Dont like these - They take WAYYY too long to light - once litish they turn black really fast - Dont burn hot and just all around not good - Waiting on the Fantasias to see how they compare -
i havent had the chance to use coco nara yet, but i bought these at the local smoke shop and went through a box - As for lighting time, i use a hot plate so i dont really care too much - - - they do take a bit i guess - They ash quicker than the shishaco coconut coals i tried, and they dont smell good when they are being lit, but they do the trick - Between these and quicklights i would go these anyday unless you only have a lighter - Decent charcoal -
As far as natural coals go, the best I've used are Coconara's. These may look similar to coconara's but do not perform as well. The reason being is they ash too quick like quick lights and smell like burnt hair when on the stove. It lights up faster than coconara though but that does not make up the performance factor. I would prefer exotica naturals and maybe even golden instant lights over AF coco coals.
No discernible taste, although it smells a bit funny when heating up the charcoal(not really a bad thing, I heat them up outside). I picked up a pack at the local shop and overall I am impressed. These coals will last nearly a whole session and are precut into squares which makes it easy to set up. My one real complaint is that these coals tend to ember and almost explode excessively. If you have a friend sitting next to the hookah you cant move around the coals without keeping them on guard because these embers will burn through clothing. I will try Coca Nara coals next and compare the two. With that I offer this advice. For a normal bowl, use only two of these at a time, one tends to be too little and two can be perfect to too much. Heat these up (I use a catering coil stove) and then once both sides are lit, put the hot side (side that just was down on the stove) on the foil on top of the tobacco. Let that sit for a good 5-15 minutes and let the bowl itself heat up. After that blow the coals off to see which side is hotter and use that side 90 degrees from the original configuration and start pulling. The reason I lend this advice is because these coals tend to really heat up quickly with air movement. If you do not let the bowl heat up properly you end up burning whatever shisha is on top and getting a bad session. It may sound like a long endearing process but it really is not all that time consuming - Just set it up a few minutes before you are gonna smoke with yourself or friends. I would recommend these over lemon charcoal just because the amount of effort you save. With lemon wood charcoal you tend to have uneven pieces and they don't last nearly a long. Although I have to say a good session with lemon wood is a bit better because of taste, but these make it so you are not constantly tending to new coals.
