What makes hookah smoking such a delight?
The tobacco made available for hookah smoking comes in a variety of flavors. Traditionally, it is long pieces of tobacco mixed with a sugar-based syrup mixture and fruit bits or extract. The fruit flavors really come out in the smoke, and the cooling action of the hookah provides added smoothness. Usually hookah lounges add ice to the hookah water. Flavors include apple, peach, raspberry, mixed fruit, orange, and MANY more. Combining flavors makes for a unique experience. The tobacco isn't burned to complete ash, but rather it is cooked by the coals that sit on top of the hookah.
The flavor and method of the hookah is the most eloquent and exotic in the world. It provides the maximum smoking pleasure and the highest conviviality. Traditionally in many parts of the world, smoking a hookah with someone expressed a gesture of trust and bonding. The ceremonial gesture has translated to our society in that the elevated status of smoking a hookah has been preserved, and that people who smoke one are above and beyond the norm of society. It is a complete experience.
By being aware of this, you may have confidence to travel anywhere in the world and use a hookah
Not all shisha providers are resteraunts Some are coffee shops or restaurants with Middle Eastern cuisine and flair, and supply shishas as an aside. They cater to Middle Eastern clientele and are as intimate as a livingroom with a group of regulars, and YOU, as a newcomer, are expected to be on your best behavior. Respect the culture. You know a place is good when you see Middle Eastern people present, don't drive them away. Many establishments rely on regulars and have close ties with them. As a side note, don't let your thoughts of current world events be translated to other customers. It is best to avoid this topic. We all wish the best for the future.
In general, many hookah lounges are very classy and plush places with unique decor.
Keep with the vibe, dress nicely, be respectful and don't be a loudmouth.
Dress nice. Or semi-nice. Since this phenomenon is still rather young, we still have a chance at shaping its destiny. The media is already trying to pigeon-hole the hookah lounge clientele, so let's perpetuate the favorable reputation and do it RIGHT.
Be gracious and dress like one after we help to show you how to ACT like one. Part of what makes shisha smoking so cool is the mastery of the people involved. Don't dilute the coolness factor.
Hookahs belong on the floor and not on the table, because it is an object of service. Imagine the notion of "putting someone on a pedestal." This is along the same idea, and the shisha is an item of much lower rank, if you will. Traditional establishments will still adhere to this rule, while some hookah lounges are placing the hookah on the table for everyone to enjoy. Not very authentic, but it does celebrate the hookah.
In the Arab world, people smoke it as part of their culture and traditions. Social smoking is done with a single or double hose, and sometimes even more numerous such as a triple or quadruple hose in the forms of parties or small get-togethers. When the smoker is finished, either the hose is placed back on the table signifying that it is available, or it is handed from one user to the next, folded back on itself so that the mouthpiece is not pointing at the recipient. It has been recorded that the Arabs are the biggest shisha smokers in the World and have the most shisha Cafes
Components
Excluding grommets, a hookah consists of a number of components, four of which are essential for its operation.
Bowl
Also known as the head of the hookah, the bowl is a container, usually made out of clay or marble, that holds the coal and tobacco during the smoking session. The bowl is loaded with tobacco then covered in a small piece of perforated aluminum foil or a glass or metal screen. Lit coals are then placed on top, which allows the tobacco to heat to the proper temperature.
There is also a variation of the head which employs a fruit rather than the traditional clay bowl. The fruit is hollowed out and perforated in order to achieve the same shape and system a clay bowl has, then it is loaded and used in the same manner.
Bowls have evolved over the past two years to incorporate new designs that preserve the juices inside the tobacco. The Tangiers Phunnel Bowl and Sahara Vortex Bowl are two examples of modified hookah bowls.
Windscreen (optional)
A Hookah Cover windscreen is a cover which sits over the bowl area, with some form of air holes. This prevents wind from increasing the burn rate and temperature of the coal, and prevents ash and burning embers from being blown onto the surrounding environment. This may also offer some limited protection from fire as it may prevent the coal from being ejected if the hookah is bumped.
Technically if the pipe has a hose it is not "hookah"—the term historically referred to a straight-neck tube. Today the hose (one or more) is a slender flexible tube that allows the smoke to be drawn for a distance, cooling down before inhalation. The end is typically fitted with a metal, wooden, or plastic mouthpiece of various shape, size, color or material type.
Body and gaskets
The body of the hookah is a hollow tube. The bowl is attached to the top. Sometimes an ice bucket is attached between the body and the bowl to cool the smoke. At the bottom is a thin tube (the downstem) that is submerged in water. The point where the body meets the water jar is sealed with a gasket. Near there are at least two holes that open into the space above the water. One or more may accept a hose.
Purge valve (optional)
Many hookah are equipped with a purge valve connected to the airspace in the water jar to purge stale smoke which has been sitting unused in the jar for too long. This one-way valve is typically a simple ball bearing sitting over a port which seals the port by gravity alone and will open if positive pressure is created by blowing into the hose. The bearing will be held captive with a screw-on cover. The cover should be opened and the bearing and seat cleaned of residue and corrosion regularly to ensure proper sealing.
Water jar
The body of the hookah sits on top of the water jar. The downstem hangs down below the level of the water in the jar. Smoke passes through the body and out the downstem where it bubbles through the water. This cools and humidifies the smoke. Liquids such as fruit juice may be added to the water or used in substitution. Pieces of fruit, mint leaves, and crushed ice may be added.
]Plate
A plate or ashtray sits just below the bowl to catch ashes falling off the coals.
Grommets
Grommets in a hookah are usually placed between the bowl and the body, the body's gasket and the water jar and between the body and the hose. The reason for the usage of grommets although not essential (the use of paper or tape has become common) will help to seal the joints between the parts, therefore decreasing the amount of air coming in and maximizing the smoke breathed in.
Diffuser (optional)
A diffusser is a small perforated plastic device which connects to the end of the stem. Submerged in the water-filled base, it works to break up the bubbles produced from the smoke-filtering process, creating a cleaner smoke and a subdued noise. It is used as a luxury item for a premium smoking experience and is not a required component.
]Operation
The jar at the bottom of the hookah is filled with water sufficient to submerge a few centimetres of the body tube, which is sealed tightly to it. Deeper water will only increase the inhalation force needed to use it. Tobacco is placed inside the bowl at the top of the hookah and a burning charcoal is placed on top of the tobacco. Some cultures cover the bowl with perforated tin foil or a metal screen to separate the coal and the tobacco, which minimizes inhalation of coal ash with the smoke. This may also reduce the temperature the tobacco is exposed to, in order to prevent burning the tobacco directly.
When one inhales via the hose, air is pulled through the charcoal and into the bowl holding the tobacco. The hot air, heated by the charcoal evaporates (not burns) the tobacco, thus producing smoke, which is passed down through the body tube that extends into the water in the jar. It bubbles up through the water, losing heat, and fills the top part of the jar, to which the hose is attached. When a smoker inhales from the hose, smoke passes into the lungs, and the change in pressure in the jar pulls more air through the charcoal, continuing the process.
If the hookah has been lit and smoked but has not been inhaled for an extended period, the smoke inside the water jar may be regarded as "stale" and undesirable. Stale smoke may be exhausted through the purge valve, if present. This one-way valve is opened by the positive pressure created from gently blowing into the hose. It will not function on a multiple-hose hookah unless all other hoses are plugged. Sometimes one-way valves are put in the hose sockets to avoid the need to manually plug hoses. (more to come)...
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