Hookah FAQ’s

This can have many reasons. The most common problem is not packing the tobacco right, or not making the holes (in the aluminum foil) the right way. Make sure you don't press the tobacco in the hookah head (rather sprinkle the tobacco to leave space in its gaps). Also, make enough number right size holes (usually 3 or 4 rounds).

This could be because the tobacco is almost burned out or you have too much (or too large) coals on the hookah. Also, there could be too many holes (in the aluminum foil) or the holes are too large.

There are many papers on this subject that you can find with a simple Google search. But from what I understand, you get much more smoke from a hookah than a cigarette; however the smoke is not nearly as harmful (less nicotine) as the cigarette smoke. Smoking hookah is obviously not good for your health, but since hookah is more of a social activity which is usually done two or three times a week, it is probably safer than cigarettes

Take every part of the hookah apart. Rinse the hose with water and wash the rest of the hookah parts. Once a week or every other week, put the hose in a bucket of hot water overnight.

You should clean your hookah after every time you use it. It is important that you clean it right after smoking and not before your next smoke. Otherwise, the smell and remainder of the previous smoke stays inside the hookah and makes it much harder to remove.

Size of the bowl depends mostly on the type of hookah that you use. Obviously smaller hookahs cannot handle large bowls and small bowls might not fit on large hookahs. Size of the bowl also changes the amount of smoke you get out of the hookah. Smaller bowls usually give more smoke, but burn faster. Large bowls usually give less smoke (which you can increase it by putting a second coal beside the first one) and burn longer (use more tobacco).

There are many different tobacco brands. I haven't tried all of them, but out of the ones that I have I prefer "Alfakher" tobacco. Basically there are two important characteristics that you should look for in a tobacco. The shinier and the juicier the tobacco the better it smokes. That is because shine and juice means it has more molasses.

Generally speaking, there are two types of coals: Fast burning and natural. As the name indicates, fast burning coals are made to start up fast (usually 20 seconds of flaming them with lighter sets them on). However, the fast burning coals often add unwanted flavors to the tobacco and cost more. The natural coals take longer to light up, but burn faster. But they are much cheaper than the fast burning coals.

I'm a big fan of one hose hookahs. I actually don't like more than one hoses. Obviously more than one hose is for people who want to smoke in groups. But you have to make sure that the ones who are not smoking hold the end of the hose so air doesn't go through.

Absolute no. They let too much oxygen in. They absorb a large amount of the coal's heat and don't transfer it well.