Foil
The thickness of foil used and hole patterns can make or break a session. Most recommend using heavy duty foil or two layers of regular foil. Heavy duty foil is not necessarily needed in my experiences, though it does make heat management much easier, especially with tobaccos that require low heat to smoke properly. For the most part it comes down to personal preference and skill level
Hole Patterns And Hole Sizes
Hole patterns and hole size plays an important role in heat management. As a general rule of thumb for hole size is to use larger holes for tobacco that requires larger amounts of heat and smaller holes for low heat tobaccos. The most commonly used hole patterns are the three rings pattern and the star pattern. The star pattern is what I generally use for standard bowls, where as the three rings pattern is recommended for phunnel and vortex bowls.
Base Liquids
There are a great amount of hookah smokers that use liquids other than water in their base to supposedly enhance the flavor. In my opinion if you need to enhance the flavor of a tobacco, then it may be time to pick up some different tobacco. Water is always the best liquid to use in your hookah, you will taste the tobacco and only the tobacco. Other liquids may be harder to clean out of and may leave behind residue. My recommendation is to use only water, but the choice is up to you what you decide to put in your hookahs base.
Bowl Packing Methods
Below is a list of common tobaccos and the proper or best way to pack them to get the most flavor and an even burn. Dense pack refers to packing the tobacco tightly in the bowl, in most cases you will have to poke holes through the tobacco to ensure that there is the proper amount of airflow. Fluff pack refers to sprinkling the tobacco into the bowl as lightly as possible. Medium dense is the term I use to refer to a cross between the two packing methods, sprinkling in the tobacco and tamping down slightly will result in a medium dense pack. The term overpack refers to heaping the tobacco above the rim of the bowl and using the foil to pull the tobacco level with the rim of the bowl. Recommended bowl will also be listed below, along with recommended amount of coals.
Traditional Tobaccos
Tobacco Mod Vortex Phunnel Glass Phunnel Egyptian Ajami
| Desi Murli | N/A | 9 | 6.5 | 7 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| Afzal | N/A | 8 | N/A | N/A | 8.5 | N/A |
| Saloum | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 9 | 9 |
| Nakhla | 6 | 7.5 | 8 | 6.5 | 9 | 9 |
| Jurak | N/A | N/A | N/A | 4 | 8 | 9.5 |
| Tombac | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8.5 | 9 |
Modern Tobaccos
Tobacco Mod Vortex Phunnel Glass Phunnel Egyptian Ajami
| Al Fakher** | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8.5 | 7.5 | N/A |
| Tangiers Noir | N/A | N/A | 9 | 8.5 | 6.5 | N/A |
| Social Smoke* | 6 | N/A | N/A | 9 | 7 | N/A |
| Fantasia | 6 | N/A | N/A | 8 | 7 | N/A |
| Layalina | 6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7 | N/A |
*Substitute for Tangiers Lucid.
** Substitute for Starbuzz.
Packing Methods
How you pack your tobacco can make or break a session. So for those of you that don't have much experience with packing tobacco or need help with something new I have outlined the methods that work best for me.
Traditional Tobaccos
Tobacco Pack Overpack Success Heat (Med Egy)
| Desi Murli | Medium Dense | 6.5 | 2 Coals |
| Afzal | Medium Dense | 8 | 2 Coals |
| Saloum | Dense | 8 | 2 Coals |
| Nakhla | Medium Dense | 9.5 | 2 Coals |
| Jurak | Fluffy | 9 | 3-4 Coals |
| Tombac | N/A | N/A | 3-5 Coals |
Modern Tobaccos
Tobacco Pack Overpack Success Heat (Med Egy)
| Al Fakher | Fluffy | 0 | 2 Coals |
| Tangiers Noir | Dense | 4 | 2 Coals |
| Tangiers Lucid | Dense | 4 | 2 Coals |
| Social Smoke | Fluffy | 0 | 2 Coals |
| Fantasia | Fluffy | 0 | 2 Coals |
| Layalina | Fluffy | 0 | 2 Coals |
