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!

One of the questions we are most frequently asked is, “what kind of hookah should I get?” or “what is the best hookah?” There really isn’t right answer to this question but there are several wrong answers, depending on the person. So to best avoid disappointment, please allow me to point out a few of my personal favorite hookahs:

I smoke hookah every day at work; I keep an Egyptian Furat Hookah on my desk for flavor sampling because it is small, conspicuous, and the washable hose is super easy to clean. The Furat is my “9-5er” and a terrific hookah on a budget – the best hookah on the market for under $40 in my opinion. We also have a Mya Threepio Hookah in our office for meetings and group sessions. This hookah we nicknamed “Evel Knievel” because no matter how many times it gets knocked down, it still kicks ass! As a hookah designed for rowdy occasions, it can be converted to accommodate four hoses at once.

At home I have a Nammor Old School Hookah which is almost solely used for entertaining, and as such it is referred to as the “Party Hookah.” The Old School is perfect for parties due to its size, stability, and unique rotating action. By allowing the base to swivel, the hose is passed much easier and eliminates a large majority of hookah related accidents because it is no longer necessary to move the hookah when passing the hose.

The hookah I give most often as a gift is the Nammor Cleopatra Hookah. It has a classic design with a welded-on hose adapter making for an extremely wide opening at the hose port. With the Cleopatra Hookah you receive a Nammor Hookah Hose, which of course is washable and has the widest bore on the market. The awesome airflow, the classic look, and the famous hose make the Cleopatra Hookah my personal favorite, truly earning the title “Queen of the Nile.”

For people that are not confirmed hookah enthusiasts yet, I give the Mya Bambino Hookah. The Bambino is small but powerful, comes with a great case so it is convenient to travel with, and is, in fact, the best-selling hookah for around $60. It’s perfect for taking to friend’s hoses for gatherings large and small. The Bambino is “the Traveler.”

But if none of these hookahs are up to snuff for you, the one I can recommend is the Mya Gyro Hookah. The construction and attention to detail in design truly make it one of those one-of-a-kind, traffic stopping hookahs. If you are looking for a centerpiece for any room of your house, or really just want to blow away all your friends, this is the hookah for you. The Mya Gyro is sure to provide the appropriate “shock and awe,” which is my nickname for this gem.

Hookahs can be an important expression of your personality or they can be something you keep in a closet and pull out only special occasions. Either way if this list did not bring you any closer to making a decision please contact us or we will be happy to offer more tailored service. As always, Happy Smoking!

What is best in life?

Many customers ask us: “What is the best flavor of shisha tobacco you sell?” and “What is the best hookah?” Our answer is always the same, too: “Whatever YOU consider best!”. To put another perspective on it, consider the cigarette displays behind counters in convenience stores. Not only are there numerous brands, but each brand has within it numerous varieties and styles. Asking which shisha is best is as difficult as asking “Which cigarette is best?” Ice cream presents another example: some people shop for ice cream by price, looking at the brands that offer the greatest quantity for the smallest price. Others will shop by flavor – trying to find the chocolate-chip cookie dough that, to their own taste buds, surpasses any other. Many are creatures of habit – finding one brand that’s good enough, and sticking with it because they have no reason to try another brand. To continue on with the analogy, every brand of ice cream will have a Vanilla, and some form of Chocolate, but many brands also offer a flavor or two exclusive to their own brand (for example, baklava flavor by Tonic Hookah Tobacco): not every brand of ice cream carries a Cherry Garcia, or a Tin Lizzie. So, when shopping for shisha, rather than seek the elusive flavor that other people feel is best for them, think of it more like ice cream: Which flavor works best for you? If you like a flavor offered by many brands, such as Mango, who has the Mango flavored tobacco that appeals the most to you?

When asked which hookah is the best, we encourage people to think of it as shopping for a vehicle. Some people search for a rugged truck, one that can be driven off road and pick up some neat dents and scratches along the way. Others look for a luxury automobile, with overstuffed interior and seat warmers in a car that must tiptoe over the smallest bump in the road. Still more will look for a cheaper car that’s easier on the wallet – some prefer station wagons, others prefer sedans. Shopping for a hookah will be much like shopping for an automobile, there will be different “bests” depending on your needs. A person who always smokes with a large group in a large room might prefer something like the Mya Paragon Hookah with 4 hoses, while a student living in an efficiency apartment might need an Egyptian Furat Hookah for its convenient size and ease of portability. Fortunately, one needn’t worry about getting the ‘best-smoking’ hookah, as we proudly offer only hookahs we know will smoke absolutely fantastically. So, the next time you’re looking for a best, let us know how you define it, and we’ll help you select the item that best meets your preferences.

Happy smokin’!

As one of the newer employees here at Hookah-Shisha.com I have spent the last few months on the job acquiring a massive amount of information about hookahs, shisha tobacco, coals and every possible hookah accessory you could think of. Today I had to put all of that knowledge to the test. Today was the day I got my first hookah.

When people ask me what hookah they should buy, I never make a suggestion until I have asked them a couple of questions first. What type of smoker are you? Do you smoke every day? Do you often smoke alone or in a group? Do you want a single hose model, or a multi hose model? Are you looking for a showpiece hookah, or something that you will keep in your closet only to be brought out occasionally? Once I’ve gotten answers to these questions, I feel like I can make a recommendation that will be perfect for that particular customer. Although I help people make hookah buying decisions many times a day, I had never spent much time thinking about what my perfect hookah would be.

When choosing my own first hookah, I asked myself these same questions. I am not a daily smoker, so one of the things I was looking for was an easy and secure way to store my hookah when it was not being used. I immediately started looking at hookahs that come with cases. I also plan on bringing my hookah with me to parties, trips, camping, etc. so the case had to be sturdy enough to make those trips with me. I wasn’t interested in a big multi hose model for my first hookah, though I may opt for one down the line, so I decided on a single hose model. When I was done answering all of my own questions, I had narrowed my search down to a Small Mya Saray Hookah with a sturdy carrying case. All that was left was to pick the model that was most visually appealing to me.

In the end, I chose the Mya Chic Hookah with a black glass base. It’s small enough to be easily stored and comes with a great carrying case. It’s a single hose model, but can be upgraded to a 2 hose model in the future if I feel inclined to do so. Finally, and most importantly, I like the way it looks and I know that I will love it for a long time.

If you’re looking for your own first hookah, or even your tenth hookah, I recommend doing as I did and asking yourself a couple of questions about what type of smoker you are before making your purchase. I’m sure you’ll find that after doing so you will end up with the perfect hookah for you.

Let me guess. Every bowl of hookah tobacco is starting to taste the same. Or maybe you just loaded your hookah bowl with Starbuzz Pina Colada and all you can taste is the Tangiers Maraschino Cherry from last night’s hookah session. Your hookah may be desperately waiving a white flag! SOS! Help! Clean me! Knowing how to clean your hookah properly (and actually doing it) will exponentially increase your hookah experience. So go grab that unkempt hookah, grab your cleaning supplies, and let’s bring it back to life!

1. Disassemble your hookah: Take off your hookah bowl, grommets, tray, hoses, adapters, and heba diffuser. Unscrew your downstem from the shaft, and if your shaft separates from your hub, detach it as well. Basically if you were to look at your pieces, a stranger should be able to walk up and think to his or herself, “I sure hope that thing comes with instructions”. Become familiar with your hookah and its parts. You’ll want to know how to put it together, take it apart, and be able to fix or troubleshoot any issues that may arise. It only takes a few times doing it yourself for you to fully know your way around your hookah.

2. HOT WATER. Use it. All the time. Don’t go from hot to cold or from cold to hot. You’ll end up cracking your glass base and offending us nerds. I learned this the hard way when my Mya Saray Diva Base busted on me. If you’re interested in learning why hot water is better for cleaning than cold water, research kinetics and entropy. This is not the forum for that topic. Where was I? Right. Use hot water to clean your base and shaft thoroughly.

3. Shaft, hub, and downstem: Remember, cleaning brushes are your friends. If you clean your hookah shaft frequently (as you should), it only takes a few passes from end to end to scrub off any residue that might be lingering behind. If your hookah hasn’t been cleaned in a while, it may take several more minutes of scrubbing. When you look down into your shaft and don’t see that shiny metallic surface, it may be time for a new cleaning brush. Note: cleaning brushes are a lot like toothbrushes. They will eventually become a little dirty with bristles that don’t exactly do what they’re intended to. You wouldn’t brush your teeth with a over-the-hill toothbrush, and you certainly shouldn’t use dirty old cleaning brushes to clean your hookah.

4. Hookah Base: Hot water. Some people use Bling and/or lemon juice. I personally have always used dishwashing soap. I typically use those 3M cleaning pads to scrub my hookah base with. If you cut each one into four equal pieces, they last much longer! Gotta stretch that dollar somehow! But I use a Rotating Hookah so it’s easy to get my hand in there and scrub it all really well. Other hookah bases make it more difficult to get inside them to clean. Here is where your handy little cleaning brush comes in handy. Make sure every crevice has been scrubbed and there are no lingering substances hiding in the corner. Here is where soap and hot water work their magic to loosen up those tough to reach particles (wow I sound like a commercial). Moving on.

5. Grommets and Adapters: You really just want to make sure each grommet (and Heba Diffuser) has been rinsed off. You may also find that using a mild soap on the grommets and Heba Diffusers will help as well. No need to scrub them with cleaning brushes. However, you will want to run a thin cleaning brush through your hose adapters though. Rust has a tendency to build up in these causing your BBs to stick. If your BBs are sticking, you won’t be able to clear your hookah base if you ever need to. And if you’re not careful, you could end up blowing water all the way up the shaft and into your hookah bowl if the BBs stick. You’ll hear three things: Air blowing through the hose, followed by the sound of water sizzling the shisha, followed by everyone in the room shouting, “what did you do that for?” Ah good times. So scrub your hose adapters and make sure your BBs don’t stick. Got it? Good.

6. Hookah Bowl: Treat it like a cereal bowl. No, don’t place it on the floor so that Scratches The Cat can drink from it. That’s not what I’m saying. I am saying to wash it thoroughly, every time. If residue is left behind from bowl to bowl, you’re heating it over and over again and breathing in whatever it is cooking for you. You don’t need an unwanted science project in your lungs. Besides, leftover buildup or residue will ruin a perfectly good hookah bowl in no time.

7. Hoses: If you have Washable Hoses, you’ll want to rinse them with hot water. In other words run hot water into one end of the hose until it flows out the other side. Make sure enough water is passing through to cover the entire circumference of the hose. Once the hose has been rinsed, take the hose to an area where you can swing the excess water out of it. Backyard, bathtub, apartment patio or hallway. If you would rather let your hoses dry naturally, always leave them hanging so water can fall in a downward motion towards the ground. If you point the ends upward, moisture will build up in the middle of your hoses, and sitting water just welcomes all kinds of unwanted bacteria or mold. If you do not have washable hoses, my only recommendation is to air them out. Make sure all the smoke has been blown out of them first. Then you can swing them in a circular motion to get as much of the unwanted particles out.

8. Tray: It’s nice to have a shiny tray before the start of each hookah session, but it doesn’t have to be spotless. As long as it doesn’t have residue that would stick to your coals if you placed them on the tray, you’ll be fine. One quick note though, if you wash your tray with water, make sure all of the moisture has been toweled off before coals are placed on them. A wet coal is no bueno. Not good.

9. Put it all back together!

Take pride in your hookah and enjoy the experience in the best way possible. Now that you know how to clean your hookah, there is no reason why your hookah should ever have to cry out for help. Take care of your hookah and I guarantee your clean hookah will take care of the rest! Try your brand new shisha again, for the first time. Happy Smoking!

One of the key decisions to make when selecting a hookah is the number of hoses you’d like accessible to your smoking circle.   Should you select a model that cannot be modified from 3 hoses? Would you be better off getting a multi-hose hookah with an adjustable number of hose ports? In this blog, we hope to impart some perspectives that may help you answer these questions.

One phrase you may hear in the discussion of hookah hoses is “autoseal”. Auto-sealing is a relatively modern function available on most multi-hose hookahs, although “autoseal” refers to the hose connector (or “hose port”) rather than the hose itself. An autoseal connector has a small metal ball bearing inside it that raises out of the path of the air when you’re inhaling, and falls back to block off the air’s path when not inhaling. Without an autoseal system on a 2 (or more) hose hookah, if you don’t block the hose with your finger while someone else inhales, they will draw in air through your hose and get a weak hit with little or no smoke. With a plugged hookah hose, or an autoseal, all of the air in the hit comes through the bowl, bringing smoke and flavor with it. While autoseals are by no means necessary for a great-smoking and entertaining hookah session, if you’re smoking with someone who is new to hookahs, you may want to use autoseal adapters so your guest doesn’t have to remember to plug the hose between draws. For experienced hookah smokers, this will be less of an issue.

Traditionally, one hose on a hookah was sufficient for four or five smokers. Passing, sharing, and patiently waiting for the hose to come around was part of the leisure of a hookah session; early hookah enthusiasts were far more interested in a relaxing moment well spent than maximum time with a hose, or biggest clouds of smoke. If you will regularly be smoking with large groups of people, or if you want a hookah with an extra-impressive appearance, two or three hoses (or even four or six!) may be what you prefer.

Bear in mind, too, that if three or four people are attempting to smoke one hookah through their own hoses at the same time, there will be competition for the air pressure, and the hookah will have a hard time generating enough smoke for four people drawing simultaneously. Additionally, more people smoking out of more hoses on a hookah means the bowl will smoke for a shorter period, and you may even need to replace coal more often. All in all, though, don’t forget these are just informative tips – there’s no rule to govern how many hoses you should have. If you really like 3 hose hookahs, than a 3 hose hookah is perfect for you – even if you’re smoking alone!

One of the most common prejudices against small hookahs, ‘that they smoke worse than tall hookahs’ may be simply a myth based on our perception of the hookah’s appearance.   Let’s take a closer look at some of the claims made about the differences:

Myth #1: Tall hookahs cool the smoke more than small hookahs:     Once the smoke leaves the bowl and enters the shaft, it will be quite warm (as anyone who has touched a bowl mid-smoke is aware). The smoke travels in 3 stages: through the shaft, through the water, and through the hose. While the temperature of the shaft (cooled by the ambient air around the shaft) will cool the smoke somewhat, the temperature of the water will be the determining factor of the smoke. Essentially, the temperature of the smoke in the shaft becomes irrelevant when the smoke passes through the water,  for the water will always adjust the smoke’s temperature to its own temperature.   Once the smoke leaves the water, it will have adjusted to the water’s temperature before entering the hose. Because of the non-conductive materials used in hoses (typically pleather and types of rubbers or plastics), their temperature will have little impact on the smoke passing through them. As, on closer examination, the water becomes the most critical governor of temperature, we can rule out the length of shaft as having a major impact on the smoke’s temperature – thus a short hookah and a tall hookah with water of similar temperatures in the base will deliver smoke of the same temperature, and we may consider this myth busted.

Myth #2: Tall hookahs “hit harder”, or deliver easier draws, than small hookahs:     While the length of contained passage for air flow will impact the draw when the air is traveling moderate distances (such as several meters), the difference of dozens of inches in the air’s path will have little impact. Far more important than the length of the air’s pathway is the width, or ‘openness’ of the air’s path. The width of the air’s path through the hookah is determined by the diameter of the shaft, downstem, hose connector, and hose. If all of these openings are large, air can pass through them without resistance, and the draw on the hookah is easy. If these holes are small, there will be constriction in the air pressure as you’re trying to move air through the hookah, creating a “tight” or “hard” draw. Therefore, as long as the openings of the shaft, downstem, hose connector, and hose are similar between a tall and a short hookah, they will smoke the same. This is best evidenced in the Mya line, as Mya produces all its parts (for tall, medium, or small hookahs) to the exact same sizes. Because of this, the 12 inch Mya QT Hookah will smoke exactly like the 33 inch Mya Paragon Hookah, and we may safely consider this myth busted.

Myth #3: Tall hookahs yield more smoke than small hookahs:     As covered in our previous blog posts covering bowl loading and heat maintenance, the responsibility for smoke production rests primarily on the bowl setup, quality of the tobacco, type of coal, and the interaction of all these elements. As the hookah itself only transports and filters the smoke, we can conclude that the height of the hookah is unimportant to the production of smoke, and consider this myth busted.

After closely analyzing all the arguments posed that tall hookahs deliver a superior smoke or experience than a short hookah, we can officially declare that “Tall hookahs smoke better/cooler/easier than small hookahs” is a myth…busted!

An often overlooked but vitally important part to maintaining flavor and quality of smoke from your shisha is to make sure that it is stored properly.  A freshly opened box or bag of shishsa, if properly stored, has an approximate shelf life of six months. To properly store your shisha the best thing to do is place it inside a Ziplock sandwich bag and then place the bag inside of small piece of Tupperware or a similar storage container. You want make sure that the bag and the container are both air tight and stored at room temperature, approximately 74° Fahrenheit (23° Celsius), and away from any direct sunlight. Exposure to air and light will accelerate the shelf life of the shisha by drying it out and changing its chemical composition, so make sure it’s stored in a dark, dry place.

A common misconception is that placing shisha in a refrigerator will extend its life, but this has yet to be proven. Placing shisha in the freezer, on the other hand, may extend its life because freezing the shisha will slow the curing process by eliminating any exposure to air and bringing to a crawl the chemical breakdown of the shisha flavoring (the same way that freezing a loaf of bread will extend its life). Again, you’ll want to make sure that when you place your shisha in the freezer it is in an air tight container to avoid freezer burn. Doubling up is best so you do not contaminate your leftover pasta sauce, and vice versa.

Many a squirrel has fallen victim to the rigors of winters because they spent too much time scurrying around, fighting over every nut they could find and not properly securing the nuts they did have to stand up to the elements. Don’t wind up out in the cold; make sure all your shisha is properly stored like they were your nuts!

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.