Become a Hookah Pro in 5 Easy Steps

Most beginners quickly find that recreating the shisha lounge experience at home with a hookah is easier said than done. Like the exquisite coffees at your favorite cafe, smoking a shisha at a hookah parlor is often more delightful and memorable. You may, however, employ a few tips and methods to smoke like an expert with a low-cost hookah at home. Here are the details.

1. Before each session, clean and purge your hookah.

Always use a clean hookah to smoke. After each session, you should clean your hookah. If you plan to smoke a few rounds, clean the hookah afterward. If you dislike cleaning the hookah after unwinding, do so as quickly as possible. Never re-use a dirty or unclean hookah.
The flavor, texture, and odor of your smoke will be altered by a filthy hookah. As a result, you will be unable to create the perfect shisha lounge experience. Similarly, before each session, properly purge your hookah. Purging allows the trapped air inside the hookah pieces to escape.
Set up your hookah, purge it to test the airflow, then fill the bowl. Then, once you see the smoke becoming slightly choky, purge the hookah once more. The flavor, texture, and odor of your shisha tobaccos will be altered if stale air accumulates inside the hookah. You can also counteract the negative air pressure that occurs when the hookah parts are tightly assembled.

2. Fill the base with water and cover it with ice.

Some people explore with media other than water. It is not essential to use anything other than simple water as a hookah base. Nothing helps authentic flavors like water. It is also dangerous to experiment with any acidic media, such as cola or milk. Never use spirits or alcohol as a base medium. However, ice can be used to make the smoke smoother.
Many people fill the base with ice. Some fans solely use ice instead of water. Neither is the best method. Water inside the base with some ice outside is the most efficient combo. You can use a bucket, fill the bottom with water, add some ice around it, and start smoking. If you sprinkle salt on the ice, it will not melt as quickly as you may assume.

3. Fill the bowl halfway with Shisha tobacco.

Shisha tobacco must be packed gently in order for the heat to pass through evenly and thoroughly. Otherwise, parts of your shisha tobacco would be too hot, while others may be too cold to give flavor and texture to your smoke.
Fill no hookah bowl all the way to the top. Always allow some room between the aluminum foil and your shisha tobacco’s top layer. This restriction applies to heat management equipment as well. Through the foil or the heat management device, the shisha tobacco should not come into contact with the heat source or the charcoal bits. Furthermore, some air is required inside the bowl for convection.

4. Always use natural charcoal that is hot and burning.

Instead of quick-light charcoal, use natural charcoal. With the same shisha tobacco, the flavor and texture will be vastly different. Also, wait until the natural charcoal chunks are hot, not just red or orange. Lighting the charcoal is insufficient.
Natural charcoal takes some time to light and burn. If you want to enjoy every session, you must invest this time and effort. Wait until the charcoal is fully lit and burning hot. These pieces will turn a vivid crimson or orange. If there is any ash on the surface, remove it with the hookah tray before placing the charcoal pieces on the bowl.
The heat required for the shisha tobacco to warm up fast will not be provided by partially lit and burning charcoal. There will also be hot and cold places inside your hookah bowl. As a result, the smoke output will be poor or inconsistent. The use of hot charcoal enables even heating.

5. Mix Shisha Tobacco Flavors for unique recipes

You, like all professionals, will explore combining two or more shisha tobacco tastes at some point. You should choose and combine flavors like a home chef, just like you would create a good cuisine that includes sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or savory elements. The crucial word here is balance. Otherwise, you’ll notice one flavor overwhelming or effectively neutralizing all others in the combination.