Category: What’s an “Abu Ali” story?

You know you have a problem.
Sitting at the home of a friend, he’s almost finished preparing the hookah set up. Clay bowl is full, foil and holes made, now you are taking your first puff, your second …..
(“WHAT flavour is this I’m smoking”?, you ask yourself).
So you make out a mental check list.”Do I have a cold, a stuffed nose?” (no). “Maybe this is Zagloul shisha from Nakhla, the non-flavoured only tobacco and glycerine flavour without honey-(mu’assel ) and flavourings added? ” you imagine?
“So Abu James, enough with the suprises already. WHAT flavour did you put on?”
“You mean you can’t tell?” answers James.
“Not really”.
“Well, this is the cherry flavour of “TEEZ AL-KALB” brand company ” says your host.
(I will tell you about their shisha at the end of the post…..)

So what is the whole problem anyways? Not all of hookah is just smoking and enjoying your session only. The set up of the hookah, keeping it clean, in good working shape, ordering new appliances, shisha tobacco learning more and more about hookah, its history, tips on smoking what to do or not are so very important to the pleasure of the hookah experience.
Isn’t it strange that in this very hi-tech age we live in the best made hookahs ever are comming out all the time. You have only to go online to see thousands of hookahs in all sizes, shapes and brands with designs never made before but so available to us all.
.From China in the last few years has come a lot of technically well made hokahs with no air gaps, better made parts and gaskets that fit perfectly or screw-on types of never before made waterpipes. Even these are sold well in the Middle-Eastern countries.
India makers of narghile like “UnivacGroup” manufacture beautiful lines of hookahs.
Take a look at the many thousands of different designed water bowls. Some with smoked colored glass and filigree steel added on patterns that are burnished to a real silver-like touch of class.
Who could buy these but the very rich who asked special articians of the time to make them by hand? Now you may get them online.
With the online advent of hookah, the competion between companies and brands is huge, so more types of hookahs for every pocket and means are available.What price you decide to pay for your investment is the main concern.
What kind of aestethics for the hookah? Buy a bowl with glass, or cut glass? Of acrylic material or quartz? Of gold colored steel or real gold.
Notice there are from every company the “Premium” hookahs, “Premium ” tobacco etc.
With better science the coals from Europe, China, America, India and Japan etc have given us the “quick-lighting” coals, better tasting, less bad taste or none at all.Hopefully less dangerous is one of their aims and a class of charcoal company competition.
The different brands of shisha tobacco are huge. In the “olden times” for sure there were home made shishas to be bought in any market place, with the best brands sold to the Pashas,Kings,Princes of each realm along with richer people.
Today ,really only the price you are willing to pay and the brand you choose is up to you.
Going on the internet, you can find the most exotic brands of shisha if you want to pay the price from India,Arab countries, and in the last few years from America utilizing the cultured Virginia tobaccos from the 1600’s.
All the shisha tobacco brand companies are using chemistry to make the same basic mix for sheesha which is glycerine,honey,tobacco and flavourings. In the recent past each company has added many new not -before available flavours making them from trial and error with the “right” ammount of flavourings to give it the great taste, but not to overpower your senses.
So here we are with that “Problem” you have at the home of Abu James. You still haven’t figured out if this cherry flavoured sheesha of the “TEEZ AL-KALB” company tobacco brand is just a “weak sister” or if the charcoals are stale and killed the taste.
Maybe Abu James hasn’t cleaned his hookah well, or at all, or the water has been in too long and effects the taste.
If you really want to know, you must go to someone from the Arab countries to ask. It can’t be ANY Arab.
If you go to an Arab who does not order sheesha online or doesn’t smoke and say
“What is Al-Amir” brand? He will ask you “In accordance with WHAT?” “Amir” can be “His Highness” or “Prince” etc.

Can you tell me what” Saet-Safa brand ” means? He or she will think you are on drugs!
SAET means “an hour with”
SAFA can be a girl’s name, or the name of an order of religious Moslem sect as are the “Bretheren of Purity” from Iraqi origin. SAFA means PURITY so it means “An Hour with Purity”.
Nice name for a brand of shisha. Nice name for an opium den in Shainghai,China of the British colonial Mandate times.
The girl’s name in America similar to Arabic name SAFA (Pure)is “Chastity”.
Don’t go to her house an ask her father “Can I have an hour with Chastity”. He will maul you like a grizzly bear!
So be careful, you want to find out the name of this brand of shisha smoke, ask only an Arab speaker with a good sense of humour!
Now I am going into my stash of quicly dwindling sheesha to pull out some SAET-SAFA and have “an Hour of Pleasure”.

http://www.smoking-hookah.com/Products/Shisha/Saet-Safa-Premium-Tobacco-100gr.asp
Hookah 1