Creative, hookah-smoking people of the internet — We’re looking for a promotional sticker that we can include with every order we send out. Want to design it? If you’ve got mad skills, send us your designs and we’ll post the best ones for all to vote on. The top-voted entry will be printed and distributed around the world! You could even win some free stuff for entering!

Basic rules:

1. The sticker will be square-shaped, so make your design accordingly. We recommend using Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. The final printed sticker will be about 4 inches by 4 inches, so don’t make anything that would be illegible in that size (the resolution should be 300 dpi). You are free to design anything you like, but the only criterion is that it must have our website address somewhere on it (www.hookah-shisha.com). Avoid using any copyrighted characters and do not depict anything that is legally questionable.  We reserve the right to alter the winning entry to fit any printing requirements if necessary.

2. Save your entry in .psd format (if using Photoshop) or .eps format (if using Illustrator) and send as an email attachment to stickers@hookah-shisha.com. Try to make the file less than 10 megabytes in size (please compress larger files into a .zip file). Submit as many entries as you like!

The deadline to send in your entry is Sunday, September 19th.  Once the deadline has passed, we will select up to 10 finalists that will be posted on our website. The voting period will begin on Monday, September 20th and end on Monday, October 4th where everyone can vote on their favorite one (only one vote per person!). At the end of the voting period, the votes will be tallied and the winner(s) announced!

Prizes:

The entry with the most votes will receive a Nammor Cleopatra Hookah, plus their design will be printed and distributed to all of our customers worldwide! The remaining finalists will receive $25 in store credit.  Good luck to those who enter, and happy smoking!

Howdy Hookah Friends!  It’s the start of the Fall 2010 semester for our University-attending hookah fans, so to help you folks (and anyone else for that matter) stock up on hookah supplies without shelling out for shipping, we’re bringing back Free UPS Ground*!

As usual, a coupon code is needed for the free shipping to work: Shop until your cart reaches $75 or more, then once you’ve reached the “summary” page during the checkout process (don’t forget to select UPS Ground as the shipping method), enter the code “FreeGround2010” in the “Discount or Gift Certificate Code” box and click on the “recalculate” button. Make sure that you verify that the coupon code was applied and complete the checkout process.

Good luck to all of our fans starting college, and as always, Happy Smoking!

*Offer valid until September 20th, 2010.  Applies to domestic orders shipping to the contiguous 48 United States only. This offer is not combinable with other discount codes, sorry.

A recent restocking of our Al Waha Shisha Tobacco got me thinking that it really deserves some props. The name Al Waha is actually Arabic for “the oasis,” even though in our post Shisha shisha everywhere, which one do I smoke?, Christopher jokingly said it was Arabic for “the Waha,” a subtle nod to this guy (if you’re old enough to remember that SNL skit, I salute you). Al Waha was actually one of the first hookah tobacco brands available in North America and has been enjoyed in the Middle East for decades.

Al Waha is a great tobacco for novice hookah smokers (or “noobs” as they say) because of its affordable price and not-too-strong yet still piquant flavors. Many hookah smokers (such as myself) started off with Al Waha and then graduated to stronger brands once they got the hang of it. The general consensus here is, because of its affordable price, Al Waha is the perfect “mixer” brand. Now don’t get me wrong, Al Waha is a good shisha to smoke by itself, and some flavors (namely orange cream and apple strawberry) actually taste better than their more pricey counterparts.

Being a Jordanian hookah tobacco, it has what they call a “traditional cut,” meaning that you’ll find a few stems here or there that can be easily picked out. It is also marinated with honey as opposed to molasses, which gives it that sweet “twang.” Al Waha’s flavors are generally geared towards the traditional, but they have recently come out with more modern flavors (namely Power Bull and Frappuccino).

Here I present some of Al Waha’s most popular and unique flavors, which can either be enjoyed by themselves or, more popularly, mixed with other flavors and brands to make any number of custom blends:

Power Bull: By far the most popular Al Waha flavor. Add a pinch of Power Bull to a bowl of cinnamon shisha and smoke the notorious Jägerbomb. Reviewers have unanimously agreed upon the unequivocal taste and smell resemblance of the popular energy drink, and one hookah lounge owner we know in Oklahoma keeps his establishment packed nightly by serving Power Bull with a shot of Hennessey in the base.

Khaki: No, this flavor doesn’t taste like pants. The word “khaki” in this sense is an alternate spelling of kaki, also known as the Japanese persimmon, a sweet and slightly tangy edible fruit which became popular in the Middle East after its western migration. The flavor is mild yet herb-y, and is a nice smoke compliment to a cup of hot green tea.

Bounty: If you’ve ever eaten a Mounds candy bar, then you’re probably familiar with the taste of Bounty – a thick coconut taste wrapped in a (figurative) chocolate shell. I’ve mentioned before that Coconut is a love-it-or-hate-it flavor, so if you’re a coconut shisha virgin, you may want to pick up a 50g box to try first.

Memories: Like the corners of my mind (now you have to be really old to catch that one), this flavor is an earthy lemon tea taste with a minty twist. Again this is a great flavor to smoke while drinking hot tea, or you can mix it with a strong cherry flavor to make a spicy punch drink shisha.

5 Star: This is a mish-mash of different fruit flavors that tickles the tongue. It’s difficult to pinpoint what the exact fruits are that make up this flavor, but don’t let that stop you from trying (the last time I smoked this, I could have sworn I tasted kiwi towards the end).

Fig: This is another flavor that’s hard to peg down. While the fig is a major food staple in Asia and Europe, most North Americans don’t know what a fig tastes like outside of its “Newton” cradle. From personal experience, I’d say that Al Waha Fig tastes like a bowl of apple and pear slices slathered in honey.

California Dream: This hookah tobacco consists of a mixture of pineapple, orange, and cherry flavors, and all the leaves are brown.

After 9: You’re supposed to smoke this one hour after eating these (ha!). Like the confectionaries that the taste is modeled after, After 9 is a chocolate mint flavor that makes the perfect after-dinner smoke (for those that have rather late dinners, apparently). Happy Smoking!

The smallest Egyptian we manufacture, the Scarab (1 hose) Hookah, is aptly named after the sacred beetle of Ancient Egypt, one that was believed to propel the sun across the heavens. I’ve mentioned this hookah before, but I still think it doesn’t get enough love. It may be only 18 inches tall, but it’s the perfect mélange of mythology, mystery, tradition, and the crafty adroitness of an authentic Middle Eastern pipe.

It’s somewhat ironic that the smallest hand-made hookah we carry now has the largest selection of glass bases to choose from (12 total): The standard, plain colored clear bases are a classic, or you can upgrade to either a pyramid base (with their conical shape and Arabic-style letters) or the brand new Luxor base (The same style that is available on our Nammor Hookahs). The Sheik Hookah Hose accompanying the Scarab hookah is comparatively shorter than a cobra hose, but certainly fitting. The wooden handles are modest yet practical, and the peppered stripes running the breadth of the hose add an underscore of tasteful idiosyncrasy.

Also, small hookahs are awesome. Just ask these guys:

Howdy Hookah Friends! We’re now offering Hookah-Hookah Shisha Tobacco, one of the more popular brands to hit our shelves, in super packs! Pair 3 different 250g jars with your favorite type of hookah charcoal and save some scratch.

If you haven’t tried it yet, you’ll first notice that Hookah-Hookah tobacco has a very thin cut — almost a shredded quality to it — and resembles the “Prince Albert in a can” style pipe tobacco. This is due to the flue cured, sun dried tobacco leaves, which are aged and cut into strips, with the flavor extracts and honey added last. The result is a stemless, not-too-wet shisha tobacco that produces shockingly thick clouds of smoke, long-lasting flavor, and a mild (but not unnoticed) buzz.

Here we present our 5 most popular flavors of Hookah-Hookah Tobacco:

5. Peanut Butter – Only the folks at Hookah-Hookah could make this timeless spreadable sandwich staple smokable. Hookah-Hookah Peanut Butter often (rather unfairly) gets dismissed as a “novelty flavor,” however time and time again we’ve seen folks purchase it out of sheer curiosity only to end up loving it. Naturally, you can mix it with your favorite fruit-flavored shisha to make the legendary peanut butter jelly sandwich.

The last of our new Khalil Mamoon Hookahs are in! These are affectionately nicknamed the “pear” style of KM hookah because of the colorful acrylic pear-shaped bulb in the center of the stem. We’ve got 5 different colors to choose from (blue, green, black, red, and yellow), all with unique hand-painted bases and colorful genuine KM hoses never before seen on our site. More new hookahs to come!

While we’re on the subject of pears…

Fun Pear Facts:

• Out of the over 3,000 varieties of pears grown world-wide, the 4 most common types of pears grown in the U.S. are the Bartlett, Anjou, Bosc, and Comice.
• Pears will ripen faster when placed in a bowl along with bananas.
• The first mention of pears in literature was actually in Homer’s The Odyssey, confirming that they were cultivated in Greece more than 3,000 years ago.
• Speaking of Greeks, before the introduction of tobacco to Europe, many ancient Greeks and Romans smoked dried pear leaves out of pipes!

Here are the 4 most popular pear-flavored shisha tobaccos, which all successfully match the tart and crisp taste of this delectable fruit in their own ways:

Al Waha Pear – This flavor from Al Waha Shisha Tobacco is the perfect middle-of-the-road pear flavor.  Not too strong (it has much less of a saccharin taste), but not weak by any means.  It could be compared to canned pears — ones that have been soaking in “pear juice” for that wet, slightly syrupy taste.

Tangiers Pear – Again, from personal experience this flavor from Tangiers Hookah Tobacco is the “crispiest” of all the pear flavors, and is the next best thing to biting into a ripe pear. Be careful however, this pear has bite!

Tonic Double Pears – Double your pear pleasure with twice the pear spice!  A combination of orange (sweet) and green (sour) pears, this flavor from Tonic Hookah Tobacco is the more candy-ish flavor of the bunch, with an almost pear-flavored tea taste on the exhale.

Layalina Pear – The pear flavor from Layalina Hookah Tobacco is sweeter than the aforementioned brands and has been compared to the Golden Eskandarani Apple from Al Fakher.  Layalina fans have described it as a “pear flower” flavor with a tart tangy aftertaste.

Don’t forget that pear tobacco is great for mixes too!  Here’s one I invented, I call it “Pearamel” – Tangiers Pear mixed with Nakhla El Basha Caramel.  Enjoy, and Happy Smoking!

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Gold, Silver, Copper. There are 2 places you can find all three of these ductile and malleable metals in one place: One is the periodic table of the elements, and the other is on two of the new Khalil Mamoon Hookahs (ha!). Technically, the stems of these hookahs aren’t made of actual gold or silver (it’s actually a stainless steel and brass-plated metal) but the colors are more-or-less the same.

The “tri-metal” styles of hookahs are well known and popular across the Middle East, and Khalil Mamoon has perfected the art of manufacturing them to a T. We now have 2 styles of these hand-crafted beauties fresh from Egypt – one tall and skinny (the Tall Trimetal Hookah seen above), one short and stout (the Trimetal Staff Hookah), both with solidly built components that make hookah smoking a piece of art.

Part 3 of our New Khalil Mamoon Hookah Roll-out Extravaganza will be posted shortly.  I’ll give you a hint as to what kind of KM Hookahs they are: it involves this fruit.  Happy Smoking!

Khalil Mamoon. Few names in the hookah world are as recognizable, and the initials “KM” have become synonymous with the epitome of authentic hand-made Egyptian hookah pipes possessing the utmost in smoking excellence.

Unlike machine-made hookahs (such as Mya Saray Hookahs), you’ll notice certain characteristics on the metal stems and glass bases of Khalil Mamoon Hookahs that reflect their hand-made nature: Namely, the “brush stroke” or “puffy paint” style decorations on the glass base, the welded structural joints, and the “hammered” aspects on certain features of the stem (hammering the metal while it’s soft is the traditional way to make these styles of hookahs). These unique features of course contribute to the charm of smoking from the works of skilled craftsmen. Direct from the factory in Egypt, we now have in stock 8 different styles of “ice” KM Hookahs!

Adding ice to the base of a hookah to cool the smoke is a decades-old method, but manufacturing hookahs with an ice chamber at the top is a relatively new feature in the industry. Some may be asking: “So, if putting ice in a chamber at the top near the bowl more-or-less achieves the same effect as putting ice in the glass base, what’s the purpose of an ice hookah?” The simple answer: convenience! Those that use ice hookahs regularly know that, more often than not, the ice will melt faster than the smoking session lasts, so more will need to be added.  Scooping more ice into the cup at the top (instead of separating the stem and adding the ice to the base) means an uninterrupted smoke. Plus, they just look cool!

Speaking of cups, in honor of the FIFA World Cup that’s currently underway, we’ve got 3 soccer-themed KM Hookahs (or football-themed hookahs for our non-American friends): Two with a “soccer ball” style decoration in the stem (one gold, one silver), and one “trophy” style hookah:

We’ve got more Khalil Mamoon Hookahs coming soon!  As always, happy smoking!

Howdy Hookah Friends! Due to overwhelming demand, we are now offering Social Smoke Hookah Tobacco in Super Packs. That’s 3 250g tins plus your hookah charcoal of choice, all at a discounted price!

Psst…more flavors coming soon. Happy Smoking!

Like the art of growing the Bonsai tree, getting Tangiers Hookah Tobacco to smoke perfectly takes patience and craftiness. Because of its robust design and sensitivity to heat, several factors need to be taken into account — humidity acclimation, packing style, and coal rotation all need to be managed meticulously. Even though one customer left a review calling it a “man’s shisha,” with the proper preparation and heat maintenance, Tangiers can be enjoyed by adults of any gender!

Because of the diversity of hookahs smokers around the globe, there’s really not a single, correct way to smoke Tangiers – everyone will tell you something different. However, it is widely agreed that you’ll get the best results by using a non-traditional bowl (such as a Phunnel Hookah Bowl or a Vortex Hookah Bowl), one where the tobacco is allowed to marinate in its own juices instead of sluicing through holes at the bottom. A YouTube search for anything Tangiers related will yield many instructional “how to” videos on users’ packing techniques for you to follow if you’re not getting the desired results. Once you get it right, you’ll finally see what all the rave is!

Tangiers comes in 2 lines; the “OG” or “noir” style, which is the original, unwashed hookah tobacco, and the “lucid” style, which is lighter and less “buzzy.” Here we present to you the top 10 most popular Tangiers Hookah Tobacco flavors:

	10. It’s Like That One Breakfast Cereal. There’s been some debate as to exactly which “one” breakfast cereal this flavor is emulating, but the general consensus has it down to 2 possibilities (which I won’t name): one with a cartoon toucan as its mascot, and the other with the slogan “The great taste of apples and cinnamon make the great taste that’s always the winna-mon.” (Seriously, I didn’t make that up). This flavor is available in the “lucid” line, and will have you reminiscing of the brightly colored fruity puffs that always left the milk pink.
	9. Iced Peach Tea. A refreshing, cool brewed iced tea taste with a splash of orchard-fresh peach puts this robust flavor in the top 10. The “earthy” taste of the tea flavor makes this a popular mixer to add some zing to your bowl!
	8. Kashmir Apple. Apples grown in the orchards of the Kashmir region of northern India benefit from its lush and fertile environment, resulting in a longer shelf life, smooth red skin, and a distinct, crisp aroma. While one of dozens of apple flavored shisha tobaccos, Kashmir apple from Tangiers is spicy and delicious, and is reportedly the “buzziest” of all the apple flavors.
	7. Tropical Revenge. It’s the revenge…of the tropical fruits! I don’t know who or what wronged them to invoke their wrath, but this flavor is a dish best served…hot! Tropical revenge is a tangy medley of exotic fruit flavors (with a noticeable grapefruit twang) that remind me of the sugary fruit juice boxes I got in my Ninja Turtles lunchbox.
	6. Green Apple Candy. Despite green apples having a sour reputation, this flavor is surprisingly sweet and tastes like more like a green Jolly Rancher. The flavor is lengthy and luscious, and many have experienced a small anise (black licorice) aftertaste.
	5. Orange Soda. A super strong orange flavor that will knock you six ways from Sunday if you’re not prepared for it! Fans of this flavor have commented on an almost “carbonated” taste at the onset, staying true to its name and separating it from plain orange flavored shishas. Give “lucid” orange soda a try if the “OG” packs a little too much punch.
	4. New Lime. New lime is like New Coke, but doesn’t suck (ha!). Based on customer feedback (and from personal experience), this is by far the most spot-on lime flavor, period. You’ll notice a more acidic and “heavy” sour smoke than lemon, and a properly packed bowl with punctilios coal rotation will yield un-dwindling flavor for 2 hours or more.
	3. Blue Gumball. A strong blueberry taste with a raspberry overtone is what makes this flavor a must-try for berry-heads (available in both regular and “lucid”). Unlike an actual gumball that will lose its flavor after chewing it for only a few minutes (don’t you hate that?), Tangiers blue gumball will keep its palatable piquancy for the duration of the bowl.
	2. Horchata. This flavor is based on the traditional Spanish drink made of rice, barley, sesame seeds, tigernuts, and ground almonds. Many have noticed a distinct light sugary vanilla taste starting out, with a denouement of sweet cinnamon towards the end. Add some milk to the base if you so dare for the most velvety of smoke clouds. Horchata is available in both the regular and “lucid” line as well.
	1. (Tie) Kashmir Peach and Juicy Peach. Two fantastic peach flavors share the #1 spot on this list, and rightfully so. Tangiers has harnessed the savory flavors of the Prunus persica flawlessly with Kashmir Peach (a more floral and “airy” peach taste with a spicy buzz similar to the Kashmir apple) and Juicy Peach (a more “fresh” peach taste akin to biting into the actual fruit itself).

Remember, it may take several tries to get Tangiers to smoke to your liking, so don’t give up!  Happy Smoking!

Honorable Mention: Schnozberry. Never heard of a schnozberry? We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.