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.

This isn’t a pipe – it’s a work of art!” a customer recently emailed us of his new Mya. We couldn’t agree more. In this age of utilitarianism, form falls too often second to function, and the artistry of hookahs – decoration for the simple joy of adornment – shines forth. After all, decorating something beloved is a natural human activity; we painted our caves millennia ago, we put posters on our walls today, stickers on our cars, and colorful collars on our dogs. Small wonder that we spend so much time searching for a hookah that looks just right. History has provided us with attractive smoke-centric artifacts for our appreciation, such as this Indian pipe from the early 1800s. On this hookah, the base is quite small, but the extra-long hose connector would have given the filtered smoke more opportunity to cool. You thought the large Phunnel bowl holds lots of shisha – the bowl on this hookah would last hours.

Not all hookah art (or ‘hookart’?) comes from the Middle East. This hookah base, make in the Kangxi region of China is made of delicate porcelain. This base dates to the 1700s, but in the century prior, Kerman (in what is today known as Iran), hookahs combined traditional Chinese and Persian motifs. Sadly, we were unable to find any pictures of this style for the blog.

This detail from a Persian rug in the 1800s shows a woman smoking a hookah. Rugs from this area and time often showed nomadic tribes setting up camp and smoking hookahs. Camping and hookahs? Count me in. I wonder if the weaver was puffing a hookah when making this rug…

Inspired by the hookah form (and probably fond of its function), artists frequently crafted other items, such as this decanter from the 1800s, in the manner of the cherished narghile.

And this? This is just silly.

Believe it or not, the difference isn’t where they’re made. Syrian bases can be made in Egypt, and Egyptian hookahs in Syria; Egyptian and Syrian hookahs can even be produced in China, Europe, and America.

Traditionally, one of the factors distinguishing Egyptian from Syrian hookahs was the type of bowl used. Syrian hookahs were one constructed primarily to accept inside-fitting (or “male”) bowls, while Egyptian hookahs were constructed for outside-fitting (or “female” bowls). With the increasing popularity of hookahs, Syrian hookahs gradually shifted to accommodate the increasing variety of bowls and accessories designed in the female style, and the distinction between Egyptian and Syrian hookahs shrank. Once outside-fitting bowls became more popular, Syrian styles began incorporating them and the main identifying feature of Syrian hookahs became their fine ornamentation.

Whereas some Egyptian hookahs feature painted bases and creative adornment on the shaft, Syrian hookahs often incorporate intricate engraving and highly detailed Syrian basework.  The Egyptian and Syrian hookahs we sell are further distinguished by their composition and production style.  Made entirely of surgical grade stainless steel, the Egyptian hookah shafts are turned on a lathe, whereas many of our Syrian hookahs are cast.  The Syrian hookahs we carry feature an inner brass tube (through which the smoke passes) surrounded by metal of varying compositions that is cast, unlike the lathed Egyptian shafts.    Our Egyptian and Syrian hookahs are constructed exclusively for us, and we oversee all elements of their loving production.

Whether you prefer the reliable simplicity of an Egyptian hookah or the attention to detail of Syrian hookahs, enjoy smoking from a hookah style that’s survived the test of centuries to please today.

Since the dawn of history, fire has been revered by humanity with near religious regard. According to the Greek myths, it was a tool stolen from the gods and given to humanity. When once fire was a mysterious phenomena, a source of fear and destruction for early humans, we’ve now tamed this immortal power for one of it’s most noble applications: smoking a hookah.

Just as fire depends on air for its survival, a hookah depends on air and fire to generate the flavorful smoke through your hookah. Air, heated by the charcoal, passes through the shisha warming it up, and travels down the shaft. The smoke is then drawn through the water, which filters and moistens the smoke before it travels through the hose to your delighted tongue. Since the air passes around the charcoal, it captures any extra flavors given off by the burning coal, so you’ll want to choose the type you use carefully.

A cursory glance at the market reveals a wide variety of hookah charcoals. Hookah coal is separated into two major groups: natural and quick light. Natural coals are typically composed of a single type of material – wood. The wood in natural coals come from several sources, such as lemmonwood, olive wood, or even coconuts, and undergoes very little processing. Unlike instant-light (or quick light) coals, natural coals require a steady external heat source to ignite into glowing embers. Some like to use commercially available electric charcoal heaters to start their natural coals, others simply use a pan over a hot stove. Whatever lighting method is used, natural coals are regarded as the cleanest burning coals available. They emit no smoke once ignited, and give off virtually no fumes or flavors that can contaminate the flavor of the shisha. Natural coals also burn at a more consistent temperature ideal for shisha tobacco. Instant or quick lighting coals are made of compressed carbon, and contain additional igniting ingredients. One must exercise some caution when selecting a quick-light coal to use- some brands use petrochemicals as catalysts that can create fumes that taste bad and may be hazardous. When selecting an instant lighting coal, make sure you choose one that uses all-natural ingredients, such as the Golden Coals. Managing the heat given off of the charcoal is considered the true artistry of hookah smoking. If there is too much heat, the top of the shisha will start to burn, creating harsh acrid smoke that tastes terrible. With too little heat, the shisha won’t heat up enough to impart the essence of the flavor and tobacco to the smoke, which will be thin with little flavor. On the next blog, we come to the final and most important element of hookah enjoyment – the enjoyment itself!

Don’t miss the previous installments of this blog, On The Pleasure of Hookahs II: Shisha of the Earth and On The Pleasure of Hookahs I

Whether you call it shisha, mo’assel, or tumbak, it’s all fodder for your hubble bubble. Peoples worldwide have cultivated, praised, hoarded, and prized tobacco for millenia.

Shisha arrived in Egypt in it’s earliest form, tombak, by the Ottoman empire*. Tombak, also spelled tumbak, is dried tobacco leaves that require soaking before smoking. According to one popular tale, a tobacco enthusiast, while enjoying dessert with molasses, decided to mix his tombak with molasses before smoking it. He discovered that the addition of molases lent a pleasant taste to the tobacco as it simmered, and it smoked more smoothly. The popularity of this form of tobacco spread quickly, and it wasn’t long before people begin adding spices and fruit oils to create moassel as it is smoked today.

The molasses and honey used to make shisha is a natural preservative that keeps the tobacco fresh.  An unopened packet of shisha tobacco will be smokeable for at least 2 whole years – possibly more!  After opening, shisha will stay smokeably  fresh for at least  6 months, depending on the care invested in storing it.  Shisha should always be protected from air, light, and temperature extremes.  Many shishas now come in self-sealing jars, and some people like to store their tobacco in tupperware or ziplock-style baggies.  Frequent smokers (such as myself) may find that the plastic wrappings of the shisha adequate protection if wrapped tightly enough.

Unlike cigarette tobacco, which is commonly adulterated with industrial chemicals and artifical additives, true moassel and shisha is comprised of only natural substances. While most commercial shisha uses washed tobacco, some brands, such as Nakhla or Tangiers use unwashed tobacco. Unwashed tobacco has a more pronounced tobacco flavor – closer to the taste of cigars and pipes – and contains more nicotine than unwashed tobacco. Shisha tobacco differs from cigarette and cigar in another important respect – it isn’t burned. While cigarette and cigar tobacco is incinerated at high temperatures, shisha is “simmered” at a temperature several hundred degrees lower. Some studies indicate that the temperature of the tobacco has an important effect on the tar created; many believe that the lower the temperature, the fewer dangerous compounds are created**.

Contemporary shishas are available in a wide range of flavors. In addition to traditional fruit flavors, some brands have began producing shishas flavored with coffee, liqueur (like Starbuzz’s Irish Cream) – even deserts like pumpkin pie and sweet drinks like horchata (a rice milk drink with a hint of cinnamon). No two flavors of shisha taste alike. Many brands produce apple or double apple (considered to be one of the most classic flavor) although each brand’s apple flavor will be unique. Part of the fun of hookahs is exploring the boquet of available tastes, and learning more about yourself and your personal preferences in the process. Hookah enthusiasts love to experiment with more than one flavor at a time. For example, almost every fruit flavored shisha will mix wonderfully with some mint shisha in the same bowl. Another popular combination is Romman’s chocolate shisha mixed with another fruit flavor, like strawberry – it tastes like chocolate covered strawberries!

Aside from the pleasure of taste, smoke itself must have an interesting connection to humans. People of past generations couldn’t have helped but associate the unhurried plumes with their combustive birth: where there was smoke, there was warmth, light, society. How does one explain the dreamy requiescence that watching clouds elicits? Who hasn’t marveled at the spume of smoke after a particularly smooth pull on a hookah? Of course, you can’t have prodigal smoke without the fecund fire; don’t miss the next segment in this blog: Fire and Air

This way for the first segment: On the Pleasure of Hookas Part One
*http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/111.5/grehan.html

**http://www.editions-harmattan.fr/index.asp?navig=catalogue&obj=article&no=2779

As one of our customers pointed out, hookahs present the perfect union of all elements: water in the base, earth in the shisha, fire in the coal, air in the smoke, and love in the company when you share a hookah. For centuries, pipe enthusiasts around the world have joined in peaceful union as they partake in a simple hobby. Farmers, artists, students, businessmen, and people of all walks of life have appreciated the peaceful pastime of pipes – even Albert Einstein once agreed “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgement in all human affairs.” Blowing a soft cloud, reposeful in a large chair, one doesn’t merely smoke a hookah – one enjoys it.

At first glance, every hookah session appears to be the same – one or several people sitting around puffing smoke. However, any true hookah aficionado will tell you that no two hookah sessions are alike. Hookah smoking is actually the most diplomatic celebration of individual differences and variegated tastes; in that way, nargile smoking should be considered among the triumphs of saner civilization. Just take a good look at any aspect of a session: the hookah, the tobacco and smoke, the coal, and the company – you’ll discover that this simple act is in itself a conversation, an expression of style, a festivity.

Let’s start with the basic: the hookah itself. While “hookah” is the standard name for the Middle Eastern water pipe in America, the international sensation is known by many names in many countries. Some call the pipe itself a “shisha”, while others reserve the word “shisha” for the tobacco smoked out of it. The word “hookah” comes from the ancient Indian word hukka, or “coconut” – what the first hookahs were made out of. In the Middle East, the marvelous hookah is commonly referred to as a “nargile“. Although one considers a couple of practical options when choosing a hubbly bubbly, the decision ultimately rests on aesthetics: how does it look? Your hookah should draw your eye and complement your environment. Many people ask us “What is the best hookah?” There’s no single answer to this question – instead, we help find the hookah that’s best for you. Do you prefer tall hookahs, or small hookahs? Do you like sleek modern hookah designs, or are you drawn to the timeless gleam of a more traditional arguileh? Each hookah design has its own personality and its own mood. Some hookahs look so marvelous you’d expect to smoke it with a caterpillar atop a toadstool in Alice’s Wonderland. Other water pipes are more conservative, and would look comfortable beside a fire and a cup of tea. If you want a two, three, or even six hose hookah, you may want to choose a hookah with a large base, so that the hookah can hold more smoke (to please more smokers)! If your hookah will be in a lively, active environment you may prefer a more stable mid-sized hookah to a delicate tall one. Some of our customers own a few hookahs – one for personal use, and others for sharing.

Hookahs can become such cherished personal items that people name them as they would a pet. Typically, one fills the base of the hookah with water, although there are many other additions that can change the flavor of your smoke. Some people like to add fruit juices to the water, to add extra fruit flavor to the smoke. Others add wine for a refreshing zing, and dropping ice cubes in the liquid in the base guarantees a cool smoke. The liquid in the base acts as a filter and makes the smoke nice and moist. Without water in the base, the smoke would be harsh and too warm for enjoyment. Larger particles of smoke and much of the tar remains in the water as the smoke passes through. Once you have finally settled on a hookah that suits you and have become familiar with it, it’s time to consider shisha. Stay tuned for the next blog on the earth element of a hookah session – On the Pleasure of Hookahs II – Shisha of the earth

Want to skip ahead?  Jump to the Pleasure of Hookahs III – Fire and air

So, what should I smoke tonight? A common question, but an important one, because tonight is not just any night. Tonight is the launch of something special: The beginning of a new era of information. A time when Hookahlove, the official Hookah Blog of Hookah-Shisha.com, is born. A beginning much like when Hookah-Shisha.com was first created.

But first, a quick introduction.

I am Hookah Saaher. The nickname is not currently important but can be described as a name combining American and Arab culture. Much like the Hookah itself.

Almost 10 years ago, the hookah was a little-known device in the U.S. and I was the only one in my college dorm going down to the “slab” (our designated hangout in the courtyard of the dorm) and sharing my Hookah Love with my fellow college students. It was the days when Nakhla Tobacco was the only shisha tobacco available in the U.S. (except for those batches I or others would bring back direct from our favorite coffee shops in the Middle East). Japanese square coals and Three Kings charcoal were the hookah charcoals of choice amongst the home hookah smokers. I would smoke from my rusting hookah hose that I would wash before each use, decorated with brightly colored greens, reds, blues and yellows. The hookah was solid brass, both dented and ornately decorated at the same time (a rare feat to bring through customs at the time without a long and lengthy discussion of what a hookah is, and why it isn’t considered drug paraphernalia). Explaining and sharing my hookah with each new passerby that was convinced I had to be “smoking something illegal” became routine. I would get a nightly visit from the campus security guard who was constantly bombarded by uninformed students and staff with reports of a consistent “illegal activity,” only to find it was just me and my lone hookah, and he would take a quick puff before going on with his rounds. Little did I know that hookahs would soon become a mainstream product sold in grocery stores.

So much has changed, yet so little…

Nowadays, the hookah is much more popular. The coffee shops of the Middle East have been recreated all over the U.S., both the traditional as well as the modern and hip hookah bars and hookah night clubs built around the tradition of the social aspects of hookah. A hookah lounge can now be found in every major U.S. city and hookahs are available to every U.S. household, both through the proliferation of hookahs being found in common tobacco shops as well as being available online through websites such as this one.

I now smoke out of a hookah that is still old, but made of stainless steel from our factories in the Middle East with improved design and functionality. The base came from a sample provided to me at a tobacco trade show where hookahs have made a permanent presence, and a plastic hose – no longer the multi-colored array of the past, but plain black with superior functionality due to the inability to rust and its lightweight design. I’m smoking Romman Mint with Romman Lemon Wood charcoal out of a Chinese mod-style bowl. I no longer worry about the customs officer, just the customs agents inspecting our goods and “randomly” putting our goods up for inspection (more so due to the affects of September 11th than the lack of knowledge associated with hookahs).

The hookah industry has changed from a Middle Eastern pastime to a full-fledged worldly pastime with functional improvements and a large focus on quality and consistency. Nakhla is no longer the dominating brand as it once was and new brands such as Romman, Al-Fakher, Al-Waha, Starbuzz, Al-Amir, Tangiers, Fantasia, Fumari, Layalina, Havana, Tonic, Fusion, and others have become established in the markets with hundreds of flavors. Hookahs are coming from Egypt, Syrian, Lebanon, Europe, and China. Hookah Charcoal is being made in Holland, Japan, China, Belgium, England, U.S., Syrian, Jordan and Egypt. Innovative products such as the Washable Hookah Hose, Nammor Hookah Hose, Ultimate Combo Hookah Bowl, glow balls, and a huge amount of other accessories are already in the market and constantly under innovation.

The health effects of a hookah are still not truly known, except for the now commonly agreed statement that hookahs are bad for you. It is smoking after all! People still come by when I am sitting at a Starbucks or other outdoor establishments (outdoors due to the non-smoking ordinances in Austin, TX) to talk to me and take a puff of the hookah. But now, I am asked not what a hookah is but what flavor I am smoking. I often have long conversations with passersby, exchanging my own hookah knowledge with theirs. I am still an expert in the field and will always be an expert as long as I remain in the hookah industry, and this is where this hookah story comes full circle.

We at Hookah-Shisha.com are definitely experts when it comes to hookahs. This can’t be denied, with the thousands of customer questions we have answered over the almost 8 years of our business and the tens of thousands of hookah orders we have delivered. We have been building up a vast wealth of hookah and shisha knowledge that we feel is vital to the continued improvement and enjoyment to the hookah smoking experience, through the countless new hookah products hitting markets that we test in our R&D facilities (our office being a major one). That being said, we would like to introduce our newest edition, the Hookah-Shisha.com/Hookahlove blog. Hookahlove is a section in our site that is both a hookah blog and a hookah community of knowledge and fun. A place where we can express our love for hookahs as well as our intense knowledge of the hookah process. Through the course of this hookah blog we will pass on to you both our hookah expertise and our hookah experiences so that you too can be an expert in the field of hookahs and truly gain the most out of your hookah experience from both a functional and social standpoint.

We welcome your comments, your questions and your experiences with dealing with hookahs and shisha. Our network of authors both internal and external will share with you what they know as well as interact with you to create a spot on the internet and blogosphere that contains the most concise and enjoyable hookah related topics in the world. Hookah-Shisha.com has been renowned for our success with customer service and Hookahlove is just and extension of that service. Why? Because we love our customers and we love hookahs.

Two hours later, and my Romman mint still hitting strong, I bid you adieu. It feels like it is time for bed or maybe more Hookahlove. Only time, and this awesome hookah bowl will tell.