What Makes The Hookah Such A Unique Experience?

by Mohit J. White Hat Link Building Services

Older viewers often associate the hookah with scenes from adventure films, men sitting around a dimly-led exotic location idly puffing on the is, or maybe they think of the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland and his neat little trick of making smoke rings shaped like letters.

Either way, aside from their brief time in the spotlight during the hippie counterculture era, until recently, that’s all these have been. Exotic curiosities a few people might have, otherwise only seen in trendy lounges.

However, the growing discontent with cigarettes in their increased unhealthiness has caused many a smoker to seek out other ways to enjoy the nicotine. Vaping isn’t for everyone, and the health risks associated with it having not yet been assessed. Others are turning to pipes, while others have rediscovered the unique experience that is the hookah.

What is a hookah?

A hookah is a device containing a vase at the bottom, with a series of mouthpieces connected to said vase. There may be one piece, there may be many, and some are capable of being configured in a modular fashion for this. A top this vase is a plate, wherein charcoal and a special type of tobacco called shisha are placed.

The charcoal is what actually directly burns, and as it does, it slowly roasts/vaporizes/burns this special type of tobacco. This produces a moister, thicker smoke which is then drawn down into the chamber, and then distributed to the smokers at a leisurely pace.

What is shisha?

This special type of tobacco is probably unique compared any other you’ve encountered. If you live in the Western world, you’ve probably encountered cigarette and pipe tobacco primarily. Cigarette tobacco is considerably dry to the touch, as is most pipe tobacco. While some pipe tobaccos are considerably more moist, none of them are as moist as shisha, which is sticky, resinous and wet to the touch.

It is generally flavored, and there are some flavors considered traditional to the Middle East, such as lemon, pomegranate and certain types of mint. You won’t find tobacco for these devices produced by Western tobacco companies you’re familiar with. Contrarily, companies like Dschinni Shisha are a whole ecosystem competing in this market.

In bigger cities, you may find shops that sell Dschinni Shisha or other brands, but at least in the United States, it tends to be more scarce. You may have to order it online, fortunately most of these companies as well as smoking resellers make it readily available at reasonable prices.

Not unlike the vaping industry, with the hookah becoming a multi-cultural phenomenon now, there’s no such thing as a flavors it doesn’t exist, so you are bound to find something that you really enjoy, even if the traditional Arabic flavors aren’t your vibe.

Do bear in mind, this thing does still produce some amount of secondhand smoke, so use of this device in areas that don’t allow smoking is still going to be prohibited. You shouldn’t smoke this around your animals, or around children, and it is of course not a safe alternative to cigarettes. However, it is certainly less unhealthy than cigarettes given all of the additional crud put into cigarette tobacco. Shisha is pure aside from the flavoring infused into it.