Update on recent events

Hey all.

So I bet you're wondering why this page is just sitting here collecting dust these days. Well that's largely because of a number of things. For one, school work became overwhelmingly hard for both Andrew and I this past year. Neither of us had the time to really sit down and commit to a weekly review and post due to our schedules. Since then, I have graduated and moved away from school. Unfortunately, that has made getting together for reviewing all the more difficult, as Andrew is still back in Amherst. That puts about an hour and a half between us, so weekly reviews became nigh impossible.

However we have talked and we both would absolutely like to keep reviewing. Honestly, we miss it. We miss posting, and we miss you guys, our fans. (Or what few of you are left lol). Point is, we know we've been gone for far too long, but we are going to meet up this weekend, hang out, and then hopefully come up with some kind of plan to get things rolling again. And after a year or so of nothingness (and one spectacularly failed idea on my part), Zookah WILL be back up and running soon.

As for what has been going on in our lives hookah wise, lets just say we've been learning many things over the past year and with new product releases that we are pretty excited about, we've got plenty on our plates to get through. So stay tuned and you'll hear from us soon.

-Eric

Tangiers Lucid Static Starlight Review

Brand/Flavor:
Tangiers Lucid Static Starlight

Methodology:
-34 hits/person over 50 minutes
-3 individuals in the circle
-KM Kafae filled with cold water, Razan hose, small phunnel bowl
-3 Coco Nara coals spaced evenly around the bowl
-Holes directly underneath the coals

First Impressions:
Very dark (basically black) and very moist, the smell is very hard to pinpoint, switching constantly between rose, grape and lemon. The cut is large and coarse. You can tell they are leaves, unlike other brands.

Post Mortem:
Cooked on the top, but still very moist on the bottom (this bowl was stopped early due to extenuating circumstances).

Pros:
-Thick smoke
-Great, complex flavor
-Flavors proportioned appropriately

Cons:
-Flavors didn't come through at first
-"Warm-up" time longer than usual

Andrew's Thoughts:
Having smoked Tangiers "Noir" (unwashed) line many times, I was a bit hesitant to try the Lucid line. I expected a lighter flavor and buzz but with a significantly less fussy tobacco, which is pretty much what I got. Having just had the Noir Static Starlight, I was less overwhelmed by the flavor, but I definitely can say it competed. I could readily distinguish the sour grape from the sweet, floral rose once the bowl got going, and the hint of lemon rounded out the two stronger flavors nicely. However, the flavor simply wasn't as heavy or defined as the Noir, which made it difficult to be as enthusiastic about. I understand this will not be a problem for most of our readers, but it certainly confirms for me that there are definite advantages beyond buzz to smoking Noir.

Eric's Thoughts:
This was my first Tangiers Lucid purchase, and I gotta say, it was worth every penny. I've smoked some tangiers noir before, oftentimes with little success, which is why I've tended towards the Lucid line. And after this, I'll likely be buying even more lucid line shisha from now on. The flavor was unlike anything I've had before. While most shishas that have multiple flavors mixed together taste flat (as if the multiple flavors are actually just one flavor meant to simulate more than one flavor...if that makes sense), this shisha manages to provide even more depth than one is used to. At the start of the bowl, grape dominated the flavor, but it soon gave to rose and lemon, finally blending out into a wonderful mixture of all three. I can say that I've never really experienced flavor shifting quite like this before. And on top of all this, the smoke was thick and the buzz was strong. Still though, despite all its strengths, it is not hard to imagine someone disliking this flavor. The grape is a bit on the artificial side and the rose can get a wee bit overpowering if its not a flavor that you like. Still though, this shisha embodies the notion of a flavor that is greater than the sum of its parts. All in all, a great shisha that I plan on buying again.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline)
Static Starlight is a truly amazing flavor. Its not often that you can distinctly taste every flavor in shisha, but with this you can and they all work wonderfully together. The grape is the most prominent, followed by the rose, and the lemon gives the whole flavor a nice tanginess. This is one of the best I have had from Tangiers, and is something I will definitely smoke again.

Conclusion:
A well-balanced, thoroughly enjoyable flavor that everyone should try.

A/A-

Potion Xtreme Berries Review

Brand/Flavor:
Potion Xtreme Berries

Methodology:
-14 hits/person over 30 minutes
-5 individuals in the circle
-2 CoCo Naras on standard Mya bowl
-3 hose Mya Staff filled with water at room temperature

First Impressions:
Came in a nifty blue tin, with a few free natural coals. Pretty red and finely cut, with a strong sweet smell.

Post Mortem:
Partially cooked, probably could have gone quite a bit longer.

Pros:
-Moderately thick smoke

Cons:
-Weak flavor
-Tasted like cough syrup

Andrew's Thoughts:
Potion Xtreme Berries did not impress me. I found it's flavor thin and medicinal, with only hints of the fruity sweetness we were promised. While the smoke itself was fairly thick, it was hardly exceptional. I like fruit flavors, but I expect them to overwhelm me with sweetness, particularly when they have names like "Xtreme Berries". I would not smoke this again.

Eric's Thoughts:
Potion shisha is another brand we knew nothing about. Intrigued by the notion that it comes with coals and foil, we decided to try it, in this case opting for the rather hilariously named "xtreme berries", mostly due to the name. Suffice it to say, this stuff was less than interesting. While the smoke was very thick and quite impressive, the flavor was severely lacking. The only time the flavor really came through for me was when the shisha began to overheat, a characteristic that no shisha should ever strive for. And when the flavor did come through, it tasted like that nasty berry cough syrup that your mother would feed you when you had a cold...you know...that one. In the end, thick fun smoke, but the flavor is so not xtreme.

Peanut Gallery:

(Caroline)
Much like Hydro shisha, "xtreme berries" tastes more like children's medication than anything else, and it takes a stretch of the imagination to classify the flavor as anything berry-related. The smoke was nice and thick, but that didn't make up for the atrocious taste.

(Tasha)
Cheap herbal tea which loses flavor toward the end of the bowl- nice and fruity in the beginning, fun smoke.

(Ross)
A slightly flavorless but interesting smoke. A lot of smoke but very little reward. Low tobacco buzz but a slow smooth smoke.

Conclusion:
Potion's Xtreme Berries' lack of flavor makes it a difficult product to recommend to anyone. It's not altogether bad, but we wouldn't smoke it again.

C-

Epic Smoke Pink Lemonade Review

NOTE: This review brought to you courtesy of Arnold Stein over at Epic Smoke! Thanks Arnold!

Brand/Flavor:
Epic Smoke Pink Lemonade

Methodology:
-14 hits/person over 37 minutes
-5 individuals in the circle
-2 CoCo Naras on standard Mya bowl
-3 hose Mya Staff filled with water at room temperature

First Impressions:
Juicy and almost watery, just like the Apple on a Stick. Smells incredible, exactly like pink lemonade.

Post Mortem:
Still quite juicy, with the liquid pouring out of the bowl.

Pros:
-Incredibly huge, thick clouds
-Sweet and fairly accurate flavor
-Strong pink lemonade smell

Cons:
-Flavor was very subtle, at times bordering on absent

Andrew's Thoughts:
Epic Smoke's Pink Lemonade is a little light on flavor. Though it's smell was overwhelming and sweet, the flavor itself was rather subtle. At times I found myself straining to taste it, though when I could it definitely tasted like dilute pink lemonade. However, the smoke was completely over the top. We consistently blew monstrous white clouds, and I had incredible fun practicing my smoke rings. This product surprised me- after the Apple on a Stick experience, I really didn't expect to enjoy it. And while I did have serious problems with it, I could definitely see myself smoking it again, if it were offered to me.

Eric's Thoughts:

Lets just get one thing out of the way right now. This stuff smells freaking fantastic. I mean...if you stuck your nose in a pitcher of pink lemonade, you couldn't get a more accurate smell. And, true to its name, this stuff does produce rather epic smoke. Unfortunately that's more or less where the praises end. This stuff did taste good, however there just wasn't enough of it. When it comes down to it, it tasted like pink lemonade, but it tasted like that watered down lemonade that your camp counselors used to give you at summer camp. Another issue the stuff seemed to have was the stuff was a little bit heat sensitive. Towards the end of the bowl (which ended very very quickly for a phunnel session), everyone's second hit tasted like coal. I suppose this means that this stuff is more conducive to a more relaxed session and simply respond well to the frenetic pace of our reviews. In the end, I would smoke this again, especially if the flavor was stronger.

Peanut Gallery:

(Caroline)
The flavor was alright, although not as strong as I would have liked. Good smoke, though.

(Avi)
I would certainly consider myself an aperture [Editor's note: we think he meant "amateur"] smoker. That being said, I really enjoyed this flavor. As previously stated, the flavor was a little week [sic] and tasted a bit like lemonade mix with a bit too much water. I actually like the lemonade when it is not too sweet, so I really did enjoy this flavor. Again, the smoke was amazing. All in all, I would definitely buy this shisha after having smoked it with Eric and Andrew.

Conclusion:
Light on flavor, big on smoke, Epic Smoke Pink Lemonade may not be for everyone, but if you're a fan of huge clouds you really ought to give it a try.

B-

King Moassel Pinana Review

Brand/Flavor:
King Moassel Pinana

Methodology:
-Al Fakher Solid 36" filled with ice water, Mya bowl, 2 Coco Naras
-3 people with 20 hits/person over 20 minutes

First Impressions:
Smelled like a weird hyper-artificial banana.

Post Mortem:
Still reasonably moist, probably about half cooked.

Pros:
-Produced lots of smoke

Cons:
-Smoke tasted like crappy tobacco

Andrew's Thoughts:
I got this for free, and I'm thoroughly unsurprised to say that this tobacco completely lived up to my lack of expectations. I could taste the tobacco itself vaporizing, as there was almost no flavor to speak of. What little there was could only be very tenuously described as a candy banana, but it could just as easily have been my imagination. It took serious effort to keep smoking this beyond the first round, and I'm not sure it was worth the years it probably took off my life.

Eric's Thoughts:
This pack of King Moassel was sent to us for free with Andrew's AF hookah. Now we had basically forgotten about this stuff. But, due to the less than perfect results the Tangiers had been giving us all night. After a while, we decided to just throw this stuff in a bowl and see what happened. It smelled like Runts bananas, if you know what that tastes like. Basically think of the most artificial banana flavor you've ever had, whether it was in Runts, liqueur or popsicle form. It basically tastes like that, only worse. Probably the only redeeming quality of this stuff was the smoke it produced, which was reasonably impressive. However, the large dense clouds of smoke was not nearly enough to offset the nasty taste in my mouth. Bottom line, will not buy again, probably won't ever smoke it again either.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline)
Banana-flavored horror. Do not buy.

Conclusion:
Recommending this to anyone would border on cruelty. Stay away.

D+

Al Fakher Lemon Review

Brand/Flavor:
Al Fakher Lemon

Methodology:
-3 people, 40 hits/person over 40 minutes
-KM Kafae filled with cold water
-3 CocoNara coals on small Tangiers phunnel bowl

First Impressions:
Pretty choppy cut, dyed red and fairly moist. The smell is lemony, but strangely more herbal, kind of like a lemon Ricola cough drop.

Post Mortem:
Pretty moist, but very little left in the way of color.

Pros:
-Moderately pleasant lemon tea flavor (when detectable)
-None of the dry throat common to citrus flavors

Cons:
-Almost no taste at all

Andrew's Thoughts:
I wasn't expecting much out of this flavor, as we received it as a freebie from a very generous KBB, but I tried to suspend disbelief, as Al Fakher has treated us well before. The flavor was almost unnoticeable at first, and while it did strengthen over time, it never quite 'took off'. It tasted like a sweet, herbal lemon tea, and was fairly pleasant to smoke. However, I mostly felt like I was smoking a flavorless tobacco whose only purpose was practicing my smoke rings. While I won't have much trouble finishing off this pack, I just don't see myself spending money on this.

Eric's Thoughts:
When I opened the bag and took a sniff, I fully expected a nice natural lemon scent, clean and citrus-y, and while they certainly got the clean aspect of it down, that came at the cost of the lemon flavor, which to be honest, is kinda missing the point somewhat. Ever had lemon in your water before? That's kinda what this is like, nothing, but with a refreshing hint of lemon...if that refreshing hint of lemon was near unnoticeable half the time. The other half of the time, the lemon was there, but wasn't making any kind of real statement. So I guess if you're looking for a water with lemon shisha, this is the stuff for you. If you're looking for a flavor that doesn't intrude on your tastebuds, you can do worse than this, but in the end, it was big clouds and a whole lot of nothing else.

Conclusion:
Extremely light, lemony flavor makes Al Fakher Lemon a shisha we recommend only to the true minimalist. Enjoyable, but only barely.

C+

Golden Layalina Sweet Peach Review

Brand/Flavor:
Golden Layalina Sweet Peach

Methodology:
-28 hits/person over 50 minutes
-4 individuals in the circle
-Mya Staff filled with ice water

First Impressions:
This stuff comes in a kickass 50g tin, which you don't usually see. Very red and juicy, smells like an overripe peach.

Post Mortem:
Mostly cooked, still a little bit of moisture at the bottom.

Pros:
-Smells like a sweet peach
-Comes in an awesome tin

Cons:
-Tastes baked and artificial
-Unimpressive smoke/buzz

Andrew's Thoughts:
It may come in a bitchin' tin and smell sweet and peachy, but Golden Layalina Sweet Peach leaves a lot to be desired. At first, it tastes like a real "sweet peach", but that is soon replaced by a more "baked" flavor. It tastes thin and artificial, like cheap peach cobbler-flavored candy. While it was never overtly offensive, it was never quite pleasant, either. Neither the smoke nor the buzz warrant mentioning, leaving me thoroughly unimpressed with this flavor, though it compares quite well to Rosetta's disastrous attempt.

Eric's Thoughts:
Another peach flavored shisha, another missed mark. When this bowl started out, we tasted that same plastic-y gross taste that we had with the Rosetta shisha. We started questioning our own sanity, wondering if all peach flavors would be plagued by this nasty taste. Upon realizing though that the shisha was overheating a wee bit, and rectifying that particular situation, the flavor improved. Still not quite like biting into a ripe juicy peach, more like taking a swig of peach schnapps. You can definitely tell its a peach flavor, but its not a peach peach. Still though, despite its err on the side of the artificial, it was significantly better than the Rosetta, and thus at least warrants another look.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline)
As Andrew mentioned, the tin this stuff comes in is great and made me pretty excited to try it, as dumb as that sounds. I was horribly disappointed when I smoked it, though–it's very artificial-tasting. At best, the Peach is mediocre.

Conclusion:
Better than Rosetta, but that's not saying much. Not terrible, but we won't be buying this again.

C+