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+

JM's Hookah Rum and Cola Review

Brand/Flavor:
JM's Hookah Rum and Cola

Methodology:
-Al Fakher Solid 36" filled with ice water, small Tangiers phunnel bowl, 3 Coco Naras
-2 people with 38 hits/person over 35-40 minutes

First Impressions:
Very finely chopped, very juicy and dyed a deep red, as seems to be typical of JM's. Smells like a strongly mixed rum and coke.

Post Mortem:
Thoroughly cooked in the top 60% of the bowl, still a decent amount of moisture at the bottom.

Pros:
-Both smells and tastes like a real "Cuba Libré", at least at first
-Big clouds

Cons:
-Taste dies off relatively quickly, leaving just bitterness

Andrew's Thoughts:
JM's Hookah Rum & Cola both surprised and disappointed me. On the one hand, it came remarkably close to an actual "rum and coke" flavor: it had a distinct herbal cola flavor, backed up by a tangy, rum-like cinnamon/vanilla. At first, I thoroughly enjoyed smoking it, as it produced thick, white clouds and a strong flavor. Unfortunately, as the bowl progressed that alcoholic tang that had at first been an interesting finish began to dominate, and soon all I could taste was this weird bitterness that tasted neither of rum nor cola. By the tenth round there was no real sweetness left, and by the time we stopped it was nigh unsmokeable. JM's Rum and Cola could have been so damn good, but in the end it was just unpleasant.

Eric's Thoughts:
In my opinion, this is probably one of the more difficult flavors to pull off. I mean, there are complex flavors and then there are complex flavors, this is the latter of the two. And while JM's gave it a valiant effort, I can't help but feel that they fell a wee bit short of the mark. The cola flavor was quite herbal and quite good, much like the Romman Cola that we've smoked in the past, it was the rum part that got a bit dicey. The smell was quite accurate to a captains and coke but the taste comes off as a bit chemical. And while one could argue that this makes it taste "alcoholic", I personally wouldn't give them any points for it. But while the experience at the start was above average, as the bowl wore on the flavor became more and more chemical, and eventually became too much to bear. And keeping in mind we were smoking this out of a phunnel, and the bowl was only about halfway done when we called it, there's a distinct possibility that the flavor would get nastier faster for those of you smoking it out of an egyptian or some such bowl. All in all, a valiant effort, but not quite right.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline)
Rum and Coke is alright. They actually nailed the rum flavor, which is kind of impressive—it tastes exactly like having a rum and coke. However, the flavor gets to be a bit much after a while, and I personally do not enjoy smoking it very often. I would much rather drink my rum than smoke it.

Conclusion:
Interesting to try, especially since it's so accurate at the beginning, but it's lack of endurance means we will not likely be buying this again.

B-

Epic Smoke Apple on a Stick Review

Brand/Flavor:
Epic Smoke Apple on a Stick

Methodology:
-20 hits/person over 25 minutes
-3 people in the circle
-Mya Staff filled with ice water, heba diffuser attached
-2 CocoNara coals on a Mya bowl

First Impressions:
Cut kinda like Romman, but very very juicy. Sweet but tart smell. Nifty plastic tub.

Post Mortem:
I forget.

Pros:
-Caramel flavor was nice, when we had it

Cons:
-Caramel flavor frequently absent
-Apple flavor was kinda sour
-Generally just not much flavor

Andrew's Thoughts:
This was a fairly "meh" experience, beginning to end. The smell of the stuff in the tub was mildly interesting, sweet like caramel with a tangy finish, but the flavor didn't even deliver that. While I occasionally tasted some good caramel sweetness, I was generally treated to little more than thoroughly rinsed green apple peel. If I seem reluctant to recall this experience, it's because it really wasn't worth recalling.

Oh, and that diarrhea thing it did when we lifted up the bowl was just flippin' freaky.

Eric's Thoughts:
I've seen this stuff online and Andrew and I have joked about how the name is somewhat silly in the past, but when I saw it at a local tobacconist, I decided to buy some. Given their limited flavor selection, I went with something completely novel, caramel apple. The smell was very sweet, and definitely caramel, but I didn't get too too much apple. But given the way a caramel apple tastes, caramel is typically the dominant flavor, so I guess I can't fault the manufacturers for that. While the smoke did kind of live up to his over the top name, the flavor simply wasn't there. There were intermittent bursts of a sweet sugary caramel flavor that, when present, was quite intense, it simply wasn't consistent. Very frequently we would find ourselves searching for a flavor that we knew probably was there, but just wasn't coming through. A note about this, when we lifted the bowl to go clean it out, we found that a huge amount of juice had in fact run down the bowl and pooled in the pan. And while this kind of drippage is expected with a Mya bowl, this amount was just ludicrious. Perhaps a phunnel bowl will fix this, but if it's not made to be smoked out of a regular bowl with any measure of success, it won't score any points from me. I'll keep experimenting with this stuff, but as it stands, it's just bland and boring for the most part.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline)
You know how after you eat a popsicle you can still taste a trace amount of its flavor on the stick? That’s what Apple on a Stick is like—smoking a stick that once held an apple.

Conclusion:
Not terrible, but not worth buying again. I imagine we'll finish the stuff at parties filled with people we don't really like.

C+

Al Fakher Golden Rose Review

Brand/Flavor:
Al Fakher Golden Rose

Methodology:
-26 hits/person for me and Eric, 12 for Caroline over 30 minutes
-3 individuals in the circle
-Mya Staff filled with ice water, heba diffuser attached
-2 CocoNara coals on a Mya bowl

First Impressions:
Looks pretty typical for Al Fakher tobacco, but smells fantastic. Quite juicy, much like the Golden Eskandarani Apple.

Post Mortem:
Still a little moist, might have gone a little longer with more coals.

Pros:
-Incredibly strong and complex flavor
-Smells every bit as good as it tastes
-Moderate to strong buzz

Cons:
-Possible issue with bowl duration

Andrew's Thoughts:

Having just reviewed the Golden Eskandarani, I had high hopes for the Golden Rose, and I was not disappointed. This stuff is fantastic, from beginning to end. The flavor is intoxicating, with a fruity sweetness and citrusy undertones that complement the rose perfectly. The thick clouds fill the room with a rosey perfume, which along with the moderate buzz left me quite sedated.

Though there was some question of how long the tobacco lasts, it seems from a few subsequent experiments that we probably could have kept this bowl going a little longer. In fact, it's very difficult to find any fault with this shisha at all. At worst, it occasionally errs on the side of too much flavor, which distorts the actual taste a little, but it's hardly noticeable. This is now easily one of my favorite tobaccos. Not only would I buy this flavor again, but it is going to replace Romman Rose in our regular lineup.

Eric's Thoughts:
When you take our satisfaction with rose flavored shishas, and cross that with our happiness with Al Fakher's Golden Apple Eskandarani, the resulting venn diagram would suggest that our next logical step would be to try Al Fakher's Golden Rose. This stuff smells much stronger than any rose we've ever had before, strong enough that I was slightly uneasy with its strength before we even started smoking it. Well all my fears were dashed the minute I started smoking it. This rose is by far the best rose I have ever had ever. Now I don't pretend to be some kind of rose shisha expert, but this is pretty much everything I wanted out of a rose shisha, strong sweet rose flavor, thick smoke and a knock your socks off buzz. I knew this stuff was really worthwhile the minute I found myself actively trying to look for problems and not coming up with much that couldn't be attributed to the fact that Andrew and I smoked this at near 4am and were both too tired or lazy to really take care of the coal. And even given our slightly half-assed heat management, the bowl still performed very well. I absolutely look forward to smoking this again, and once I run out, I will quickly buy more. This is a must buy for anyone who likes rose.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline)
I have been a huge fan of Romman Rose since I started smoking, and I didn’t think anything could beat it. The Golden Rose does though, and by a wide margin. The flavor is incredibly strong and very sweet. I definitely agree with Andrew on this one—I’m never smoking the Romman again.

Conclusion:
This is our first A tobacco. Need I say more? Unless you really don't like rose, go out and buy this. Now.

A

JM's Hookah Chocolate Review

Brand/Flavor:
JM's Hookah Chocolate

Methodology:
-30 hits/person over 40 minutes
-3 individuals in the circle
-Mya Staff filled with cold water, heba diffuser attached

First Impressions:
Smells incredible. The chocolate smell coming off this shisha is like sticking your head over a pan of freshly baked brownies and inhaling. The cut is small and choppy and the shisha is insanely wet. Dyed red, but not as bad as some other shishas.

Post Mortem:
Completely cooked through. Very little color to speak of. NO moisture. The finished shisha slid right out of the bowl and into the trash.

Pros:
-Tasty chocolate flavor
-Incredible brownie-like smell when smoking
-Thick smoke

Cons:
-Flavor could be a little stronger

Andrew's Thoughts:
For a first experience with a new brand, this was a good one. JM's Hookah tobacco seems to produce large, thick clouds, possibly as a result of its extremely fine cut. However, the flavor lasts a long time, unlike certain other fine shishas.

The flavor itself was fantastic. Though it wasn't the fatty, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate we all love, there was a strong unmistakeably chocolateyness to it that was delightful to smoke. While it was a little more watered-down than I might like, I can't imagine a chocolate tobacco getting too much better. Take the flavor combined with this stuff's intoxicating, brownie-baking aroma (especially while smoking it), and you have an indispensable new member of your regular shisha rotation.

Eric's Thoughts:
This was our first experience with JM's tobacco, but I'd heard good things about it even prior to purchasing it. But talk is talk, and I wanted to see if it could stand up to the hype. Simply put, yes it does, for the most part...The chocolate was incredibly sweet and very tasty, however, it wasn't quite chocolate chocolate. It was a wee bit artificial, however given that (as Andrew pointed out to me) a majority of the chocolate flavor comes from the fat content of chocolate, and since you can't smoke fat, what we're left with really is just sugar and cocoa. So that said, this Chocolate flavored shisha, given its limitations, tasted excellent. But what really surprised me was the smell. The entire room was filled with the smell of baking brownies to the point where my younger brother came in and asked what the chocolaty smell was. The smoke was very thick and fun to play with. All told, this stuff is amazing on its own and I'm incredibly excited to see what it can do when mixed with other flavors.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline)
Holy shit. This stuff is amazing—literally like smoking brownies, although I have to say that my absolute favorite thing about the Chocolate is the smell. It makes the entire room smell like someone is baking. Its also nice and smoky, and is a great mixer. My one (very tiny) problem is that the flavor isn’t quite as strong as I would like it to be, but that’s pretty easily forgiven when you count the smell.

Conclusion:
Thick smoke, great smell and delicious flavor, not to mention obvious mixability make this tobacco a big win in our book. JM's Hookah Chocolate shisha is a must-buy for anyone who likes both hookah and chocolate. Which had better include you.

A-

Our Shisha Labeling System

Kind and loyal readers, do I ever have a treat for you today: the Zookah! Triple-Patented Comprehensive Hookah Tobacco Storage and Labeling System. Also, pictures (though they aren't very good)!

This means that we don't, surprisingly, use the well-constructed and durable storage that most shisha comes packaged with, which generally consists of a torn plastic bag. In fact, we use canning jars and polypropylene tupperware to store our tobacco. While this isn't exactly revolutionary, we did come up with what we think is a rather creative labeling system, and I'd like to share it with you.

For most tobacco, we use small canning jars, Ball Quilted Crystal 4 Oz. Jelly Jars, specifically. For amounts up to about 75 grams, these are usually sufficient, but when we buy larger quantities we generally employ the 8 oz. version. Our labels for these are roughly circular cardboard cutouts, usually from the box the tobacco came in. We then apply magnetic tape generously, resulting in a fancible label that immediately latches on to your new container. Best part: since nothing is holding it on other than magnetism, you can easily pop it off and rinse out the container without damaging your artwork. Not to mention the sweet fridge magnet set you get outta this (pic soon, promise).









While this provides a simple, cheap, and dare I say elegant solution to the problem of tobacco identification 90 percent of the time, we do run into problems with shisha like Tangiers, whose need for acclimation and thorough mixing require a wide, flat container (think GladWare). It's worth noting that Eric of Tangiers suggests that you stick to polypropylene (recycling ID number 5) if you do this, as other plastics can affect the flavor of your tobacco. Since these containers generally do not have metal lids, we cannot simply stick magnets onto a piece of cardboard and be done with it. Rather, we have to stick magnets on the other side, too.









While the two magnetic strips on the underside of the lid appear to be attached, they are not: we want these containers to be fully washable, so those strips are held on by the force of the label on the other side. The duct tape you see on them is merely to cover their adhesive side, as we don't want them sticking to any of our shisha. This method has the downside of dropping your inner magnets in the tobacco every time you pull off the label, so we suggest not pulling off the label very often. Of course, you can just tape the magnets on, but then you have to be very careful when cleaning the lid.

When all is said and done, your containers will look like these:









Note that for the Tangiers labels we glued the paper label onto a piece of cardboard before adding the magnets for a bid of structural integrity. Also, please forgive the terrible photographs, we had all of five minutes to shoot them before Caroline's AA-powered stallion of a camera crapped out. Hopefully we shall get more batteries soon.

-Andrew

Fumari Mango Review

Brand/Flavor:
Fumari Mango

Methodology:
-28 hits/person over 40-45 minutes
-3 individuals in the circle
-2 CoCo Naras on standard Mya bowl
-3 hose Mya Staff filled with cold water with a small Heba diffuser

First Impressions:
Packed in a sleek, resealable pouch, the tobacco smelled strong and fruity, and was extremely juicy. It appeared much like Romman, undyed and moderately cut.

Post Mortem:
Mostly cooked, but still quite dry, especially in comparison with how it started.

Pros:
-Lots of flavor (bowl would not die)
-Fairly accurate mango flavor (at times)

Cons:
-Unpleasant "saltiness" present at various levels throughout the session

Andrew's Thoughts:

Given that we've tried three or four TERRIBLE mangos already, I wasn't expecting a lot from the Fumari, but I had heard good things about both the brand and flavor, so what the hell. The lack of dye, juiciness, and fruity flavor all boded well for this shisha, but alas that failed to translate to a pleasant smoking experience.

While the smoke itself started off a little weak, it quickly thickened up, and for a little while I was blowing sweet, thick clouds, with only a hint of salt in the flavor. However, as the session continued, the flavor became more and more salty, while the mango flavor started to peter out. In fact, we ended up killing the bowl not when the "flavor" disappeared, but when it seemed we were inhaling seawater.

The fact that most mango tobaccos are bad doesn't make this one good. However, if you ARE hell-bent on smoking some mango, this is probably the best you are going to do (at least, in our experience).

Eric's Thoughts:

So I had read somewhere on the intarwebs that Fumari made one of the only worthwhile mango flavors out there. And because I have never ever ever had a good mango flavored shisha in my life, I decided I had to give this a try. Now before I go on to talk about Fumari, let me talk about what I've encountered from other mango flavored shishas. For just about all offerings I've had prior, the flavor has never been good. Forget accuracy, the flavor has oftentimes been downright disgusting. Every other mango flavored shisha I've had has been plagued by a bizarre saltiness that I simply cannot figure out. At first I always thought it was me, something I had done, but after disappointing showings time and time again, I started to realize that it wasn't my fault, something about the mango flavoring is innately salty for some reason.

Now Fumari had a decent flavor, still sporting the saltiness that is characteristic of most of the other mango shisha's I'd have prior, but to a lesser extent. So that wasn't horrible. It was reasonable sweet and fruity. Not the most accurate flavor, but still decent. Now here's where it takes a turn for the strange. As the bowl got further and further along, the flavor actually got stronger for me. I can't account for this either, and while this would be normally considered a good thing, the salty flavor got stronger as well. This made the bowl practically unsmokable, and after a few more rounds, we called it quits. Bottom line is, the best mango flavored shisha so far, but still not a great mango shisha.

Peanut Gallery:

(Caroline) This is the first mango I have smoked, and although I am told its better than that of other brands I am still not a fan. For the most part it was, well, fairly disgusting. Mango was definitely the dominant flavor, but it was incredibly salty and became progressively more so as time went on. The last hit I took tasted like nothing but salt and made me choke. Not something I would ever recommend to anyone.

Conclusion:

While it is far too finicky for us to recommend to the average smoker, anyone who is really interested in smoking mango tobacco should definitely give Fumari a shot.

B-/C+

Starbuzz X On The Beach Review

Brand/Flavor:
Starbuzz X on the Beach

Methodology:
-34 hits/person over 50-55 minutes
-3 individuals in the circle
-2 CoCo Naras on standard Mya bowl
-3 hose Mya Staff filled with cold water with a small Heba diffuser

First Impressions:
Bright red, soaked through with molasses. Looks almost like jelly, but this seems to be typical for Starbuzz. Smells very fruity, coconut and peach being most prominent.

Post Mortem:
Almost completely cooked, only a very small amount of color or moisture left.

Pros:
-Thick smoke
-Moderate buzz
-Strong, fruity flavor

Cons:
-Dyed a deep, monkey-butt red
-Vaguely artificial flavor

Andrew's Thoughts:
I was skeptical coming into this review, as our first experience with Starbuzz didn't exactly live up to the incredible amount of hype surrounding it. However, as X on the Beach is one of their most popular flavors (unlike Plum), I was ready to give this stuff a shot at surprising me.

While the smoke itself wasn't anything supernatural, it was certainly capable of producing large clouds consistently, which isn't nothing. It was also largely smooth, and I had no real issues smoking it for the duration of the bowl. The flavor, however, was not perfect: while I did enjoy the taste to a certain extent, I was felt it was vaguely plasticky and artificial, as though the entire experience was manufactured in a lab somewhere. My paranoia aside, it tasted strongly of peach, pineapple and coconut, and once I was able to settle into the session, I had quite a good time. So while I won't say this is something everyone should go out and grab, I will admit there is something to all those excitedly misspelled forum posts (just kidding internets, you know I love you).

Eric's Thoughts:
This flavor, of all the flavors we've had recommended to us, has probably been suggested the most. So I was rather looking forward to this. But the entire time, there was that little thought in the back of my mind "What if they're all wrong?" Now please don't misunderstand me. Again, it has to do with how I typically respond to hype. And it certainly wouldn't be the first time the internet has lied to me. But luckily this time, there wasn't much for me to criticize. The Starbuzz X on the Beach, while still sporting its unnatural red color, smelled incredible. And it tasted just as great. The flavors can only be described as coming in layers, each leading to the next, typically coconut to pineapple to peach. Now whether this phenomenon is my own inability to mentally combine the flavors together, or if this is actually a strangely partitioned flavoring is probably for you to judge for yourself. Suffice it to say, this shisha had an amazing flavor and great smoke and I will more likely than not be buying it again.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline) Decent stuff–nice and fruity, but not too sweet. Very coconut-y.

Conclusion:
Solid smoking, highly recommended for anyone who already enjoys Starbuzz shisha. If you're new to the stuff, probably not a bad place to start, as it seems everyone but Andrew (read: the pretentious twat) thinks this stuff is fantastic.

B+

Hydro Black Widow Review (Blackberry)

Brand/Flavor:
Hydro Black Widow (Blackberry)

Methodology:
-20 hits/person over 35 minutes
-4 individuals in the circle
-3 half used up CoCo Naras on standard Mya bowl
-3 hose Mya Staff filled with cold water with a small Heba diffuser

First Impressions:
The cut on Hydro is very fine, like grass clippings or even wood splinters soaked in syrup. The smell is pretty fruity and definitely a berry smell, but not quite blackberry.

Post Mortem:
Mostly blackened and almost completely dry, but it's hard to tell what this means given how dry this stuff started out.

Pros:
-Thick smoke by any standard
-No buzz

Cons:
-Flavor misses the mark
-That "hydro" aftertaste is kinda strong
-No buzz

Andrew's Thoughts:
Coming off our experience with Blue Viper, I had fairly specific expectations for this shisha: I was going to get thick, beautiful clouds, tasting strongly of sweet blackberry with just a hint of the "herbalness" that seems to be inherent to sugar cane-based smokeables. Unfortunately, this is not what I experienced when smoking Hydro Black Widow. Though I did get the familiar giant clouds, the flavor itself was overwhelmed by the grassy flavor of the Hydro base, with only a generic berry sweetness managing to come through. And while this bowl was nigh immortal (when we finally stopped it was due to the coals and our preferences rather than any limit imposed by the shisha), we simply had no desire to keep smoking. While I wouldn't go as far as calling this stuff disgusting, it certainly wasn't an experiment I'm itching to repeat.

Eric's Thoughts:
Every single time I smoke hydro, I'm impressed by the size and density of the clouds, so much so that I tend to forget that I'm smoking an herbal, which makes it just that much more amazing. Unfortunately, that is where the praises for this flavor stop. Now I don't quite know what a blackberry tastes like. I thought they were the same thing as black raspberries, maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. But despite my ignorance in the matter, I can say one thing definitively, this shisha did not taste like berry of any kind. I mean I would get slight hints of it here and there, but never once during the session did I say "This is definitely berry". Rather, the shisha tasted a generic sweet flavor and nothing else, like a sugary syrupy flavor, rather than a sweet berry flavor. And of course, the typical hydro wood-ish flavor was there again, and stronger this time too. Beyond that, the most frustrating thing was that the smoke smelled of berries, it just didn't taste that way. Bottom line is Hydro continues to deliver consistently good smoke, but the flavor was off by enough to make me say look at different flavors.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline)
Hydro seems to exclusively use flavors better suited for children’s chewable Tylenol. They are always ridiculously sweet and remind me of all the times I had a headache as a child.

The Blackberry was not an interesting flavor—it was mostly just sweet, and what little flavor there was closely resembled that of the Blue Viper. It did produce a decent amount of smoke (as Hydro usually does), but for me at least, that is not enough to completely redeem it. This is not a flavor I would willingly smoke again.

Conclusion:
While it certainly won't kill you, Hydro Black Widow leaves our desks without recommendation. Your more tolerant friends might appreciate it, but we doubt you will.

C+

Al Fakher Golden Eskandarani Apple Review

Brand/Flavor:
Al Fakher Golden Eskandarani Apple

Methodology:
-26 hits/person over 35-40 minutes
-4 individuals in the circle
-3 CoCo Naras on medium generic phunnel
-3 hose Mya Staff filled with ice water with a small Heba diffuser

First Impressions:
The Al Fakher Golden line is something we've been meaning to sink our teeth into for a while now, and we were quite excited to have this lovely yellow box in our hands. The outer cardboard container opened to reveal a large golden zip-lock bag and a plastic tub, presumably for storage. The tub itself, while flimsy, lends itself well to the purpose, especially since the bottom is seamless and therefore unlikely to trap juices. The shisha itself was of typical semi-fine Al Fakher cut, extremely juicy yet happily undyed. It smelled quite fruity, particularly reminiscent of those gummy peach rings you can buy in gas stations, but with a tang of green apple peel.

Post Mortem:
Probably should have thrown a couple more coals on, because while it was quite cooked and a little burnt on the top, the bottom was still quite juicy. Smelled like baked apples or that apple cinnamon oatmeal stuff.

Pros:
-Delicious, interesting flavor that actually tastes like apple
-Produced moderate to thick smoke

Cons:
-Buzz is a bit on the mild side
-Flavor might be stronger

Andrew's Thoughts:
I've heard some good things about this shisha, so I was extremely excited when this order came in. Packing our new phunnel (which takes much larger quantities than our old Mya/Egyptian bowls), it was immediately obvious just how juicy this stuff is. While not weirdly syrupy (i.e. like Starbuzz), it is definitely quite moist, especially after mixing up the stuff at the bottom of the bag. After just one or two pulls we were puffing away happily, with only a few problems related to shisha getting stuck to the foil (this was NOT an issue in subsequent sessions). The smell of this stuff is remarkably similar to its flavor, much like a tangy-er version of those gummy peach rings (as mentioned above). You can really taste the green apple, though it avoids the overly artificial flavor of candies like Warheads. While I was far from passed out by the end of this session, I definitely felt a buzz going, but it is worth remembering that I have something of a tolerance, as I smoke quite a bit. Overall, it's a solid flavor that I think most people would enjoy. We've smoked this stuff quite a bit now, and I look forward smoking it some more.

Eric's Thoughts:
Ok so I typically respond one of two ways to hype. On the one hand, I sometimes go with it and end up being the tip of the spear leading the charge in positive words for something. Other times, it only serves to make me more skeptical of a product. This time I was of the former mind. Unfortunately there are some pitfalls that come with being in that state of mind. One of which is relative disappointment. Ok time out, I'm not saying this shisha is bad...you'll see what I mean later on. The smoke was great and lots of fun to play with. The flavor was strong and fruity. Not candy-like, much more naturally sweet. While it didn't exactly bulls-eye the apple mark, it was still spectacular and distinctly fruity and much closer to apple unlike some "apple" related flavors we've smoked in the past. The buzz was more mild than usual, not the kind of knock you off you feet buzz that you'd get from Romman, but still solid. So, do I think this is a great flavor? Yes. Do I think you should go out and get it? Yes. So where is the disappointment you ask? While it was a great flavor and great smoke, it ended up still not being that perfect shisha that some people believe it is. Bottom line is, don't believe the hype, but buy this stuff on its own, more realistic merits.

Conclusion:
Solid, subtle, but not perfect, Al Fakher's Golden Eskandarani Apple is strong addition to any hookah smoker's inventory. While it's relatively weak showings in both nicotine and flavor hold it back from a perfect A, it's definitely worth giving a shot.

A-

Romman Double Apple Review

Brand/Flavor:
Romman Double Apple

Methodology:
-22 hits/person over 35 minutes
-3 individuals in the circle
-2 CoCo Naras, offset holes with 3 small vent holes opposite, foil rotated every few minutes
-3 hose Mya Staff filled with ice water with a small Heba diffuser

First Impressions:
Typical choppy Romman cut, very sticky and moist. This batch was a bit more stemmy than those past with at least one very large stem. Smells strongly of anise (kind of like black licorice) with a vague hint of apple. Very herbal.

Post Mortem:
Cooked almost all the way through, less than 5% moisture retention.

Pros:
-Reasonably thick smoke
-Strong buzz
-Strong anise flavor

Cons:
-Anise completely overpowers the apple

Andrew's Thoughts:
Double Apple is one of those flavors that every hookah smoker has tried at least once. Nearly every brand has one, and it's usually one of its top sellers. That said, I only recently discovered what Double Apple actually is, at least according to Sonthert over at Tangiers (he actually makes the stuff, so I'm taking his word for it). Apparently Double Apple is made with apple, anise and rose oil, and that is what distinguishes it from normal apple flavors. I was therefore a bit more forgiving when I took my first hit and tasted nothing but anise. However, the same went for my second, third and fourth hits, and indeed throughout the entire bowl I could taste nothing resembling an apple or even rose-like flavor. As a licorice-lover, I do enjoy anise most of the time, but this was just too much. It was sharp, herbal, and overpowering, and beyond practicing my smoke rings I really had very little motivation to keep inhaling. If you really really like anise, you'll probably like this shisha, but everyone else would probably be better off looking elsewhere for their apple fix.

PS. Eric says this tobacco is for licorice lovers. I disagree. I LOVE Romman Licorice, which tastes like licorice. This tastes like anise. Anise is a lot less sweet, and any real licorice fan can readily distinguish the two. If you hate licorice, however, they probably both taste the same, and you probably ought to stay away from this stuff anyway.

Eric's Thoughts:
I'm personally no fan of black licorice, so I will admit I'm a wee bit biased against this flavor. But here goes. The smoke was thick and fun to play with and the buzz was strong. Not pass out strong, but strong. That said, from my understanding of Double Apple, the Anise flavor should balance with the apple flavor. Romman doesn't quite get that though. In fact, I could honestly barely taste anything resembling apple whatsoever. Each hit I took was simply anise, anise and more anise. The smoke and buzz were both good enough not to make me want to stop smoking it, and the Anise flavor wasn't nasty enough to make me gag, but as far as apple goes, there really wasn't anything going on. So if you're looking for something that tastes like licorice, Romman Double Apple is great. If you're looking for a proper double apple, I suppose you could do a helluva lot worse than Romman, but not by much.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline) I was excited to try Double Apple, because I love apples and anything apple flavored, but was sorely disappointed when I did. It's like Apple Jacks—it doesn’t taste like apples. Except, unlike Apple Jacks, it doesn’t even taste like sugary, delicious cereal, either. The flavor is more along the lines of burnt Italian cookies combined with old black licorice and despair. Anise was the dominant flavor, and there wasn’t even a hint or an aftertaste of anything that remotely resembled apples. Not a flavor I would willingly smoke again.

Conclusion:
The usual Romman strengths of buzz and thick smoke couldn't save this shisha from its lopsided flavor. Recommended only to anise-lovers and those who care only about nicotine and smoke.

C+

Romman Cola Review

Brand/Flavor:
Romman Cola

Methodology:
-4 people in the circle
-24 hits/person (3 people), 9 hits/person (the other guy), over 40 minutes
-2 Coco Nara coals, offset holes, rotated every few minutes
-3 hose Mya staff filled with cold water, small Heba defuser attached

First Impressions:
Sticky Romman tobacco in a pretty Romman box (ie, the usual). Smells strongly of Coke, but far more herbal, as you might expect a cola shisha to.

Post Mortem:
Dry and crusty on top, a little moist on the bottom, but overall fairly well cooked.

Pros:
-Thick smoke
-Strong buzz
-Delicious, accurate cola flavor

Cons:
-Herbal nature of flavor might be unpleasant to some

Andrew's Thoughts:
Dear god it took us a while to finish this review. I suppose we ought to begin with the usual Romman routine: good buzz, good smoke, blah, blah, blah... Flavor! Here it gets interesting. This shisha mells and tastes like essence of cola, and is quite pleasant for it, though you might not like the sharpness of its herbal-ness (but, of course, I do). The idea that Coke-flavored anything doesn't have to be obscenely saccharine is refreshing, and even Caroline, who hates Coke, loved this flavor. It's strong but not overpowering, and it's quite easy to imagine mixing it with a variety of flavors (vanilla, cherry, etc.). Damn do I love this shisha.

Eric's Thoughts:
First and foremost, if you're looking for a shisha that tastes like Coke, go elsewhere. Now that that's out of the way, on to the reviewing. The smoke was thick as is typical of Romman tobacco, and the buzz was strong, also typical of Romman tobacco. The flavor was absolutely incredible though. When we first bought this a while back, we were expecting it to taste like Coke. Boy were we wrong about that. In fact, calling it Cola flavored was probably the best idea overall, as it tastes far more herbal than Coke or Pepsi taste. Simply put, it tasted exactly like how I would imagine the cola plant would taste or smell prior to any industrial meddling. And still, despite its herbal nature, this is still a very sweet shisha. Not as sweet as Sweet Start is perhaps, but still quite sweet and strong. Overall its an excellent flavor and a great smoke.

Conclusion:
Another solid showing from Romman, Cola is a delightful flavor that can easily be mixed or smoked alone. For us, it's certainly one to keep in stock. While its strong herbal flavor might repel some, everyone should at least give it a try.

A-

Romman Berry Breeze Review

Brand/Flavor:
Romman Berry Breeze

Methodology:
-24 hits/person over 40 minutes
-4 individuals in the circle
-2 Coco Nara coals, offset holes, rotated every few minutes
-3 hose Mya staff filled with cold water, small Heba defuser attached

First Impressions:
Typical choppy Romman cut, very moist and sticky. Aroma very sweet, like mixed berries. Not too many stems.

Post Mortem:
Almost cooked completely, very little moisture, about 5% with any color.

Pros:
-Sweet flavor
-Thick smoke
-Good buzz

Cons:
-Strange aftertaste, kinda soapy

Andrew's Thoughts:
Romman Berry Breeze was an extremely strange experience. I remember smoking it last year and even last semester, and it was delicious. Very much a "berry" flavor. However, while this pack looked and smelled like a strong, berry-flavored Romman shisha, it acted quite differently. On the very first hit of our first bowl (not the one described above, and one Eric was not present for), I got an overwhelming taste of bitter soap. While I could discern the familiar berry-ness behind it, it was completely unsmokeable. Thinking I had somehow packed it wrong, we cleaned out the bowl, even washing it with hot water, and redid the foil with some new tobacco. However, the exact same thing happened: whatever berry flavor present was eclipsed by a mask of soapy toxicity, and we put the hose down after only 3 hits.

Thinking of Tangiers (an unwashed tobacco), which needs to be acclimated before smoking, we tried leaving it out for a few hours. After three, the shisha still smoked poorly but was noticeably improved, so we decided to leave it out overnight. The next evening, in the session described above, the tobacco was much better than it had been before. The berry flavor was now prominent, and we actually had a chance to see how the smoke and buzz were. While the smoke wasn't spectacular, it was average for Romman, which is always quite good. I also felt a significant amount of nicotine in my system, but again, nothing unusual by Romman standards. The biggest problem with this tobacco was the soapiness. Even on that final bowl, I could still taste it a little, and as the berry flavor faded it become increasingly prominent. Moreover, our friend who bought a pack of Berry Breeze at the same time and place that we did also had this problem, so it wasn't isolated to the pack. This could just be a bad batch, but as we grade on the experiences we have, the soapiness was a major setback for this shisha.

Eric's Thoughts:
We've smoked Berry Breeze before, but this batch was a little stranger than previous bowls. Couldn't tell you what about it changed, but something had changed. The shisha smelled strongly of mixed berries and was very sweet. The flavor was very close to the smell, though there was something a bit off. Andrew and company described it as somewhat "soapy" though I didn't quite get that impression. However I do agree that something wasn't quite right with the flavor. Still though, for the majority of the bowl, the flavor to me was quite good. Smoke was thick, buzz was strong, and flavor was, for the most part, reasonably enjoyable. Its not the berry breeze from my memory, but it was still a decent smoke.

Conclusion:
Romman Berry Breeze is a solid tobacco with some serious consistency issues in production. Grading from memory, this shisha could easily be a B+ and possibly and A, but this batch was simply too flawed. While the flavor was good for much of the session, it took a lot of work to get it that way, and it never quite lost its soapiness.

B-

Coco Naras Save the Day

So we've been smoking Coco Naras pretty successfully lately, largely due to Reynolds Heavy Duty foil, which is simply fantastic stuff. Coco Naras really allow the flavors of the tobacco to come through much better than even the best quicklights, and so we felt obligated to make some changes.

First, Romman Chocolate Strawberry. When we first reviewed this flavor, we could barely taste it, and consequently felt it didn't qualify for a B. Smoking it with the Coco Naras, however, the flavor of strawberries and chocolate was unmistakeable. While the flavor itself wasn't spectacular, it was certainly quite pleasant, though it still could have been stronger. We have thus decided to change its grade to B-.

Second on the list is Romman Cappuccino, a flavor that gave us a lot of problems. While it sometimes tasted fantastic, it often tasted burnt and strange, and was quite difficult to manage. Since we've started using the Coco Naras, however, the flavor has been nothing but good to us, tasted both bitter and chocolatey, but definitely like cappuccino. Therefore, we are changing the grade to B.

Lastly is the Al Fakher Jasmine. This may seem like an odd choice, since we reviewed this WITH the Coco Naras, but we felt it was important to give it a mention. The Jasmine is an extremely subtle flavor, and without the Coco Naras it's hard to imagine it being anywhere near as enjoyable. Without a doubt, Coco Naras are worth the time and effort to anyone looking for the perfect smoke.

Al Fakher Jasmine Review

Brand/Flavor:
Al Fakher Jasmine

Methodology:
-20 hits/person over 30 minutes
-3 individuals in the circle
-1 Coco Nara coal, offset holes rotated every few passes
-3-hose Mya Staff filled with ice water, small Heba diffuser attached

First Impressions:
Aroma was simply fantastic, smelled exactly like jasmine tea leaves. Very juicy, no stems. Finer cut, but not as thin as Hookah-Hookah.

Post Mortem:
Somewhat blackened, but still surprisingly juicy and aromatic. Almost didn't want to throw it away, but the foil started to burn.

Pros:
-Strong aroma of jasmine tea
-Thick smoke
-Decent buzz

Cons:
-Flavor was a little weak

Andrew's Thoughts:
Al Fakher is a giant in the American shisha market, and we felt obligated to give it a shot. As one of the few non-premium tobaccos out there consistently getting good reviews, I was excited to see what all the buzz is about (pardon the pun). Happily, Jasmine largely lived up to the hype. The smoke was thick and smooth, and though the bowl died with what appeared to be a smokeable mass remaining, that could have been an issue with our coals dying (we've been having lots of fun with coals lately). Though I wasn't knocked on my butt the way I am with Romman, I definitely felt some nicotine, which was likely enhanced by my dogged attempts at improving my smoke rings. The shisha smells fantastic, just like taking a tin of jasmine tea and holding it up to your nose. Unfortunately the flavor was not as strong, but then jasmine tea always smells stronger than it tastes.

Eric's Thoughts:
With the majority of my smoking experience falling within the Romman brand, I'm always open to try a new one. There's a fair amount I don't remember about smoking hookah before I owned my own, but one thing I do remember is that Al Fahker was a brand that we typically bought, due to its ready availability in the stores closer to home. But despite this, I was still slightly skeptical that Al Fahker would be able to stand up to our usual standards. Well I was wrong on that front. The Jasmine smelled like flowers and tasted exactly like it smelled, something that some shishas seem to have trouble with for some reason. But despite the quality of flavor, there simply wasn't enough of it. Some more flavor would have made this shisha simply excellent. The smoke was thick (once we figured out the coals) and the buzz was strong. All in all, a bit on the weaker side, but still very enjoyable through and through.

Conclusion:
A solid but subtle flavor that any tea aficionado would appreciate.

B+

Adventures in Natural Coals

With our last major hookah order (the one that brought us that brand spankin' new Mya Staff we are so thoroughly enjoying), we received a box of 84 Coco Nara natural coals. We bought a range cooker at Target yesterday, so we finally had a chance to try them, and I thought the rather spectacular results were post-worthy.

We lit the coals fairly easily by just leaving them on the heater until the bottom was lit, then flipping it over and waiting another couple of minutes. Aside from the slight smell of cooked ham, it was a surprisingly low-maintenance process. That changed radically, however, as soon as we started smoking the bowl.
We started with a standard pattern in the foil, poking 10 to 15 small holes near the side clustered in an area roughly half the size of an unlit coal. The bowl started well, and after a couple of passes we (Eric, Caroline, and I) were quite impressed with the thickness of the smoke. However, in spite of our frequent coal rotations, it quickly became inexplicably harsh. When we lifted up the coal, the cause became immediately apparent: the hotter, denser Coco Nara coal had burned straight through the foil, leaving a hole nearly big enough to drop itself into the tobacco.


We killed the bowl immediately and cleared the hookah (something which the Staff does not do easily, incidentally), but were uncertain of how to proceed. We tried using a coal screen, and while we did get moderate smoke using roughly 2.5 coals, it simply wasn't as thick as the smoke we were getting with the foil. Mustering up some courage, I tried a new foil with only 5 small holes, spaced relatively far apart. This seemed to work for a while, and the clarity of the Coco Nara's taste put the Romman Cappuccino in a new light for me. However, after about 10 minutes, we tasted that odd metallic taste again, and when I lifted the coal, it had made a smaller but equally disturbing hole in foil.

Giving up for time being, Eric and I shot some zombies for a while (yay L4D), but I was determined to get these coals functioning. Working under the assumption that the issue was that our foil (Reynolds) was not the heavy-duty kind, I tried doubling the foil, and while that seemed to work for a while, we had already had too much hookah, so we didn't quite give it a fair shot. I'm interested in trying this again tonight, as the coal screen is an unacceptable compromise and the Coco Naras just have too much potential to give up on.
Look forward to updates soon!

UPDATE: More photos of ground zero.





UPDATE (4/30/09): So we tried smoking some Al Fakher Jasmine last night with a couple different hole patterns (expect a review up soon!), and we think we have some relevant results to share. First, with our Syrian bowl (the one from Ophelia), we used a variation on our standard pattern, which consisted of a rectangle of tiny holes made with a safety pin on the standard Reynolds double-layered, spaced roughly 2-3mm apart (the change came in the size and spacing of the wholes), slightly smaller than the size of the coal. This rectangle was off-centered, with a vent placed opposite that could be covered by a flap of foil as necessary. This seemed to work for a while (in fact, our entire review), but when we tried to restart the bowl a half hour later, the top layer of the foil had a small piece burned away.

We tried again later with another bowl of Jasmine, this time with the Mya bowl, using a variation on our previous technique. This time, contrary to all our previous patterns (for QL or natural), we made the rectangle large enough that some holes would always be uncovered, and act as a vent. To compensate for the lost heat, we used two coals instead of one. Though we ended up cutting a vent later on anyway, this method seemed to have worked quite well, with no signs of damage to the foil whatsoever. Assuming this wasn't a fluke, it seems that by placing our vents at the actual site of the heating we actually cool off the hottest part of the foil, so that it is much harder for the foil to get too hot. Of course, if this problem continues, expect further updates.

Starbuzz Plum Review

Brand/Flavor:
Starbuzz Plum

Methodology:
-25 hits/person for two, 15 hits for one over 30-35 minutes
-3 individuals in the circle
-1.5 33mm quick-light Golden coals offset holes rotated every few passes
-3-hose Mya Staff filled with ice water, small Heba diffuser attached

First Impressions:
The shisha was double-bagged in an attractive tin, though tins all tend to be rather poor for long-term storage. The shisha itself was bright red, soaked in molasses like a maraschino cherry. It smelled strongly sweet, though vaguely medicinal and not at all like plum.

Post Mortem:
Only very slightly moist, thoroughly cooked.

Pros:
-Incredibly thick smoke
-Strong buzz
-Long-lasting smoke

Cons:
-Flavor was unidentifiable and wore off quickly

Andrew's Thoughts:
As our first foray into the much-hyped realm of Starbuzz tobacco, this shisha had a lot riding on it, and overall, it withstood my scrutiny. Though the flavor itself was unimpressive in quality, it was certainly significant and moderately pleasant, at least early on. Sugary yet vaguely medicinal, Starbuzz Plum is no plum tobacco, but it was not bad at all. The smoke itself was remarkably thick, reminding me of some the best bowls of Romman I've ever smoked, though the new Mya certainly didn't hurt. The buzz was also quite significant, putting Caroline to bed and leaving both Eric and I a bit woozy. In the end, not a bad experience, but assuming that the smoke and buzz quality are fairly consistent within a brand, I think it'll be a while before I come back to this flavor.

Eric's Thoughts:
I supposed for our first purchase of Starbuzz, we could have picked an easier flavor than plum, but seeing as we've never smoked a plum tobacco before, we figured we'd give it a try. Personally I thought the flavor was reasonably inaccurate, tasting sweet and slightly medicinal, but strong. At the beginning of the session, the flavor can only be described as dripping off my tongue. Andrew and Caroline didn't have the same opinion however. But for me, this was probably one of the strongest flavors I've tasted in a while. However this was not a lasting flavor. Probably about halfway through, the flavor ceased to be intense, and then quickly disappeared altogether. The smoke was thick and the buzz was as intense as a good bowl or Romman. Bottom line, was it plum? Not really. Was it enjoyable? Yes.

Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline) Aside from the fact that it made me sick after about 10 hits, the plum was alright. The smoke was nice and thick and the buzz was almost comparable to that of Romman. The flavor, however, was quite disappointing. It was not very strong initially, died out quickly, and was not nearly as plum-y as it could have been.

Conclusion:
While the flavor itself was mediocre, the smoke and buzz were of excellent quality and bode well for future Starbuzz experiences.

B-