The process by which wood (or sawdust, coconut shells, bone meal, even dried buffalo dung!) is converted into charcoal is called carbonization. Essentially, wood is primarily hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Carbonization removes the hydrogen and oxygen (and trace impurities), leaving only the purified carbon. If burned in an open flame, the carbon would go up with the other elements, so charcoal is produced in environments of restricted oxygen. Typically, the wood (or other material) is loaded into a container, or in more traditional methods, simply buried under carefully arranged logs and soil, and a fire started within. Once the fire is going strongly, the main chimney is sealed up, leaving only selected vent holes which regulate the flow of oxygen into the burn.

The primary physics behind a hookah bowl involves drawing very hot air from around the coals through the shisha, vaporizing the sugars and oils into smoke, which is what makes the Hookah Flip Bowl so particularly efficient – hot air rises! Burned bowls will result from excessive heat – either too much charcoal, or charcoal which has sat so long in one spot on the shisha that it begins to cook and burn the shisha from the radiant heat. Minimizing contact with the bowl, as seen in the design of the new Fantasia Hookah Coals, also maximizes the flow of hot air while minimizing the proximity of the heat-emitting coal. Happy smokin!

This is a question that comes up again and again, why does my hookah taste bad? There are a couple of different culprits that could be leading to a bad tasting hookah bowl. In this blog I’ll lay out a couple things that could be causing this problem and a few things you can do to prevent/fix bad bowl syndrome.

The first thing to look at is your hookah itself. Be honest with yourself, when was the last time you cleaned your hookah? If the answer is anything greater than “the last time I smoked” chances are your hookah could use a cleaning. Routine maintenance is the easiest way to ensure you never have to deal with a bad bowl. If it’s been a while, not to worry, a good cleaning can take care of a lot of the lingering smells and residues that may be causing you to not enjoy your bowl as much as you should.

First things first, clean that dirty hookah! If you aren’t sure of the best method for cleaning out a hookah, take a look at our handy Hookah Cleaning Guide.

If your bowl still tastes bad after a good cleaning then it is time to start looking at your bowl packing and heat management techniques. If you need a refresher course on proper bowl loading techniques, look no further than our Hookah Bowl Loading Guide.

Now you have a clean hookah and a properly loaded bowl, on to your hookah coals. This is a key step in your quest for a great tasting hookah bowl. Make sure that you are letting your coals get fully lit before using them. Smoking a bowl with partially lit coals will give you a bad tasting bowl almost 100% of the time. Whether you are using Natural Hookah Coals or Quick Light Hookah Coals, you must allow enough time for the coals to be fully lit before using them. When I say fully lit, what I mean is that the coals should be completely covered in a layer of ash. When you use partially lit coals not only will your bowl of shisha not be receiving the proper amount of heat, but you will be inhaling the fumes caused by the coals initial combustion phase. This is especially true of Quick Light Coals since they are coated in an accelerant that speeds along the lighting process.

Here we are, you’ve followed all of my steps, you have a clean hookah, a well loaded bowl, and a pile of fully lit coals ready to go, and yet you still have a bad tasting bowl. At this point, the culprit is clear. Look down into your hand and see thine enemy, your hookah hose. Most hoses on the market are not washable and over time they will get a little funky. Unfortunately there isn’t much that can be done for a funky hose unless it’s a washable model. If yours is washable, wash that sucker out. If not, I’d recommend replacing the hose. This might be the perfect time to upgrade to a washable hose, such as a Nammor Hookah Hose.

With these tips at your disposal you should never have to deal with a bad tasting bowl ever again. Happy Smoking!

A recent security upgrade made by the company that processes our online payments (Linkpoint International) will sometimes decline a credit card if there are any diacritical marks in the cardholders name or billing address. Diacritical marks are common in foreign alphabets, such as accents (the “é” in Orléans), umlauts (the “ö” in Köln), tildes (the “ñ” in Año), and so forth.

If a message is returned that says “your credit card was not approved” after you have entered your credit card information and pressed the “complete purchase” button, go back a few pages to your billing and shipping information and make sure there are none of these marks in your name or billing address. For example, if your billing street name is “Caminó Street,” change it to “Camino Street” without the accent and try again.

If you still experience a declined message, please chat with us on our “Live Help” or email us and we will be happy to assist you in placing your order.

????! Hola! Guten tag, comment ça va? We here at Hookah-Shisha.com may not be able to freely converse in a myriad of dialects but we are fluent in the international language of hookah! As such we routinely ship hookahs to all seven continents (that’s right, even Antarctica!) All our international orders are shipped via USPS, because they are the most reliable and cost effective courier we have found. USPS offers two shipping speeds – Priority and Express. Priority shipping generally takes about two to three weeks, and Express shipping takes about 7-10 days, depending on the efficiency of customs.  Also, please keep in mind that you may be asked to pay additional duties from your customs office before your order is released to you.  Duties, or import taxes, vary greatly from country to country so it is difficult for us to keep track of how they are calculated.   We always recommend to our international customers to be prepared to pay any additional duties if necessary, and to contact the customs agency of their country to obtain the most recent and up-to-date information regarding duties.  If you are asked to pay a duty that you feel is unreasonable, you are not obligated to pay it and have the option to refuse the order,  which will then be returned to us. Once the order has been returned we have two options; we can refund the order less the original shipping charge and a 15% restocking fee, or we can resend your order and you will be responsible only for the shipping cost. That being said the overwhelming majority of our orders make it across international borders without incident. We ship quickly and conveniently to all corners of the globe, and with the LiveHelp chat on our website, we are very easy to contact if you should need assistance. So no matter where you are we are your neighborhood hookah stop! Ciao!

How much does it cost to ship to my country?

International shipping rates vary depending on your location, the total weight of your package, and your desired shipping method.  Your shipping options will be presented to you during the checkout process.  If you have not set up an account with us yet and simply wish to inquire about the shipping cost without following through with the checkout process, you may estimate the shipping cost of your order by following these steps:

Step 1: Place the items you wish to know the total shipping cost on into your virtual shopping cart by pressing the “ADD TO SHOPPING CART” button on the product page.

Step 2: Once you have placed all of the desired items into your shopping cart, click on the “Estimated Shipping Charges” button found underneath the order total.

Step 3: A pop-up window will appear where you will enter your address information.  Be sure to fill out your city, state (if applicable), province (if applicable), postal code and country.  The more specific the information you provide, the more accurate the shipping costs.  After you have filled out your address information, click on the “submit” button.

Step 4: The next window will say “Choose Shipping Provider” at the top.  Make sure that you select “USPS” and not “UPS,” which is the default shipping method.  Your 2 shipping options with costs will now be presented to you.

While it may seem that we only rave about Romman and Starbuzz as being the cat’s meow of shishas, we can’t forget about our other great premium brand Fumari Shisha Tobacco!.  It’s due time we show them some love, so here we present their 5 best and most popular flavors:

5. Fumari Island Papaya – We’re not sure which island this flavor comes from, but we’d sure like to visit!  The Island Papaya flavor is a mild, not-too-tart pineapple/peach taste with a slight melon undertone (our best way to describe the taste of a papaya).  We can’t think of a better flavor to solely describe as “tropical.”

What’s up all my hookah crazy friends! Allow me to introduce myself to those who don’t know me.  My friends call me Jono.   I’ve been with hookah-shisha.com for almost two years now. I’m in the band Mother’s Anthem for those of you interested in checking it out.  At my house, there are two constants:  Hookah and vinyls.  When the record stops, we flip it. When the hookah bowl ends, we start up another.   When it comes to shisha, we try to come up with new mixes whenever we can.

In these blogs, I will talk about flavors I’ve tried, hookahs I’ve smoked, and basically share my hookah smoking experiences with you. Also, since this is an open forum, I want to invite you to share with me your experiences. Maybe I’ve tried something and had a bad experience, and you have a suggestion as to how to make it a better one (example: I didn’t like Al Fakher’s Golden Grape, but maybe I should’ve used Merlot with orange slices in the base, stuff like that). Maybe you have ideas on shisha mixes I haven’t tried yet. Believe me; I want to hear from you. I love finding new blends to smoke. So please, use this forum as it’s intended…. to share information and make each other’s hookah smoking experiences even better!

Hookahs I own:
1.  The first hookah I ever used was a Gunmetal Black Stratus (3 hose) Hookah.  It was one that I received free for working at hookah-shisha.com (which by the way, thank you guys!)
2.  Black and silver Mya Bambino Hookah
3.  Blue Flower Pot Hookah
4.  “Gyroglyph” (I Frankensteined a blue Mya Gyro base with a silver 3-hose Glyph shaft – a beautiful hookah if I do say so myself)
5.  Golden Odyssey, which I believe is discontinued
6.  Blue Old School Rotator Hookah
7.  Abyss (1 hose) Hookah
8.  Blue Lunar (1 hose) Hookah
9.  Blue Mya QT Hookah
10.  Black Ebony (2 hose) Hookah

Let’s begin!

Q: What kind of Hookah should I get?

In my personal opinion, if you want to have the best smoking experience, order an Old School Rotator Hookah. This particular hookah stands alone in the ranks of the best hookahs ever built.

1) They’re built solid.  The rotating base is stable, weighted at the bottom so it’s less likely to be knocked over.  One other great feature about the Old School is that its tray and base are wider than the glass base, so if some idiot (trust me, we’ve all smoked with “that guy”) knocks it over, the glass won’t break.
2) The shaft is very durable and thick.  The tray is made into the shaft.  Most other hookahs come with trays that have to snap into place or simply sit on top of the shaft.  Often, these snap-on trays don’t fit securely and sometimes fall over when you place the tongs on them.  This can be messy to clean up. Also, I should mention that some hookahs have shafts that have hose adapters welded on poorly.  When you unscrew your base from your shaft to freshen the water, hose adapters have been known to break off.  The Old School is made so that you won’t have to worry about it breaking on you.
3) The hose adapter chambers (the holes channeling the smoke from the base to the hose) are wider than on any other hookah.  If there’s one comment I always get from new hookah smokers, it’s that they love how smoking hookah is so easy.  They often say it’s like “breathing”.  It’s so smooth.  Well, the thickness of the Old School smoke chambers is the reason for this.  The smaller the holes, the harder it’s going to be to pull air through the hose.  It’s mere science.  If you’re not able to pull much air through, you’re not pulling the proper amount of heat through the bowl, down to the base, and through the hose, causing the shisha to taste less desirable.  But, not with the Old School.
4) The glass is colored beautifully but transparent enough to gauge how much water/ice to put in.  Other hookahs sometimes come with bases that you can’t even
see the water level.  So it becomes a guessing game.  Old School, problem solved.
5) The rotating base rotates so smoothly.  You never have to worry about the bowl titling or the coals shifting as you’re passing the hose to your friends.
6) The Old School is priced conservatively.  Actually, for what you’re getting, it’s underpriced.

Q: What kind of bowl should I use?
A: Well that depends. Are you smoking alone or with friends? How much time do you have per smoking session?  If you’re like me, you want to enjoy the hookah bowl for a while when you smoke and you will probably have friends nearby that want to smoke too.  So if you’re smoking with a lot of friends and have some time to enjoy yourselves, you might want to pick up a Mya Jumbo Ceramic Bowl. Keep in mind, these bowls last a long time and you’ll end up smoking one flavor for a long while. I tend to want to smoke something new after an hour or hour and a half. If I change flavors midway through the Jumbo bowl, I’ve wasted a lot of tobacco.  Not to say you can’t repackage the unused portion, I just never do.  If you want to smoke by yourself, I recommend the smaller Syrian hookah bowls or Egyptian hookah bowls.  It’s hard for me to sell you on one bowl versus another.   I’ve found that for most situations, the egyptian bowls, ceramic bowls, and Mod hookah bowls all work great for your needs.  I wouldn’t say there is one bowl better than the other as far as efficiency is concerned.  Now I can say that I’ve had egyptian bowls and mod bowls break at times.  But they weren’t being handled properly at the time either, so…. one thing I look for when I’m looking for the right bowl is whether or not the holes in the bowl are spaced evenly and if they’re big enough. Mod Bowls and Ceramics are very consistent in quality, while the Egyptian bowls tend to be spaced and sized differently from bowl to bowl. If you have enough money, I’d try out several different styles and see which ones work best for you.

Q: What hoses do you recommend?
A: Nammor Hookah Hoses. They’re washable and their airway is wide enough to allow for a very natural breathing experience. Hands down, the best hose.  If you want something that provides a very similar experience and are ok with a less than flashy product, try the Washable Hookah Hoses. They’re great too!

Q: What brands of Shisha Tobacco should I smoke?
A: Honestly, I like certain flavors from various makers.  I believe that for the thickest smoke, you’ll find none better than Starbuzz.   If you’re looking for the most consistently accurate flavors, give Romman flavors a try.  However, there are certain flavors that are just better from certain companies than others. (I’ll go into a more detailed product-by-product review later though).  Now if you’re concerned about smoking “tobacco,” I recommend trying the Hydro Herbal line. It is tobacco free, nicotine free and tastes UNREAL! Truly a great product, and supposedly, less hazardous. But that debate won’t be entertained here.

Q: What coals should I use?
A: Coco-Nara Hookah Coals. They’re made from coconut shells and vegetables, 100% natural. They allow you to taste the shisha naturally without the chemical taste brought on by some coals. They take a little while to heat up, but once they’re going, they last longer than other coals and leave less ash behind.  If you’re looking to light up some coals quickly, try the Golden Quick-Lighting Hookah Coals. For larger bowls I tend to use two 33mm’s on opposing ends of the bowl.  For smaller bowls, I’d use one 40mm, broken in half, setting the pieces on opposite ends of the bowl.

Editor’s note:  Stay tuned for part 2: Jono reviews all the Romman flavors!

Hookahs would be substantially less relaxing without hookah hoses. Can you imagine taking turns stooping to take a couple hurried puffs straight from the hose connector, or worse – passing the entire hookah from person to person?  Thankfully, the hose allows one to smoke from a distance in comfortable repose, but with so many types and styles of hoses, which one is best for you?  This handy guide will point out features of each of the hoses we stock for your referencing convenience, in alphabetical order:

Picking the right hookah or tobacco can be a hard process, and indecision is quite common when it comes to making a purchase. What to do? Overcoming this obstacle is easy, but it may require a strategy – Here are some questions to ask yourself to help overcome indecision:

1. What is my price range? If you have $20-$50 to spend on a hookah, take a look at our Small Mya/Mod Hookahs section. Low prices do not mean you need to sacrifice quality!  For hookahs in the $50-$150 range you can find some great deals on our site. My favorite hookah in this range is the Mya Vortex hookah. For hookahs $150 and above, Mya is the flagship when it comes to quality. When it comes to Tobacco, price certainly vary. The highest grade shishas are generally more expensive, but you can definately taste the quality! You can get a 250g container of premium Romman or Starbuzz for $19.95, and Romman Shisha Tobacco is available in 50g boxes so you can sample any of the flavors first before you invest in a 250g tin.  If you are looking for the “best bang for your buck” shisha, you should try Al Fakher, Layalina or Al Waha Shisha Tobacco. You can get 250 grams of any of these brands for around $10.00.

2. What style of hookah should I get? When it comes to hookahs we do have a variety of styles. We have simple hookahs, extravagant hookahs, tall hookahs, mini hookahs, modern hookahs, traditional hookahs and everything in-between!  One way to narrow down the search for the perfect hookah is to figure out what hookah really suits your sense of style. If you prefer modern styles, you may like the the Mod Hookahs or Mya Hookahs. If you enjoy ornate hookahs, you should look at the Syrian Hookahs. If you like “bling”, you should check out our new Mya Cystal hookahs. If you like the traditional look, our Egyptian Hookahs and Rotating Hookahs may be the perfect fit!

3. What have other people said about this product? One of the most objective ways to find quality items is to look at what other people have said about the products you are interested in. We have customer reviews on most of the items on our site, so check and see what others thought of that Syrian Glyph hookah before you decide to buy it.  Real customers make these reviews, so if you haven’t tried a particular brand of shisha, others have!  These reviews provide a nice “litmus test” of what is hot and what is not.

4. What flavor of tobacco should I buy? This is a hard question for another person to answer, because no two people’s taste buds are exactly the same. A good rule of thumb is to choose flavors that suit your pallet. If you enjoy Strawberry, you should really consider Romman Strawberry. If you like the taste of Watermelon, Al Fakher is considered by many to be the best. Trust your instincts and choose choose flavors that you enjoy. Of course, you can always take a chance and try something completely new! Tangiers Shisha Tobacco has some really interesting flavors like Horchata and Schnozberry if you feel like something out if the ordinary.  There are also many reviews of shisha tobacco flavors that people post on our website, and also on sites such as Youtube that will give you other people’s opinions.

Don’t forget that we are available to answer your questions 7 days a week, so feel free to contact us so we can help you make a decision!

Howdy Hookah Lovers!

Hookah-shisha.com presents our third guest blog author and finalist in our blog contest. Frank C answers the familiar question, “So what Is This Hookah Anyways?” We can’t think of a better question!

The best way I have found of describing a hookah is through cultural references that people are already familiar with. Do you remember the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland? Or Jabba the Hutt from the Star Wars franchise? Do you remember those funny looking pipes they had? Those were hookahs.

Essentially a hookah is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) water pipe that can be used for smoking a variety of herbal preparations including tobacco, hashish, and opium. Excluding the grommets, hookahs are made up of five basic components, four of which are essential to its function. These include: the bowl; the hose; the body, gasket, valve combination; and the water jar. To these, can be added the plate and grommets.

The bowl, also known as the head, is made of coal, marble, or even Pyrex glass. It contains tobacco or other herbs and the coal during a smoking section. It is filled with tobacco and then covered with perforated aluminum foil or metal or glass screen which holds the hot coals which heats the tobacco rather than burning it.

The smoke (actually vapor) is drawn through a slender rubber hose fitted with a wooden, plastic, or metal mouth piece. Depending on design hookahs can have from one to eight hoses, regardless of number, hookah smoking is usually a social activity.

The body of the hookah consists of a (usually) metal pipe with a gasket at the bottom. The gasket seals the connection between the body of the pipe with water jar and also contains the port or ports for the hose and may contain a valve to evacuate smoke from the water jar. A second pipe extends from the gasket into the water jar.

The water jar forms the base of the hookah. As the name suggests it contains water through which the smoke passes before entering the hose. The water adds moisture to the smoke making it less harsh and functions as a filter removing some of the harmful particulates. While the jar is traditionally filled with water, other liquids can be added to compliment the flavor of the tobacco such as wine, spirits, fruit juice, or even cola.

The plate rests just below the bowl and is essentially an ashtray that catches ash from the coals and acts as a receptacle for spent coals.

Grommets are often used between the bowl and the body, the gasket and the jar, and in the hose ports to seal joints between the parts in order to minimize the amount of air flowing in and maximize the amount of smoke flowing up the hose. However, the same effect can be achieved with paper or even tape.

The hookah is ancient and its origins are obscure, lost in the mists of time. Thought to have originated in India, the hookah, known by a variety of names such as sheesha, narghile, or ghelyan ; spread throughout Asia and the Near East through contact with various Islamic empires. Hookahs were originally used to smoke intoxicants such as hashish and opium but through contact with the New World in the 15^th and 16^th century those intoxicants were gradually replaced with tobacco.

Originally hookah tobacco, known by a variety of names such as ma’sal (from the Arabic for “honeyed”); shisha (which may also refer to the hookah pipe); or jurak (an Indian term for either traditional sweetened tobacco or contemporary fruit flavored tobacco), was a mixture of either honey or molasses, tobacco, and dried fruit which produced a thick, sweet but flavorless smoke. However in the 1980s, in an effort to gain more female customers, tobacco companies began adding fruit and candy flavors to their mixes.

In the countries where hookah culture originated, smoking is a social activity. It is not uncommon to find hookahs being shared in cafes, clubs and restaurants. As with the coffeehouses of Europe and the Americas, hookah cafes are often the center for discussion of arts, poetry, religion, philosophy, and politics. In homes they are often the center for socializating with friends and family. It has been said that cigarettes are for nervous people, competitive people, people on the run. When one smokes a hookah you have time to think, and contemplate your world. Hookahs teach tolerance and patience and to appreciate good company. It is perhaps that quality that has lead to the hookah’s popularity amongst many Westerners, especially students, artists, hipsters, and other Bohemians. Many larger cities and college towns are likely to have at least one hookah lounge and several stores that sell hookahs, tobacco, and accessories.