious and some fruits are ok.
My rating is going to be an 8.
I would smoke this again but its not going to be somthing I would be
craving. My wife and my dad liked it. They like cantelpe more that
I.  So if you are into that fruit then that would be the one for
you.

[Mathazar]

I actually just threw the Strawberry in there because I wasn't smoking
it, I certainly didn't think it would rate as high as it
did.  I'll have to go smoke some of those cheaper brands and then
smoke this one again to see if the flavor is that much better.  I
thought the Strawberry was very subtle in flavor.  Romman makes a
Strawberry which pretty much comes about as close to real Strawberry as
anything else I've smoked.  Nice review though 

I thought the Melon would have scored higher,  although you did
say you're not a big Cantalope fan,  so that would definitely make
a difference in the rating.  Watermelon from Fumari is one of my
favorite flavors,  though I think that HH does a pretty good job
mimicking the true flavor of Cantalope.  Though that's just my
opinion 

[cypress]

Mathazar, thanks for all the stuff and I have had a great time trying
out different stuff.  I wish I could smoke again tonight but again
I am on the night shift. Oh well I am off Tues thru Thurs so I get to
try some more out.

AF Grape

Aroma: I opened up the fresh bag of ma'assel and it brought a smile to
my face. I didnt smell like actual grapes but none the less it smelled
like white grape jam/jelly.

Cut/Wettness: By now you should have a good ideal of what AF
produces.  If you need more info on this look further up on this
thread.

Taste/Smoking Session. I needed about 1.5 coals for this baby to get
going. This was some wet stuff. When I got the smoke going it was a
nice thick rich smoke. Thus far I havent had any problem with richness
in smoke with AF.  I was reading King Mo's flavor interpretation
on this and I was trying to see if our reviews matched. I don't know I
i really tasted a black currant.  As an avid wine drinker I know
that black currant is associated with red grape but this is white grape
flavored massel.  What I did taste is a sweet jelly like
flavor.  Quite possibly I tasted ripe gooseberries which is a
cousin of the currant. I know some gooseberries have a tart taste but
this was more of the sweeter.  This one is going to require me to
do some more research. I might have to get gooseberry jelly and black
currant jellly and try to pin point this further.

Rating: Combined with the sweetness and thick rich smoke this was
pretty damn good.  I got a pretty discent buzz and felt relaxed.
My overall rating is a 9.5. I would deffinatly put this one in the
books as wanting some more.

[NERV]

man i need to get some good stuff, all ive had recently is nakhla (no
complaints about it but variety is a good thing) with shisha lite coals
(bleh) almost starting to put me off the hookah, i needs me some nice
goldens, a variety of tobaccos and maybe a new machine

[Mathazar]

It's too bad that the Syrian company that makes The Lord Charcoal doesn't sell to the United States anymore 

I've got a 1 kilo bag left,  and I'm going to use it sparingly as
it's VERY unlikely that I'll ever get a chance to use it again. 

The name,  The Lord,  symbolizes English nobility,  not
anything in the HOLY sense. I got 5 bags of it from
HookahCompany.com,  and I blew right thru them. 
Infact,  I cleaned HookahCompany completely out of their recent
stock of the stuff.

The Lord Charcoal is SO fantastic!  It's triangular in
shape,  and it's completely flavorless.  It's natural wood
charcoal,  so it says on the bag,  but they had to use some
agent to compress it into it's shape,  so I wonder just how
natural it really is.  I wish I could find something
similair,  because I've gotten my BEST smokes from this
charcoal. 

Hookah-Shisha sent me a free sample bag of Lemon Wood Coals,  but
I haven't gotten around to trying them yet.  I've read mixed
reviews about Lemon Wood,  plus it doesn't really resemble
coal,  it's supposed to be petrified wood (I think that's the
right spelling).  You're supposed to break-off 3 pieces and heat
them up on the stove,  but it just seems like such a pain in @ss
that I have to get my hands dirty everytime I handle this stuff. 
I suppose I could put out a plate like I do with my other charcoal and
just break it all up in one sitting,  but I still am questioning
the value of this charcoal.  Ho-hum,  well I guess I'll just
have to try it and see how it smokes.

Though,  I'd pay just about any amount of money to get my hands on some more of The Lord Charcoal......dammit 

Anybody know where I can find some triangular-shaped natural wood
charcoal?  Or perhaps something better than Golden Coals? 
Are Olive Wood Coals any good? 

Sorry for getting off-topic 

[cypress]

It's review time again. Sorry its been so long since I have reviewed
since I wanted to do one about every day.  I smoked the HH
margarita again a couple of times and I still get the same results. I
don't get that blast of like like I wanted to.  Quite posibly its
because of the inconsistancy of the flavors of HH. As of now my 2
favorite HH flavors are pineapple and strawberry. I have tried
everything but the menthol. I did try the hazelnut and will write a
review on that shortly.

AF Plum

Aroma: When I opened this bag of stuff up I smelled an aroma of
something similar to plum jelly. It smelled some what sweet but not too
sweet. I had high hopes of this since it smelled pretty damn good.

Cut/Wetness:  By now you should have a good ideal of what AF
produces.  If you need more info on this look further up on this
thread.

Taste/Smoking Session: This was a fairly good smoking session. I
achieved a nice thick rich smoke and intense flavor with 1.5 coals. The
taste was not an sweet type of plum flavor.  I do agree with King
Mo's interpretation of the flavor. It has a buttery taste to it. I
guess the best interpretation of this is comparing apple jelly to apple
butter from the grocery store. I haven't tried the peach yet as I have
read it tastes similar.  Overall it was not bad. I would smoke
this again when I am not in one of those non sweet moods. My overall
rating is going to be an 8.5. 
I think the only way for this to get better is to be slightly sweeter
since more of my tastes are toward the sweeter ma'assels.

AF Cherry

Aroma: This ma'assel had no aroma of real cherries.  In fact it
was more like grenadine as I had some and put my nose side by side and
took a whiff.  I also caught an aroma similar to the AF
cola.  It had that cherry cola kind of smell.

Cut/Wettness: By now you should have a good ideal of what AF
produces.  If you need more info on this look further up on this
thread.

Taste/Smoking Session: I tried 1, 1.5, and 2 coals to get a good intese
flavor that I have been getting in the past with AF. For some reason
the flavor was not as intense as I wanted it to be.  The taste was
on key to grenadine again but the flavor was subtle.  I think this
will be good on those non sweet days again since it was not obsesively
sweet. My rating for this is going to be a 7.5.
Thus far this would be my lowest AF rating. Maybe I got an old batch as
I expecting a more intese flavor. After this is gone I will be willing
to try another batch of this stuff since AF hasnt really failed me in
flavor yet.

HH Hazelnut:

Aroma: Wow when I opened this jar up I was blasted by the aroma of
Hazelnut. I mean it hits you in the face type blast.  It was even
stronger that the hazelnut stuff from like starbucks.

Cut/Wettness: All the HH cuts are pretty much the same but the wettness
I see varies. This stuff was soaking with juice but it was not a thick
juice like the AF I have been smoking. It was more runny like that
sugar free pancake syrup.

Taste/Smoking Session: Where shall I start. I wish the blast of aroma
matched the blast of taste. Smoke smelled good with 1.5 coals and it
filled the house with a pleasant aroma but I just was not getting the
flavor like I wanted to. I did taste a semi sweet hazelnut flavor but I
didnt last very long at all.  There again there still could be
that flavor inconsistancy issue again.  I think I would be willing
to try to smoke the flavors that I reviewed and was disappointed with
in the futer when they iron out all of their kinks with the
ma'assel.  I do give them credit for the originality of
flavors.  My rating for this is going to be a 6.5. It wasnt bad but like I said that it did lack intesity.

[Mathazar]

Great review on HH Hazelnut.  Like I said,  when I first
ordered Hazelnut about 3 to 4 months ago, not only did it blast me with
a nose-hit,  but the flavor intensity was like a slap in the
face.  It was SO good back then that I just don't know why they
diverted from the original flavor.  I can't figure-out why it's
not slapping me in the face anymore.  Oh well,  perhaps they
will iron-out these flavor inconsistancies in the future.
I'm going to continue ordering HH,  because I still have HIGH
hopes for this company.  They're new,  and they're
experimenting with different flavors and upgrading their current
flavors.  So, hopefully in the near future I'll be smoking some
AWESOME Hazelnut 

[cypress]

Last night I tried HH Pineapple and HH Strawberry. That was pretty damn
good. IT was a nice sweet strong smoke. My mixing ratio's was
50/50.  I need a break from smoking my hookah. I am starting to
get a scratchy throat so I might take a week off or maybe smoke once
this week. 

[Mathazar]

Stop smoking the hookah? 

The least that I could handle is twice a day,  and that's taking
into consideration that I now am up to around 6 to 8 bowls a day.

[cypress]

We shall see how long I last.  I just may take a break tonight. Its hard to resist the good flavors that I have. 

[Mathazar]

I'm smoking Romman Double Apple right now,  and it reminds me
exactly of Ouzo. It's my favorite brand for this flavor 

[MR Bubble]

Hey Math, You asked about about olive wood coals. Well, the Lord charcoals were (more than likely) olive wood coals. I doubt you will find any "real" whole chunks of olive wood as the olive tree is a valuable commodity wherever they grow. What happens is they take the pits that are left over from the process of cannimg plives and the mash from the oil making process and have nothing to do with them. They just pile up. Well, someone got the bright idea to process THOSE into something useful. They take the bits and pieces of the pit residue, pack them into super-heated tubes (round or inthe Lords case, triangular) and create coal from them. Now they can say they are selling you "olive wood" coals. They don't do this to lemon wood. That is probably why some people think the "olive coals" taste wierd, or in my case with a handful of others get sick with high B/P and headaches from smoking them. It's really not wood. Nour fingers are the same thing: Olive coals. I wish they didn't effect me, because they are the way to go as far as price is concerned!
MR Bubble

[Mathazar]

Thanks for the info,  I didn't know that 

Although,  I must say,  The Lord and Nour coals are pretty
damn good, in my opinion.  I don't get headaches from them at
all.  I'm using Golden Coals right now. Yep,  I'm smoking AF
Banana right now,  before breakfast,  with my coffee. 
And I'm getting pretty damn hungry.  Can't decide whether to go
out for some corned-beef hash with soft poached eggs & hash
browns,  with a side of pancakes.  Or if I should stay home
smoking my hookah,  drinking coffee,  and make a bowl of hot
multigrain cereal. 

Hmmm........that's a tough one

Eh.....fuggettaboutit....I'm stayin home & smokin the hookah

[cypress]

Damn, I ended up smoking last night. Oh well. The hookah lives on!!!

[cypress]

[quote name='cypress']AF Cherry

Aroma: This ma'assel had no aroma of real cherries.  In fact it
was more like grenadine as I had some and put my nose side by side and
took a whiff.  I also caught an aroma similar to the AF
cola.  It had that cherry cola kind of smell.

Cut/Wettness: By now you should have a good ideal of what AF
produces.  If you need more info on this look further up on this
thread.

Taste/Smoking Session: I tried 1, 1.5, and 2 coals to get a good intese
flavor that I have been getting in the past with AF. For some reason
the flavor was not as intense as I wanted it to be.  The taste was
on key to grenadine again but the flavor was subtle.  I think this
will be good on those non sweet days again since it was not obsesively
sweet. My rating for this is going to be a 7.5.
Thus far this would be my lowest AF rating. Maybe I got an old batch as
I expecting a more intese flavor. After this is gone I will be willing
to try another batch of this stuff since AF hasnt really failed me in
flavor yet.  [/quote]

OK So I did't end up taking a break yet. I am going to revise my rating
on this. I must have had a bad batch of coal or I needed to mix around
the ma'assel in the bag or somthing because I got a sweet intence
flavor out of this one today. The taste still tastes like grenadine but
it was good. REVISED RATING 9.5.

[cypress]

Review time again. Sorry guys i had a bunch of 250's of the stuff and I
needed to smoke alot more of the stuff i had before opening up some
more stuff.

HH Menthol:

Aroma: Wow! I was kind of scheptical to even try this stuff. The aroma
is strong and potent and smells like some sports pain reliever.  I
figured since Mathazar was kind enought to send me some samples I
should be kind enough to write a review.

Cut/Wettness: The cut is pretty much all the same. Please read previous
reviews and you will see what I am talking about.Wettness varies and I
would this is about an average wettness for HH.

Taste/Smoking Session: I started off with one coal and that is all I
needed. The smoke was nice, thick and rich. The flavor was surprisingly
good. This is the first menthol/mint I have smoked so I dont have
anything to compare from but I thought it was packed with flavor. It
tasted like a very smooth menthol cigarette. I didnt even gag while
smoking this. While smoking it left a cooling sensation in my mouth. It
like taking a few of the candy pepermint s and putting them in your
mouth. The session lasted about 45 minutes. I think it may have had the
potential to last longer if I would have tried another coal towards the
end.

Rating: I was definatly surprised from this smoke. I typicaly like the
sweet fruit flavored ma'assel but this was definatly the step to try
something different. I don't think many people are in to the
mint/menthol flavors but if you are I would definatly recomend this
one. My overal rating for this is going to be a 9.
The buzz factor in this was pretty good for me. It was not like the
Margarita but this was more of a mellow buzz that made me feel good.

[Mathazar]

I wish I could feel this buzz factor that everyone keeps referring to
with their ma'assel,  but I guess I'm just immune to it.

Great review cypress,  my sentiments exactly

[HookahCulture]

[quote name='Mathazar']Great review man!!!  That's exactly the impression I get while smoking the HH Pineaple.   

BRAVO BUDDY ON A FIRST-RATE REVIEW [/quote]

Of course he thinks it's a great review, he's the HH puppet.

[Mathazar]

HC......I could have that post removed with the click of a button 

But I won't because this is a forum, and I believe everybody is entitled to an opinion.

With that said,  I think your verbal attacks on me lately are
immature and childish. So your thread got closed,  that's tough
luck buddy.  Obviously adrock (the admin) thought that attacking a
hookah company in a hookah forum was in bad taste,  and I stand
with him on his decision to close it.  But your resentment toward
me for supporting a company that, in my opinion,  has GREAT
potential is just purely childish.

If you're so disturbed by H-H's alledged theft of your website
material,  then go take it up with them,  or even better hire
an attorney and take your case to court, you might just make a bit of
money out of it. 

I'm no more a puppet of H-H than cypress is for giving them a positive
review,  or anyone else for that matter whose spoken positively of
their tobacco.  I've gotten several PM's from members thanking me
for my reviews of H-H.  One person even told me to ignore your
negative comments about the company and to keep posting my opinions and
reviews.

You can continue your resentful remarks against me,  as you're not
hurting my feelings,  but only making yourself look foolish to
anyone whose familiar with your claims of theft by H-H.  I'm sure
there are probably those in the forum who agree with you in that I'm
some sort of puppet for the company who gets free tobacco all the
time,  but it wouldn't surprise me if most people were for my
reviews than against them.

H-H has a long way to go to becoming a FIRST-RATE company,  in my
opinion, but at least they're sticking with it and working very hard to
better themselves. I talk with them quite often simply because I'm
interested in hearing about their new flavors and the progress they're
making in getting them out to the public in a timely fashion. 
Whenever I hear positive news,  I come here and report it. If the
news is inaccurate,  then the fault lies with H-H,  not
myself.

Yes,  I love some of their flavors,  which is the reason why
I keep writing about them and encouraging others to buy from H-H at
least once.  Soon H-H will be releasing sample packs along with
their new flavors which, according to a source in the company, 
will be available within the next couple of months.  I'm looking
extremely forward to trying-out these new flavors, most notably: 
Watermelon, Cinnamon,  Butterscotch,  Jamaican Rum,  and
several others.  They may suck ROYALLY,  but I'm willing to
give H-H a chance to prove themselves worthy of my business

[HookahCulture]

Wow you sure expended a lot of energy.
Quite needless, but it shows my power.

My subtle "attacks" are merely ribs, but I guess that didn't come across.
Attacks are full text and you'd know it if I was attacking you, believe me.

The theft thing is old news, and in the words of a German proverb,
"God's wheels grind slowly, but grind they do."

The closing of my thread is SO ANCIENT HISTORY anyway that I'm amazed you brought it up. Overall I'm highly amused by your hype.

For those unfamiliar, hookah-hookah.com are content thieves.
They stole from me and a few other PROMINENT and authoritative hookah sites.

Nothing wrong with greasing God's wheels..........