Everybody Hookah!

[Subsailor]

I have smoked cigarettes/cigarillos since my teens and tobacco pipes since my early twenties. I have smoked stogies off and on throughout my adult life. 2 years ago a buddy invited me over to watch some football in his new basement bar and he had this big hookah (waterpipe) with 4 hoses sitting out on the deck. It was about 4ft tall and the jar was about 1/2 gallon size, he had filled it with water and ice and the helped to further cool the smoke. I observed some of the other folks taking a drag now again and was marvelling at the great clouds of smoke they exhaled. I went outside and the smell of the shisha (tobacco) was very nice. Very reminiscent of some of the more aromatic pipe tobaccos. Mike asked did I want to to try it and I said sure. The flavor was intense, the tobacco was Social Smoke Grape Chill, kind of a grape/mint flavor.
Make no mistake, I am only talking of Hookahs and not Bongs!
I shortly thereafter used my Amazon points to pick up a small single hose hookah and an assortment of herbal shisha. My wife and I like to sit in the yard swing in the garden, the hookah on a little stand with a tiny wind chime built in and just relax with a drink and smoke some shisha in the evenings, including winter nights - she has me bring out a blanket for those nights. I have shared the hookah with family and friends and since you can smoke legal herbals or tobacco it has become quite a popular pastime for some of them also. We are particularly pleased with the quality and flavors offered by Hydro Herbal Shishas. There are many choices out there.

Anybody else enjoyed the experience of a good hookah?

 

[firerat]

I love my hookahs. I have 2 single hoses.

I go to The Funky Buddha in Boca Raton on occasion which is a microbrew/hookah bar/kava bar to enjoy a nice bowl sometimes too.

Social Smoke have some great flavors as do Starbuzz an Al Fakher and Nahkla.

A few tips for smoking:

-never use a lighter to light your bowl. use good quality coals.

-try and use natural coals. If you do use instant light ones make sure that are COMPLETELY lit (no more black) before smoking with them.

-DO NOT USE ALUMINUM FOIL ON YOUR BOWL!!!! Either get a stainless screen or the special made foils.

-keep you purge valve (that little ball bearing thingy) clean. blow out occasionally to purge the stale smoke from the hookah.

-red wine water and ice make a lovely liquid in the base

-clean your base once in a while. Those things can get funky.

That's it for now. Enjoy!!

 

[Subsailor]

Fully agree on quality coals and keeping the various parts and pieces clean.
We have experimented with various liquids in the jar and we also like the chilled wine/water combo.

 

[MedicMang]

I usually light mine up for my homies that come by when I brew. I love how after lighting it, a half hour goes by from me brewing and I can still wander over and hit it just fine.

 

[Pratzie]

I've had the pleasure a few times and really enjoyed it. Very relaxing.

Does the wine impart any flavor or anything? I've never seen or heard of this before but you have me curious now.

 

[Subsailor]

As firerat said, red wines are best. And yes, we do get a hint of the wine flavor on the smoke depending upon the shisha we use. Some of the shisha is robust enough to smother any wine that may be in the jar, in our case, Hydro Herbal Razmataz and a couple of others, for example.

 

[hunter_le five]

I have one, somewhere. Haven't really touched it since college....

 

[firerat]

As firerat said, red wines are best. And yes, we do get a hint of the wine flavor on the smoke depending upon the shisha we use. Some of the shisha is robust enough to smother any wine that may be in the jar, in our case, Hydro Herbal Razmataz and a couple of others, for example.

What he said.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Sorry, sailor I have to be just a little bit of a buzzkill and remind folks that even if it tastes like rose, melon or espresso its still tobacco and is still addictive. I have something of an addictive personality (not everyone has the same problem) and I got to the point where I would go to work for 12 hours and be ready to kill someone by the time I got home. I wouldnt let my now-wife so much as kiss me hello before I got to the hookah. A few good puffs in and I was human again. Took me several years and countless nic lozenges to kick the habit.

All I am saying is take the same care with a hookah that you would with cigarettes or cigars (more even than cigars but maybe less than cigarettes).


With all of that said, rose and strawberry were my favorites. Here in Astoria the Egyptian part of town has coffee shops and "Arabic Community Centers" which are basically just a place where guys smoke shisha, drink really strong coffee, play backgammon and solve the world's problems. I got here just a little over a year after september 11, and I gotta tell you listening to a man with a thick arabic accent telling a funny story about something his kid did the other day is a far cry from the scary muslims on TV. Met a lot of people I considered friends (or at least friendly) that I wouldnt have otherwise.

Sorry for the novella.

 

[Subsailor]

I know what you mean about the tobacco and a lot of what we buy for use in the Hookah is considered herbal with no tobacco included. But, I'm not stupid enough to realize that if it's burning and you're inhaling it, you're probably getting some bad stuff into your body. With my tobacco pipes and my hookah, I tend to smoke longer. When we sit out with the hookah and everything is going well we can easily get 45 min to and hour smoke, same for my tobacco pipes, although I have stretched that into a couple of hours. A big presidente type cigar will last me an hour, maybe more, churchills will go to about an hour, corona and robustos about 40 - 45 min.

My go to smokes are cigarillos and they tend to last me about 15 min or so. At my age, I've decided to enjoy what I want in life and these things, among many others, give me great pleasure.

I respect you Creamy and I would really like the opportunity to meet some day. I believe we could have a very good time, if not partaking, at least discussing; food, drink and smokes!

 

[CreamyGoodness]

I've thought for a while now that meeting up with you would be a good time, Sailor . Lemme know if for whatever reason you are braving the 5 boroughs some day.

 

[Subsailor]

At my age, I've decided to enjoy what I want in life and these things, among many others, give me great pleasure.QUOTE]

I think I would like to add a qualifier/modifier to this statement:
I enjoy what I want but not to the detriment of others, no matter what activity I am doing.
I only smoke outside and will only offer a smoke to those that ask.
I drink what I like but will not make somebody drink a beer, wine, whiskey or whatever, unless they want to try it.
I will not force someone to eat or even taste something unless they are willing to try it.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

One other caution that I think a new shisha smoker should hear. Be careful with icecubes . Anyone who has used a hookah's less-respected cousin will tell you that using ice cubes to make the water very cold will make you cough more. In that case, however, that is apparently desirable (never understood that). Water temperature is a bell curve. As the water gets cooler the smoke gets more pleasant. Past a certain point and you are in lung butter territory.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

My friend, who is getting married tomorrow (weird, honestly) told his fiance on the first day we met him "James might have 1 too many and try to feed you homemade things out of jars." Ever since I have tried rather hard to fight that urge. Ha!