Friday, April 24, 2009

Al Waha Orange Cream Review

Brand/Flavor:
Al Waha Orange Cream

Methodology:
-15-20 hits/person over 35 minutes
-3 individuals in the circle
-40mm coal offset holes rotated every few passes
-Ophelia filled with ice water

First Impressions:
Tobacco is cut similarly to Romman, but is far less moist. Molasses is oily, much like the Hookah-Hookah shishas we've sampled. The smell was underwhelming, but the orange scent was discernible.

Post Mortem:
Completely cooked. No, really.

Pros:
-Thick smoke
-Citrus flavor was significant, not orange per se, but citrusy

Cons:
-Cream flavor was almost unnoticeable
-Had characteristic "throat-drying" of citrus flavors
-Almost no buzz
-Dried out quickly

Andrew's Thoughts:
I have historically been skeptical of Al Waha tobacco, but I came into this review really trying to give it the benefit of the doubt. I was, unfortunately, disappointed. At first, it took me 4-5 hits to even taste anything, though Eric seems to have had a different experience. When I did start to get some flavor, it was strongly citrus and rather acidic, with no apparent cream taste. I did manage to catch a whiff of vanilla when french inhaling, but as a flavor it simply wasn't there. Though the smoke itself was thick and even pleasant at times, the citrus quickly became too much for me, and despite the significant weakening of the bowl towards the end, I had trouble taking my last five hits.

Eric's Thoughts:
I've heard from a few people that Orange Cream was worth trying, so when I found out that we had a box of Al Waha orange cream from the local store, I was interested. The flavor wasn't quite the orange I was expecting. The orange I had in mind was significantly more sour, so the fact that I wasn't immediately puckering after the first hit was a pleasant surprise. That said, it wasn't a sweet orange flavor either. As for the cream aspect of the flavor, it was practically nonexistent. I expected a balance of orange and cream, like a dreamsicle, but was instead greeted with a cream that was an afterthought at best, and a scent only at worst. The other major problem I had was that it dried out far too quickly, giving the smoke a jarringly nasty flavor. But despite all this negativity towards its flavor, I felt that the thickness of the smoke was absolutely incredible. And while that doesn't absolve it of its many issues, it certainly made this bowl much more enjoyable.

Conclusion:
Al Waha Orange Cream is not orange cream flavored. The cream flavor is quite weak, while the orange is sharp and acidic. That said, you could certainly do worse, as this shisha can produce wonderful clouds of smoke. Just don't expect much buzz.

C+

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