no flavor

[panagioti]

I just got my hookah today and got 3 types of molasses. I got alwaha double apple, awaha cherry and al-fakher mellon. Im not getting any flavor at all from either of them. Is this stuff crap or mayb i did something wrong? I light the charcoal and then i put it on the screen. What is wrong here??

[panagioti]

No one knows??? im thinking tobacco is not hot enough??? anybody??

[nidal105]

hi, when you say you are getting no flavor does that mean that you are getting very little smoke, or plenty of smoke and no fruit flavor? Anyway, there are a few possibilities, firstly as you mentioned the coal may not be hot enough--what brand of coal are you using and how are you lighting it up? make sure that the Hookah is well sealed and that there is no air escaping from any part of the Hookah while you smoke as this can get very frustrating--you an do this by making sure all the connections are screwed on properly and any other hose connection parts (if it is multihosed) are sealed up.
Hope it helps,
Nidal105
 

[Reapermanx]

do u have a sinus infection... I had one for about 2 weeks and couldnt taste anything and didnt know why... then it went into my chest and gave me bronchitis.

[yashman19]

Like said above, we need to know if there is lots of smoke and just no flavor?
I'm thinking you're not getting nearly as much smoke as everyone else gets, and thus not much flavor is occuring. Firstly, check all your connections and make sure you have a "air-tight" setup. Put your hand over and cover the top stem and pull through the house. If you're air-tight, you shouldn't be able to suck any air through.
Once your hookah is air-tight, put a lot of heat on that bowl when first starting off to get the tobacco warmed up. Once you have a lot of heat on for about 5 mintues, then take some heat off.
It never fails to just put lots of heat on. If it starts to taste harsh, takes some heat off. It's definately a testing process. Don't get discouraged, you will get the hang of it.

[panagioti]

there is smoke no flavor. Im using golden coal the ones that light quick. i used the same ones with a freind on his huka like 3 weeks ago and i can tast anything. He had diffrent brand molasses

[panagioti]

ive got a good amount of smoke, but no flavor tastes more like water then anythig. Im not sick either perfectly fine. Some one told me using the foil allows it to burn more sufficient giving u better taste is this true. Ive been using the screen 

[MR Bubble]

I've found my calling in life! I have this dream to have a 1-800 number and receive emergency hookah calls. Just hop on the next flight to London, Paris, Rome, Munchen, wherever....... What a cool job. Seriously:
I don't care for the screen much either. This is how I do mine from the beginning, so get your lunch and something to drink because this may get long.
1. Take it all apart, and lets start from the beginning.
2. Take your hose and leak check it. Plug one end with your thumb and suck on the other end. You want it as air-tight as possible. If a little air comes in under quite a bit of suction, you will still be okay. I never had a perfectly air tight hose until I ordered the $5.00 specials from hookahook.
3. Take the body of your hookah. Plug the bottom main tube with your thumb, and suck on the other end. This must be air-tight.
4. Now, the short pipe your hose plugs into will have its other end under the metal base that plugs into the water chamber. Cover it with your little finger and check the pressure of this by....Yep, you guessed it. By sucking on the end the hose goes into. You want it as air-tightas possible. Sometimes there are tine cracks along this tube, causing air to enter. You can take a tube of clear silicone sealant and lay a bead of it on any cracks. Works wonders. Just let it dry over-night.
5. Check you blow valve. There needs to be a little steel ball in it. Don't lose it! Put a dab of olive oil on it and put it back in. The olive oil helps it seal.
6. Put the water in your chamber (1-1/2 inches or 2 is how much you want you pipe end submerged in it when fully assembled) Make sure the big rubber gommet is installed between the shaft and the glass chamber.
7. The most important steps come. Before you put the hose in, plug the top of yor machine with your hand and suck on the hose tube. You shoud have very little if any air coming in your mouth. If you get air, make sure the ball valve is sealing. You may have to clean the little ball and put some more olive oil (or any vegetable oil) on it. Try pulling it apart and smearing a little oil or dish soap on the rubber grommet and put it back together. The better the seal, the better the smoking.
8. Plug the hose in now, not forgetting the rubber grommet for THAT. If you dont have one, use a strip of newspaper/cigarette box cardboard/ foil/whatever. Just wrap it around the hose end and twist it in as tight as you can WHILE GRASPING THE METAL TUBE SO AS NOT TO CAUSE ANY UNDUE STRESS! This is how they get broken young. Now, check the seal of it up to this point by plugging the top of the hookah and drawing through the hose. As air-tight as possible is best. One of my machines is 100% airtight at this point. Only one.
9. Next comes the bowl. Put the rubber grommet on the top of the shaft and stick the bowl on. Cover the bowl with your hand and draw through the hose. It is normal to have a couple muffles bubbles in the water now, but you should feel a strong vacuum pulling on your hand. You are now set to load your bowl. Take it off.
10.Get a pich of massel. loosen it up/tear it/shred it with your fingers. Sprinkle it in the bowl. If you feel the urge to try and pack it, just touch it with the tip of your finger and that's all. Don't pack this stuff. You want (as I'm sure you know by now) to have the tobacco about half a centemeter below the top rim of the bowl. Cover with a piece of foil and wrap it tightly around the outside of the bowl.
11. For Golden, I used to have decent luck by breaking it into 2 pieces. Light the pieces and while they are getting hot,
12. poke your holes in the foil. If you use the toothpick, poke it about 1 cm deep into the foil. you may want between 15 and 20 holes like this. Make the hole pattern circular. you want the holes about 1/2 cm in from the edge of the bowl, or else you may get too much air and not enough heat. I normally use my coal tongs to make the holes. Instead of round holes, I make tiny cuts with the edge of the pincers. When you are done, hold the bottom of the bowl up to your mouth and draw through it. Be careful not to gag on any loose piece of tobacco coming through. You want a good flow of air with just a little resistance. This takes experience to know what's good and not so good.
13. Stick the bowl back on, cover with your hand and draw on the hose. You should feel that vacuum on your hand, very little (if any) air coming through and maybe a couple muted bubbles in the water. If this all checks out, then lay the coal on.
14. When you lay these 2 half-sized pieces on, you wnat them positioned so the broken ends are facing each other. I like them spaced about1/4 or 1/2 cm apart so air can flow between them.
15. Smoke the thing.
16. Let us know how it works out for you! Also, remeber to always be patient with this.
MR Bubble

[ju421019]

Mr Bubble - that's a lot of info - wonder if you can make a video showing all your steps  -- now that would be neat.

I tried Al-Fakher got no flavor -- only have been getting tons of smoke -- no flavor at all  -- sucks.

[MR Bubble]

Don't feel alone. I've had the same results. It seems kinda weak. I think my taste has been roasted from too much Nakhla. But hey, If my favorite happens to be the cheapest, I win 2- times!
Oh, That is a wonderful idea about the video! I have considered it before, but I'm not techie enough to know how to post something like that on the site. I'm still holding out out for plane tickets in the mail from people around the world needing the Hookah Doctor! Yeah, I know: "Maybe when monkeys fly out of my butt!"
MR Bubble

[cypress]

[quote name='ju421019']Mr Bubble - that's a lot of info - wonder if you can
make a video showing all your steps  -- now that would be neat.

I tried Al-Fakher got no flavor -- only have been getting tons of smoke -- no flavor at all  -- sucks.[/quote]

I am curious as to which AF has no flavor. I have tried mixed fruit,
pineapple, coconut, cola, cherry, grape, and plum. They all in my
opinion have a descent flavor to them.

[pyramidscheme]

I've been methodically working my way through a tub of AF apple, and seem to have the same result. Smoke reasonably thick, and little flavour. This particular batch also had about  one fifth stems, tiny ones, and no amount of 'fishing' them out seems to alleviate the problem. Is this a quality control issue, or am I just prejudicecd towards Romman?FWIW, the best stuff I've ever had so far was a 50 gram  of Romman orange. No particulates, just leaf. I hope my next order of AF Cappucino and melon doesn't dissapoint.

[King Mo]

did u say Al fakher apple?

no way man, it is a luxury smoke. give me your email, and you'll get
spammed from 50 of my arab shisha loving compatriots telling you how
great the flavour is.

for me it is the best apple by a hell of a long way.

The only Fakher which is unnacceptable in my opinion is Pineapple fakher, everything else ranges from decent to excellent.

[pyramidscheme]

Mo, it's also possible my hose is too restrictive. When I use my 3 foot
long Home Depot  special, the draw is noticibly (sp?) easier than
with the cobra hoses that came with my Egyptian 30 incher.  I'll
have to  A/B them to see if that's the problem. Otherwise, the
smoke smells wonderful!
Really looking forward to trying that cappucino with a couple mint pinches tomorrow night.

[King Mo]

if you are not pulling well,

then you may be packing it too tight, the way to pack a bowl well is to
sprinkle it in, and underfill it in such a way that there is no hope of
the foil ever touching the tobacco when it is put on. (there should be
a clear gap between foil and tobacco).

If you don't know whether you have put too much or not, then you've probably put too much

i've tried many hoses, my faves being either the ones that come with
the mya shishas which are fantastic, or the 3 piece Khalil mamoon hose
which they sell in a few places online (wide hose with detachable
mouthpiece and end)

Also make sure that you have not got another crappy taste from a
previous experience. The easiest way to check, is to smoke without the
head on the shisha. If you taste anything then you know you are
corrupting the flavour. This is an important step, and once you know
that there is no unwanted bonus tastes, put your head onto the pipe and
start your coal and so on.

should be no problem after that.

[pyramidscheme]

Mo, I tried the looser packing tip last night, and used less massel.
MUCH better, more flavour. For some reason, I've been overpacking my
bowls.  Used my Home Depot $.66 cent special and got much better
results. I may look into a fancier washable number sometime, but for
now I'm satisfied with the Ghetto hose. Can't wait to dig into this
order of Melon and Cappucino tonight. My apartment complex is gonna
think I've just elected a new pope, hahahahacoughcough, hack...

[King Mo]

dont worry about it. Even in the best shisha cafes I've been to, none of them know how to pack a head correctly.
I have never had a shisha better than the ones I make myself. In some of the places where I know the management well and am a regular customer, they let me make my own head.
It's a really common thing to find the philosophy of "filled up head = better value and flavour"
what I do sometimes is remove literally half the tobacco before they bring the coal, then by the time that has burnt, I'll put in the other half (when they're not looking ) and get double the smoke with double the flavour. Although they get suspicious after 3 hours and I'm still enjoying my shisha