A Toker's Guide to Hookah

[Colonel-Angus]

A Toker's Guide to Hookah

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A lot of smokers are not too familiar with the art of Hookah. Well, I think that is a tragedy and will do all I can to change it. When prepared properly, toking from a Hookah can extend the value of your stash three or four times. However, if you choose to add a substantial amount of dank to a bowl, you will go above and beyond the capabilities of most other methods (just my opinion). Before I begin, I want to stress something about this guide. Everything described within has come from personal experience as well as learning from some extremely notorious smokers from the Hookah online community. I have applied their knowledge to the fine art of toking and I can honestly say that this is the way I prefer to smoke.
If this is your first time smoking from a Hookah, it can seem a little overwhelming. There are a lot of different elements that come together and create the experience. As with all things, the more times you do it, the more comfortable and fluent it will become. I have divided this guide into three sections. The first section, cleaning, goes over the necessary steps involved in cleaning and maintaining the Hookah and its parts. Section two covers all the basics of preparing the Hookah to smoke from. And finally, the last section gets into the actual smoking of the Hookah.
The goal of this guide is not to project that I am the all-knowing Hookah Master. I am simply attempting to share something I enjoy with the rest of the GC Community.
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Section 1: Cleaning<o></o>
Make sure that everything is cleaned before you begin. I choose to clean the Hookah before I smoke rather than after because I am usually too high to do it correctly after I finish a round.
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The Hose: Run warm water through the hose(s) two or three times or until it comes out clear. Either drape the hose over something so that the water drains out of it or swing it around a few times to force the extra water out.
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The Bowl: Simply wiping it out with a wet paper towel is usually sufficient. I will toss this in the dishwasher every week or so to give it a good clean. Make sure you stick a paper towel up into the bowl and collect all the excess water when you are done cleaning.
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The Base: The dishwasher works wonders on this. If you do not have time just run some hot water through it. When residue builds up in a ring around the inside (you’ll know it when you see it) this means it is time to use the dishwasher.
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The Shaft (shuttup, there’s nothing else to call it): Running warm water through here two or three times is usually fine. Toss it in the dishwasher about as often as you do the base.
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Now that everything has been properly cleaned we are ready to begin. I am going to number the steps for simplicity. The order of most of these doesn’t actually matter that much.
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Section 2: Preparation<o></o>
Preparing the Hookah for use is as much an art-form as it is a mandatory step. It should never be rushed (unless you really know what you are doing) and there should always be a certain amount of pride put into it. There are few things more satisfying than sparking a coal after putting 20-30 minutes into preparing the perfect round.
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2-1: Tobacco and Mixing<o></o>
The most common mistake that many newbies have is that they put too much tobacco in the bowl. This is easily avoidable. When you have the right amount of tobacco, the bowl should sound like a rattle when you shake it (try this after you load the bowl but before poking holes in the foil). If you want to get technical, the tobacco should be a quarter inch away from the top of the bowl. If the tobacco is too high or touching the foil, this will cause it to burn quickly and is going to taste like a homeless man’s arse after about 20 minutes.



This is about the correct amount of tobacco for this bowl.

What I usually do is pack the bowl about halfway full before I put the magical ingredient in. Then I will cover up the special ingredient with a little more tobacco to complete it. This allows the bud to mix more smoothly with your chosen flavor(s) and extends the duration or your exposure to the thc-laden smoke. DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT put the bud towards the bottom of the bowl. It will be wasted and no one likes that.

Here are some of my favorite flavors to use with MJ:
Rose (a classic, smoke this outdoors with bud and it is rivaled by none)
Cardamom (a rare flavor, by far the best at masking weed taste)
Grape-Lemon (2 parts grape to 1 part lemon)
Strawberry-Mint (2 parts straw to 1 part mint)
Jasmine (you’ll feel like you are in a hookah lounge)
Cherry-Rose (equal parts, this is fantastic)
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ABOUT TOBACCO: There are two types of Hookah Tobacco (also referred to as Shisha). Molasses-based tobacco is the most common and provides a smooth, long-lasting flavor. Alcohol-based tobacco is a little rarer (although Hookah-Hookah is a huge distributor of it) and offers a slightly different smoke than molasses-based. Alcohol-based tobacco is more flavorful and sweeter in the beginning, but often deteriorates towards the end of a round. For best results, mix the two.

TOP: Alcohol-Based Tobacco


BOTTOM: Molasses-Based Tobacco
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When the mood strikes, it can be fun to load a bowl completely with weed. However, if you are going to do this, make sure to put a thin layer of tobacco on the bottom of the bowl. Like I mentioned before, bud on the bottom is often wasted. Oh yeah, and get ready to never leave your couch/chair again.


2-2: Foil, Screens, Holes<o></o>
This is arguably the most important part of the preparation. It (along with the packing) controls the airflow over the coal and into the bowl. There are two ways to take care of this. The first and most popular way is to use tin foil and manually poke the holes. The second is to buy a pre-made screen which is designed to fit over your bowl. I highly recommend the first method as it allows you to directly affect the quality of your experience.
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IMPORTANT: Before you wrap your piece of tin foil over the bowl, make sure you hold a lighter up to it on both sides to burn off the aluminum-oxide. This is the leading cause of headaches from smoking Hookah.


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Some tongs come with a hole-poking attachment on them. Some of these are sharp enough and some aren’t…use your own judgment. My two top choices for poking holes in the foil are the tip of a corkscrew or a pocketknife (any knife can work).

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When you have selected the desired utensil to poke the holes, begin by making sure that the foil is tightly secured around the rim of the bowl. Keep you hand around the bottom portion of the foil to make sure it stays tight and begin making your holes. There is no set way to do this as long as they are evenly distributed (a few more towards the center isn’t a bad thing). It is very important to take your time. Take pride in doing a good job because eventually you will get good enough that it won’t take long at all to do it correctly.



Great, now that we are finished preparing the bowl and the foil, set it aside and get the base. Often I will toss the base in the freezer while I pack the bowl to frost is similar to a beer mug.
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2-3: The Base, Water, Ice, Extras<o> </o>
You can put as little or as much time into this portion as you see fit. The standard approach is to just put in some cold water. That’s about as basic as you can get and it works just fine for a lot of people. If you are a new hookah-user than it is good to know that the amount of water varies greatly depending on your base. Typically you want the shaft to go about 1-2 inches into the water when it is resting in the base.
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But why stop there? There are so many great ways to enhance the experience using the base. Here are some of my favorites with explanations to go along with them.
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- Add Ice: This works similar to the way it does in bongs. You get a crisper, cooler smoke. I would go as far as saying this is a mandatory part of hookah these days.
- Add Juice: This will give you a little hint of flavor, apple juice is one I have had success with. (Just make sure to clean it afterwards)
- Add Mint Leaves: This is fantastic. I have some in my garden at home so we get fresh ones and just drop a few in the water on occasion.
- Coconut Milk instead of water: We tried this for the first time last weekend and I have never had such a drastic improvement in smoke for something so simple. After you get the hang of it, try this by all means. It acts as a better filter and greatly enhances the experience.
- Add Cinnamon: This is a great flavor addition when combined with a flavor like double-apple.
- Add Alcohol: You can get a little buzz by adding wine or other alcohol to the base mixture. Don’t overdue it though. I would not recommend using just hard alcohol in the base (that was a bad night hehe).

NOTE: Using a base liquid with fat in it can filter out some of the THC. (Thanks yeshli2nuts for the addition)


ABOVE: A prepared round with coconut milk
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IMPORTANT: If you don’t hear the distinct bubbling sound when you first draw on the hose, chances are you either don’t have enough water in the base or there is a point which is not sealed all the way (check where the hose connects to the shaft).
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There are so many unexplored possibilities in this department. Feel free to share stories about what works and what doesn’t.
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2-4: Coals, Natural vs. Self-Lighting<o> </o>
The types of coals you choose have a chance to make or break the round. Getting bad coals can really ruin an evening (especially if the hookah shop is closed). There are two big categories here: Self-Lighting and Natural. Virtually all Hookah bars use Natural coals for a very good reason; they are clearly superior. Natural coals provide a cleaner smoke which translates to a virtually unaltered flavor. However, they are not nearly as convenient and are a b*tch to light without a torch.



That being said, I almost always use self-lighting coals because that is all I can get where I live. There are a lot of different brands to choose from when buying coals. When I buy self-lighting ones, I have to go with Three Kings. They are the closest I have found to Natural coals and run about $2 a roll. Ordering them by the box online saves you money also.
Torches are obviously the best for lighting coals but any lighter will do for the self-lighting ones. It is very important to make sure they are finished lighting before you put them onto the foil. If you start to try and hit it before the coal is done lighting, you will draw the smoke that the coal is emitting down into the tobacco and it will not taste pleasant.
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Section 3: Smoking
Well you are finally ready. The coal is lit, everything is clean and you just prepared one hell of a hookah round. Place the coal on top of the foil and begin. This is the part where you get to enjoy it. While you do, however, keep a few things in mind. Start off easy. Taking too hard of a hit can draw water into the hose (not often, but it happens). You should be able to see how much smoke you are getting by looking into the base. Too little? Add a piece of coal. Too much? Either move the coal around or take some off. Use your judgment. Hookah may seem a bit complicated at first but once you get the hang of things, it’s really an amazing way to smoke.




I hope this guide was able to help at least a few of you out. I honestly had a lot of fun writing it. Happy Toking!

[cigga-dro]

ive never used a hookah. i wouldnt mind tryin one out. does that thing have 4 bowls on it? lol

[Dyson]

I always hated the headache I got from hookah, I had no idea that we should try to put the foil to flame before we wrap the bowl. I'm gonna have to try that soon

[Colonel-Angus]

Originally Posted by cigga-dro

ive never used a hookah. i wouldnt mind tryin one out. does that thing have 4 bowls on it? lol

Haha yeah that particular bowl is one we named "Riders of the Apocalypse". We just smoke one at a time usually. One coal for 30 minutes, stir the tobacco, then a second coal. That translates to a lot of smoking without getting up.

[iggi408]

you should put pics of you smokeing it. theres just nothing like the thick smoke of a nice hookah. but good breakdown for the people new to hookah man. awsome set up ya got there.

[haz3y]

i dont know about anyone else but i would be interested in learning what you do with the coal once you light it in the tongs, its unclear to me what the next step is. do you simply place the coal on the foil?

[Yeomw]

good info for sure man i was just thinking about some of this stuff.

When prepared properly, toking from a Hookah can extend the value of your stash three or four times. However, if you choose to add a substantial amount of dank to a bowl, you will go above and beyond the capabilities of most other methods (just my opinion).

This sounds interesting! I was wondering if you could give us some examples to bak this up?

[Farmer Green]

AWESOME! My local smokeshop has this sick hookah, and i wanted to buy it but i had no idea how to use it. Thanks for opening up a new avenue of smoking. +rep.

[mushroomsatsuji]

Ok so obviously Im a complete hookah newbie. But can you skip the tobacco and fill it with just weed?

[drexel25]

by god man, you've written a damn masterpiece! serious +rep for that

being a fellow hookah-smoker, I can second the unique pleasure of enjoying a nice hookah session, whether you decide to enter some mj or not. It's a damn fine thing.

but jesus, you put some serious time into this thread. hat's off!

[nug-er-nator]

Wow man, great job. This is a gem

[firstgrow]

Great guide! STICKYY

[LynyrdSkynyrd]

Its easier to light natural coal on a coil stove its what we use, and I think its a waste to put straight weed in it burns to fast but you definatly get hit from it. Also when we want an amazing smoke we put everything in the freezer for like 15 or 20 minutes(no water in the vase ofcourse.)

[Colonel-Angus]

Originally Posted by haz3y

i dont know about anyone else but i would be interested in learning what you do with the coal once you light it in the tongs, its unclear to me what the next step is. do you simply place the coal on the foil?

Once the coal is lit, you just place it on top of the foil. The way it works is the heat from the coal is drawn down into the tobacco/weed. It then gets filtered through the water and travels up through the hose into your lungs

[Colonel-Angus]

Originally Posted by mushroomsatsuji

Ok so obviously Im a complete hookah newbie. But can you skip the tobacco and fill it with just weed?

You can certainly do that. However, I would recommend putting a thin layer of tobacco on the bottom. Just make sure the weed is not touching the foil when you cover it. If this happens you'll burn it too quickly and may waste some. When I want to get really messed up I do a 50/50 round. That's more than is needed to get really blazed.



EDIT: I will add pictures tonight of coal placement and also of my friends and I enjoying a nice dank round of hookah.