“That Which We Call A Shisha”

I’ve always been a big fan of the traditional flavors of shisha -- Melon, Double Apple, that sort of thing. But one of these stands out above the rest, and that would have to be Rose. Dearest reader, I know that you must be thinking to yourself, “What!? ROSE!? That smells like a cross between potpourri and a seventy-year-old woman’s perfume!” Truthfully, Rose by itself might be one of the hardest flavors to palate… which unfortunately leads people to avoid it completely. So why don’t I take a page from their book and run away?

Well, I’ll tell you the tale of me and Rose.

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, a few of my friends and I went down to the Hookah lounge where the Hookah Freak himself works. He sat behind the bar, wiping down a mug with a towel, and issued us a challenge.

“Ok,” he said. “I’m going to blend some shisha for you, and you have to honestly tell me whether or not you like it, and if you can name the flavors in it… if you manage to name one of the flavors, you’ll get this bowl on the house.”

Not one to turn down the chance at a free smoke, I quickly agreed.

He turned his back to us and started grabbing kilo tubs of shisha, making sure we couldn’t read the labels. He had the bowl ready in a few minutes, so we gathered around one of the bar’s hookahs and began our trial.

It was like nothing I’d ever tasted before in a hookah – bittersweet and powerful, but never harsh. The smoke was thick and rolling; overall a very pleasant experience.

He came back after we had all puffed away for about thirty minutes. “So,” he asked. “How was it? Can you name any of the flavors?”

“Yeah,” I replied, “I know there’s got to be some Rose in here, but it’s been transformed into something awesome.”

The Hookah Freak grinned. “You got it. Rose is one of the ultimate blending shishas,” he said. “I bet you’ll never turn back from it now.”

He was right. Rose has become my favorite shisha, not for its straight taste, but for the amazing flavor it can add to a blend. Rose is used in quite a few of the Hookah Freak premium mixes, and it’s no mystery why.

Amongst these, my taste buds have crowned a reigning champ, and that’s Roseberry. So, the point of this entire blog: don’t be scared of something just because it has Rose in the name, or potentially has Rose in the mix. This should be an incentive to try it out and see how well the old can blend with the new. Happy smoking!

Hookah Freak - It's Super Freaky! Mmmm...

If you’re a Super Hookah Freak, like me, you probably search high and low for unique shisha flavors… Well, fellow hookahphiles, our wildest shisha dreams have come true. I recently discovered a very freaky new brand, aptly called Hookah Freak Shisha… and my hookah world has forever changed. Instead of smoking the same classic flavors like grape, orange, double apple, or (yawn!) strawberry, we finally have the option of branching out and trying all sorts of new hip flavors created for the modern hookah smoker. Now we have options like Blueberry Pancakes, Peppermint Schnapps, Smashing Pumpkin, and Vanilla Mojito.

“It’s an old school tradition with a new school twist” – the slogan sucked me in immediately and it turns out that it’s also the perfect way to impress your friends with unique new flavors that will leave them all wanting more. I recently stocked up on Hookah Freak so now my “shisha library” includes: Holy Shisha, Banana Split, Grapeful Dead, Malibu Sunrise, Long Island Ice Tea, and Half Baked (to name a few - it’s a pretty extensive library).

I have smoked every type of hookah shisha from every shisha manufacturer you could possibly imagine, and nothing I have sampled has even come close to the quality or the accuracy of the flavor of Hookah Freak. I am a true fan and I know my favorite brand has forever changed. I mean, why smoke anything else when you can enjoy delicious Peach Cobbler - without the calories?

The true beauty of Hookah Freak Shisha is the fact that you really taste the flavor that’s listed on the jar – not some warped and watered down version of it. I mean Atomic Fireball starts out hot and spicy and ends with a sweet aftertaste, just like the candy; and Snicker Doodle is honestly the closest thing to homemade cookies you can find; Tropical Explosion tastes exactly like a refreshing summer drink you would have lounging on a beach; and Mint Chocolate is just like diving straight into your favorite bowl of ice cream.

I also love that they come in 100 gram jars – which is about 10 good hookah sessions and I have to have a good variety of shisha on tap at all times. So, the 100g jars give you the best way to stock up on an assortment of flavors, get plenty of smokes out of each jar, and still build up an impressive selection for that night when you need to try out something new and exotic.

So, Hookah Freaks, if you’re feeling freaky and a little bored with the old school flavors and need to experience something new and exciting - Hookah Freak is the perfect fit. Try out a couple of the flavors and I’m sure you’ll be just as hooked as I am.

My recommendations: Mint Chocolate Chip, Ambrosia, Malibu Sunrise, Sexxxy Chocolate, Freak’s Choice.

Happiness Can Give You Blisters

Let me set a scene for you -- A college student sits on the back porch of his apartment with a pair of metal tongs in one hand and a lighter in the other. He stares at a piece of charcoal held in the metal tongs… while his thumb is turning white from the pressure he’s been applying on the lighter’s gas button for a full minute. Beside him lies a wrapper with “Quick-lite” printed across the side.

Ok, that image has to be a bit depressing for avid hookah freaks. Fortunately, there’s a metaphorical Zoloft for the average quick-lite charcoal blues. Akhla Charcoal is the Greek equivalent of a small-scale supernova.

I received my sample pack of Akhla Charcoal and decided to go out onto my back porch to light it, as had become my little ritual. I took my lighter out, shook my hand in preparation for another “quick-lite” session, and held the flame to the small, round black briquette… for about two seconds. The charcoal popped, and an orange trail traveled the length of it and engulfed it. I might have been staring a little too intently, because my face melted a little bit -- yet I still managed to smile as I walked inside.

Of course, that’s just the lighting process. I was even more amazed when I got the coal inside my apartment and onto a bowl of Blueberry Pancakes flavored Hookah Freak Shisha. Apparently most quick-lite coals are made by soaking a normal coal in lighter fluid or something else similar. Before, I had been smoking Gunpowder Berry Pancakes. Suddenly, I was smoking real Blueberry Pancakes. I swear that Aunt Jemima was somewhere off in the background humming a little tune.

So, it lights fast and burns clean… what else can it do? While I smoked I prodded the coal with my metal tongs and it stayed together… charcoal has a tendency to get ashy and fall apart, making your tobacco taste bad by getting down into the bowl. The little chunk of coal went from black to grey and remained solid the entire time. The entire process took about an hour, which was a feat within itself.

I guess this should be summed up… I have a new friend. His (or her?) name is Akhla Charcoal. It burns hot, burns long, burns clean and burns fingers, so don’t play with it without the proper equipment. It will be a permanent addition to my circle of buddies when we’re sitting around, smoking some Shisha, and telling our outlandish stories.

The Four Headed Hookah Bowl

The first time I saw the four headed hookah bowl I thought I was looking at a pot of gold. The bowl is something that I have never seen before and I had to try it out. The four heads are perfectly symmetrical and are the size of medium ceramic bowls, making the perfect bowl setup. It has the look of something odd but is made of ceramic just as the other bowls.

When I arrived at my apartment, I immediately began to setup for my new smoking experience. I could not wait to smoke out of the new four headed bowl. I set up my hookah as I always do and I packed the bowl heads with HookaH-HookaH flavors: Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, and Hazelnut. I covered each individual head with aluminum foil and poked holes in each compartment. Afterwards I set up my smoking area so I could have the best smoking experience. I lit four coals and placed them atop of each bowl head and began to smoke the hookah.

Upon smoking the hookah, my taste buds were filled with the exquisite flavors. It felt as though I had a mouth filled with chocolate covered strawberries with a hint of caramel. My roommate came home from class and was tranquilized by the look of the bowl and delicious smells coming from the hookah; so he began to smoke it with me. The smoke was amazing and we continued to smoke it for about an hour. It was simply amazing how the flavors come together in the bowl and give me a rush of satisfaction. I would highly recommend that any one who comes across the four headed hookah bowl on the website gets one. The experience is like no other.

Sub-Zero Vase Blog

Nowadays it is difficult to decide on the type of hookah to fit your style. Every part of the hookah can be interchanged and replaced with what seems like hundreds of choices - from the unique dish vases to the traditional bell vases, from the smallest 9 inch Widow to the huge 5 foot Harem. Deciding on a hookah is like getting a tattoo; you want something that looks great and you will always want to show off, but still be unique and different from the guy’s next door. There are so many different choices it seems, to set my hookah apart from the rest. From the type of vase, the color and type of the hoses, the type of stem, to the kind of bowl that goes on top, all these parts must intermingle to make my hookah stand out from everyone else’s hookah out there.


For me, I feel the hookah vase is what truly sets a hookah apart. After thinking of how to make my shisha pipe different from yours and scanning what seems to be dozens of websites, I finally came across the perfect vase on HookaH-HookaH.com – the Sahara Sub-Zero Vase.


Take one look at this vase and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Not only are these vases a cool combination of blue and white, but they offer the style and uniqueness I’ve been searching for. The Sub-Zero vase is a large dish vase with heavenly white and blue zigzagging lines, spiraling down from the neck, spreading out as they make their way down the vase and guaranteed never to have the exact design as the next Sub-Zero vase - giving it an awesome exotic look that everyone will be in awe of.
Looking at other vases offered by other sites, I have come to realize HookaH-HookaH.com has just what you want to customize YOUR hookah. You can choose from any vase, any stem, any hose, and any type of bowl offered on their site. Once I looked through their large inventory of hookah parts, I finally was able to decide on the perfect combination to make my hookah a TRUE one of a kind hookah.


I chose the awesome Sahara Sub-Zero Vase, the artful and beautiful 3-hose Persian stem (since your able to make it a 3 or 4 hose stem with a metal adapter), blue synthetic leather hoses, a blue striped double pyrex bowl, and a stylish wind cover… and let me tell you, it is one of the best purchases I have made in a while. It looks awesome. I feel the price for this kind of quality was a steal. I got exactly what I wanted and was surprised with three of my favorite flavored shots, a hookah bag, cleaning brushes, and a roll of that Akhla Charcoal that everyone is talking about - FREE.

HookaH-HookaH’s new flavor lock packaging ROCKS!

As the hookah culture gains popularity here in the U.S, I can’t help but notice how much the industry has progressed over the past five years. Take one look at the new HookaH-HookaH flavor lock packaging and reflect back on your first hookah experience. If it was anything like mine, you were probably smoking a traditional Middle Eastern hookah, and some sort of molasses that was wrapped in wax paper, and stuffed into a cardboard box. Sound familiar?

Don’t worry fellow hookah lovers, those days are over. Thanks to our friendly neighborhood shisha manufacturers, HookaH-HookaH Tobacco, we can now enjoy the advantages of modernized packaging in a traditional industry. Gone are the days of checking the mail only to find your charcoal, accessories, and shisha completely covered in a sticky red mess. New HookaH-HookaH flavor lock packaging not only looks cool, but is also reusable (let’s not forget those three important words “reduce, reuse, recycle”) and possesses an industry first, the tamper evident seal! Now you can enjoy all of HookaH-HookaH's 35 flavors in durable, compact packaging that provides you with the comfort of a fresh, sealed product.

From the moment that I first heard of this modern shisha phenomenon, I knew I had to try it. Fortunately I live in close proximity to a registered HookaH-HookaH retailer so it was not difficult to get my hands on a beautiful new 500g Carton of my most favorite and delicious Acai Berry. That is when I noticed that not only were the individual 50g jars redesigned, but the overall carton design has changed. No more of that excess plastic use. (Global Warming) The new design is made entirely from recycled cardboard and looks much better than its plastic counterpart. Once I had purchased the carton I inspected one of the individual jars, finding it to be refreshingly different. Then I peeled back the foil seal and was hit with a rush of sensation towards my nostrils. The shisha inside was moist, flavorful, and fresh.

The shisha market has lacked a packaging standard from day one. I think that this new “flavor lock” is the way to go. The ease and cleanliness of these new products is enough of an improvement. Couple that with the advantages of the foil seal and I think that the only thing these guys forgot is the “born-on-date” and I’m sure that is not far away.

The Entrancing Hookah

So what is it about smoking hookahs that is so incredibly intoxicating? This is what I was trying to figure out as I lay in bed last night and tried to figure out which flavor or flavors I was going to treat myself to. There is just a certain something about hookahs that is inherently beautiful. I couldn’t put my finger on what this was exactly, but it’s that special quirk about them that made me fall in love with hookahs in the beginning. And as I remembered my first smoking experience, I tried to figure out what this unique quality was.
When I first heard of a hookah, I was with a couple of my friends and they suggested we go up to one of the local hookah bars late one night. They were certain that I would like it, assuring me that it would be something different from anything I had done before. I was more than excited and intrigued as we walked in and were welcomed by the sweet smell of strawberry, cherry, orange, and peach that I would soon learn to be the wonderful smell of flavored shisha.
As we sat down at our table, I looked around and realized that this was the kind of place that I could see myself spending a lot of time. Everything about it said “Welcome!” I loved the atmosphere that the bar created. The bold colors, the stunning hookahs, the soothing music, it all was amazing. I had never seen a place so warm and inviting, and I knew this place would become an oasis in my hectic life.
We picked up the menu, and to my surprise, there was close to 15 flavors to pick from with the option of mixing your own flavor. The flavors included everything I could have wanted. Watermelon, Double Apple, Butterscotch, Spearmint, and Hazelnut were just some of the flavors that we could choose from. After about ten minutes of going back and forth between flavors, we decided on Peach mixed with Strawberry. I knew that it would taste good just by judging from the aroma of the bar, but I never could have expected the satisfaction I would get from the sweetly flavored shisha.
After we ordered, I took a second and sat back with my friends as we felt completely at home in this comforting environment. Before I knew it our hookah had arrived and we began to smoke. As I smoked the hookah for the first time, all I could really think about was how good the shisha tasted and how relaxed I truly was.
Everything seemed to simply melt away as we sat and talked and laughed for over an hour. It was easy to see that we all had found a place that we could always come to for a peaceful and fun night. At the end of our session, I had become enthralled with hookahs, and I knew that I would be an avid hookah smoker for the rest of my life.
So what does this story have to do with the beauty of hookahs? It has everything to do with it actually. The beauties of the hookahs are the stories and experiences that are derived from it. I will always associate hookahs with friends, comfort, and happiness. And when I think about it in that way, there is nothing more beautiful than that. I’ll always cherish the memories that hookahs have brought into my life. That’s why I encourage everyone to go out and make your own hookah story. You can’t help but get caught up in the amazing beauty.

Hooked on Hookah

A few years back, some friends and I were coming home from a show we had caught out of town. It was late, we were hungry, and the only place open was this nasty ol' diner in the middle of town. I had ordered a pizza from there once before and told myself I'd never order from there again when I found a roach cooked into the cheese. But it was late, we were hungry, and everything else was closed.

So we took our seats, drank some coffee, and while waiting on our food (I didn't order the pizza), I noticed a huge brass hookah with a lampshade thrown over the top. The waitress told me it was the Harem and that the establishment was also a hookah bar. She then asked if my friends and I would like to smoke some hookah. I had never tried it before but always wanted to. So we told her to "Hookah us up!"

The flavor was HookaH-HookaH's Keylime Pie, and the hookah we smoked out of was a Sahara Traditional piece. It was SO good, like smoking a slice of delicious home-made pie, if you know, you could smoke pie. We totally forgot about the ghettofied food, and talked for nearly an hour till the hookah was cashed. I've been hooked ever since.

A few months later, I got my own hookah. It's a one-hose sky blue Sahara Vase Bubble, and OH EM GEE, it's SO CUTE!!! I usually smoke it when friends are over and hanging out or when I'm alone by myself watching a movie. One bowl can last about an hour, and it's perfect when I'm watching the OC!

My First Hookah Experience

I was first introduced to Hookahs when I came to college. One of my buddies had bought a Hookah, but I never was interested in smoking it because I thought the flavored shisha idea was stupid. Man was I fooling myself! The first time I actually smoked a Hookah was in my dorm with my new roommate. We filled the vase with ice and water and smoked strawberry shisha until we couldn’t smoke anymore. I remember the smoke being so much smoother than a cigarette and so tasty, it almost blew my mind. I never thought there could be such a smooth “hit” of smoke. From that point on I was hooked on Hookahs. Ever since then I have smoked a Hookah at least once a day, trying every flavor I can get my hands on. My friends and I trade jars of flavors with each other, which enables us to try each flavor without having to buy a lot at once or having to smoke the same flavor until the jar is empty. There are so many good flavors, and still so many I need to try. I especially enjoy smoking Hookahs after a long day of school and work the most because the smoke really calms me down. Sitting around in a large group, passing hoses makes life a little more enjoyable. Everyone is more relaxed, free from stressors of the day, enjoying each others company around a Hookah. What can I say, Hookahs make the day!

Hookah Obsession

As my favorite pass-time and current profession, I guess one could attribute much of my current obsession to one night out with friends at the beginning of my freshman year. When I was getting dressed that evening, I was unaware that the coming events would so directly affect my future.

I walked to my neighbor’s house to find everyone waiting on me to eat. We piled in a caravan of ten and rode to a tiny diner I had never noticed before on the other side of town. We were welcomed by warm smiles and the most alluring scent of apples and berries. The polite hostess showed us to a long table with two strikingly painted vase contraptions. I couldn’t take my eyes off the vases that I soon learned to be called hookahs. Both of the stunning vases were shaped like a bottle and had the most indescribable mosaics hand-painted across the glass. I got some surprised looks, however, when I mentioned I had never smoked a hookah before, they were extremely patient when giving me a “Hookah 101” crash course.

After learning the few tricks I needed under my belt, we ordered from a menu of over 15 flavors! When just a few minutes had passed, they already had the hookahs lit and going. Someone finally passed me a hose, and surprisingly the strawberry-cola mixture wasn’t at all harsh like a cigarette. In fact, it was like nothing I could have ever expected. With every sensual hit my interest spiked and this odd, euphoric feeling washed over my body. Several pieces of charcoal, 2 bowls of sheesha, and two hours later my love for hookahs was secured. With the great company I had with me, I should have known time would fly. By the end of the evening, I knew everything I could have ever wanted to know about the group I came with. Now, every time I hear the bubble of a beloved shisha pipe, it brings me back to the conversations from this night.

-Meg

How I became a Hookah Freak

I guess it all started about 4 years ago when I moved into a new house. I was lucky that I picked this particular house because the neighbors were some of the nicest people I have ever met. Only after about two days they invited me to come to a barbecue at their house. When I walked in I was surprised by a sweet aroma in the air and soothing intoxicating music playing in the background. Everyone was sitting in a circle around something that caught my attention as soon as I gazed upon it, and they were all talking about things that most people of our generation are too scared to talk about. I knew I was home.

When I was asked, “Do You Hookah?”, I didn’t quite know how to respond. I could only say what most people say, “What is Hookah?” Little did I know my life was about to be forever changed by a word and a tradition I had never heard of.

I have always prided myself on the fact that I knew a little about everything, so how was it possible that I had never heard of this thing called “hookah”? At first, I thought the word was made up and I was part of some elaborate joke… especially when I heard the other names for it: shisha, narghile, hubble-bubble, argeela, ghalyoun and hugga. Apparently, these are just a few of its names.

Now I know what a hookah is.

I quickly learned that the hookah has been around for over 600 years and is used by numerous cultures. Hookah is a glass water pipe used to smoke flavored shisha. That’s the easiest way to explain it but no where near describes it’s many definitions. After I was educated about the hookah, I got to smoke it for the very first time with soon to be long time friends. The first flavor I ever smoked was lemon and from the very first puff I was in love. I wanted to try every shisha flavor there was (and it turns out there are at least over 75 different flavors in a variety of brands). I have yet to try every shisha flavor, but I’m well on my way.

Within the next couple weeks of smoking hookah I bought my very first hooka - a large rotating 2-hose Egyptian hookah and a variety of assorted 50g packs. I still have it today, though I don’t use it as much as I use to (only because I now own 6 hookahs!) Yeah, I’m a hookah freak – I love hookahs, I collect hookahs. (As I’m typing I’m smoking my new favorite blend, Vanilla Mojito.)

The best thing about the hookah is that the possibilities are endless. There are so many different types of hookahs: small, medium, or large; Egyptian, Persian, or Modern. There are 1, 2, 3 or 4-hosed hookahs and I’ve even seen some with as many as 8! The vases come in all sorts of shapes like the classic round, the modern bottle and even a wide based dish vase. Don’t even get me started on the colors and designs of the vases! There are so many to choose from… I guess that’s how I ended up owning so many hookahs.

With all these options available, hookahs have really become an expression of your personality - so if you are in the market, I suggest customizing your own hookah. Are you traditional? Do you have a flair for all things modern? Do you prefer exotic things? By customizing your narghile - you can pick any kind of hose you want (velvet, synthetic leather, or cobra hoses) to accommodate your personal tastes. But the possibilities don’t end there. You can get ceramic bowls, stainless steel bowls, and (my personal favorite) pyrex bowls. You can use metal charcoal screens, plastic mouthpieces and hookah filters (for those who want to cut down on the 0.5% nicotine in the shisha). You can even buy a metal wind cover so you can enjoy the weather outside without the wind blowing the charcoal off the bowl. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the charcoal! Did you know that charcoal is not just used for cooking steaks or hamburgers? There are special self lighting charcoals that are made just for hookah. The coal sits on top of the screen and heats the tobacco without actually touching it. If you don’t believe me, you just have to see for yourself.

Smoking hookah is the best social experience you can have with your friends or even people you’ve just met. It relaxes the mood especially when you’re having deep passionate discussions on politics, religion or global issues.

If you’re still skeptical about buying your very own hookah then I suggest taking a group of your friends to a hookah lounge. You will soon be surprised how much fun you will have. And, if you’re like me you will probably fall in love with the hookah your very first time. And then you too will be a Hookah freak!

-Hookah Man

The Art Of Hookah

This exotic cultural item has a long and rich history. Originating in India or Persia as a coconut shell with a straw sticking out of it, the hookah migrated its way throughout the Middle East, where each new group that it encountered customized its fashion and style -first with a metal stem, then with colorful painted glass, then with flexible decorative hoses. Even today the hookah continues to evolve with new vase shapes, styles, and colors (Have you seen the new Sahara Hookah designs?), although not always for the better (ugh, acrylic vases…).

Hookahs really are objects of beauty. With subtle feminine curves and organic shapes, the hookah is art. Traditionally, most hookahs are hand crafted – the stem cast, plated and engraved by hand, the vase blown and hand-painted, the hoses painstakingly wrapped with velvets, leathers, foils, and embellishments. You’ll find these types of pipes available in exotic Middle Eastern markets as well as all over the web. More modern styles are also becoming more readily available and encompass everything from acrylic bee-hive shapes to truly unique styles and colors of glass with intricate patterns.

You’ll also find hookahs in art, which to me absolutely proves that hookahs are worthy the art status. It was customary for aristocrats to have their hookah in commissioned portraits (be sure to visit Hookahs in Art to view some of these exotic paintings.)

In addition to the beauty of the hookah itself, the act of hookah-ing is a bit of an art form as well. I’ve been smoking hookah for a long time now - prior to the hookah boom when hookah replacement parts became readily available - so I can look back nostalgically at those days past correcting my hookah air flow with electrical tape and using barbecue charcoals for heat. Those days are gone and we are now able to find everything from rubber grommets and nicotine filters to replacement vases, hoses, and stems. Even with all of these conveniences, you still must have a measure of patience when setting up your hookah - the water level has to be just right and all of the pieces must fit together to create the optimum airflow and the shisha must be distributed evenly, and the foil needs to perforated, but not too much… well, you get the idea.

Thankfully the social nature of the hookah has yet to change and continues to thrive despite new stringent smoking ordinances. It is still and - I hope - will always be a social event. It’s a chance to sit down and relax for 45 minutes, which if you’re anything like me, is something you rarely get to do. It’s an opportunity to chat with friends - whether it’s about politics, religion, work, or just plain old gossip. It’s a way to unwind and take a deep breath – preferably of Double Apple, Rose, Lemonade, Butterscotch, oh the possibilities…
Written By: Hookah Queen