I don’t spend a whole lot of time doing research on this topic because I am much more effective when I experiment on my own to find the answer.  So here are my top tips for creating a premium smoking experience by altering how you set up your bowl.

1. Cut your foil some slack.  It’s all too easy to take the foil and pull it tightly over the bowl to make a flat surface for your coal to rest on.  I recommend placing the foil on top of the bowl and then pushing the sides down around the bowl lightly.  Then shift the foil up a quarter of an inch or so and then tighten the excess foil around the base of the bowl.  This allows for there to be a little air chamber in between your coal and the shisha.  This allows the tobacco to burn more slowly and smoothly but be careful because too much of a chamber will make the smoke too light for most seasoned hookah smokers.  Adjust to fit your needs.
   • Aditionally I find it nice to try and make the surface of the foil very “rocky” in that the coal can sit up on the peaks of the foil.  This makes the coal burn evenly by allowing airflow around it, it also helps to keep your shisha from burning, and the ash lands in the “valleys” allowing for the coal to continue burning strong until it goes out.
2. Holes:  size does matter. If you use foil for covering the bowl and providing a platform for your coal you may or may not know just how much the size of those hole really matter to the quality of the burn.  I learned very quickly that as little as 4-5 big holes can take a perfectly good bowl and turn it into a harsh smoky exhaust.  Especially if you use round quick-lite coals which have a little bit of a residual lighter fluid taste this can really have a negative impact for you and your guests, especially if it’s their first time smoking.  The best method I have found is to take a push pin and push it in just enough so that it puncures the foil.   I cant stress this enough, make the holes as small as you possibly can and make many of them as opposed to a few large holes.  I have found this is the most influential factor in creating a smoother more enjoyable smoke flavor and texture without sacrificing thickness.
3. Mix it up a bit. After you have covered your bowl and poked a ton of tiny little holes in your foil, the last thing to do before “lock and load” is to place the bottom of the bowl up to your mouth and blow a short burst of air through it.  This loosens up the shisha that you may have already packed too tightly.  And if you followed step one now you have an extra little chamber for your shisha to pile lightly on top of itself.  This makes for a very easy flow of air through the hookah and a more even burn.  Make sure that you do this over a sink or outside because sometimes you’ll get shisha juice all over the place if your holes are too big or your shisha is very wet.

These tactics work especially well if you have a small bowl for your hookah.  Larger bowls have less trouble with creating an even burn if packed correctly.  Do you have more tips?  I’d love to hear them in the comment for this article.

We have just released a beta version our brand spankin new hookah bar, lounge and cafe directory.  We’ve created it in such a way that it encourages reviews from YOU and the more you review the better it will serve YOU.

Here are some of the great features you can expect the directory:

• It’s powered by Google Maps so you know it’s easy to use and powerful
• We currently have a database of more than 500 hookah bars which is growing all the time.  We are still verifying locations so some listings may not be up to date but don’t worry we’re fixing that as you read this.
• User submitted locations: If we are missing a location you can submit it right to the site so that the directory contains the latest reliable info for you.
• User reviews and star ratings: each hookah bar has its own profile page that contains information about the location as well as comments and reviews submitted by none other than you.  Give some love to your favorite spots in your hometown.
• Worldwide support:  Locations come from all over the world so you know where to go when you travel abroad.

We hope you enjoy our brand spankin new directory and please give us ample feedback on your thoughts, concerns, criticism and praise.

Enjoy!

There are a slew of issues that arise when trying to perfect this method.  If there is too much milk it will naturally bubble up into the chamber and the hose in a fashion identical to the way that you used to blow bubbles in your chocolate milk.  Your mom surely would not approve.

If you choose to ignore this and continue, business as usual, you will end up with milk embedded in your hose.  Milk embedded in your hose heated by fresh shisha smoke will turn to cheese.  As good as cheese is, hookah hose cheese is AWFUL.  Not only that but if you forget to clean your base after use, you will have an equally nasty surprise when you go to clean for your next use.

Murky Experimentation

I experimented with this issue to try and find just how to get the desired result:

We filled our hookah 1/4 of the way full with whole milk and the rest with water to make sure to dilute the mixture fully.  Little did I know that dilution is a relative term.  Instead of lighting up and commencing sesh, we first tried pulling a few times to see how the water/milk mixture reacted.  As expected the milk bubbled immediately into the chamber and up into our hose.

We then tried diluting it even further with maybe 1/8 milk and the rest water.  Still.  Same result.

This is where I made a mistake in preperation for this article.  Instead of starting fresh on the last trial I poured out about half the mixture and then filled the rest with water.  So If my math is correct that would ideally be 1/16 milk…  We had finally gotten to a point where the bubbles were tame and wouldn’t rise up and into the hose.  Don’t get me wrong it was still very bubbly but it was diluted enough that they wouldn’t rise if you didn’t pull too hard.

The Sesh

So now we have our semi-bubbly-murky-milky-water-mixture and some mint flavored shisha.  There was a slight difference in the way that the hookah pulled.  It wasn’t “WOW what a smoke” but it did cause a bit of the harshness of the smoke to dissipate.  It felt a little cooler which I believe was probably an false perception to the smoke being a little less harsh.

We smoked for about an hour and felt satisfied with our findings.  It was a lot of work trying to find just the right combination and I think it’s something that still needs to be perfected.  It seems to me like it’s a little more of a psychological thing than anything else but to add a few tablespoons of milk and experiment wont hurt the experience by any means.

So What did We Learn?

Through talking to my worldly hookah pro, we’ll call her “peenk,” we came up with a few things that are important to consider about the whole hookah milk debate.  I hope you’ll use these when making your own decisions because I know I haven’t really come to a firm one on my own.

1. The ration of water to milk was so ridiculous in our trials and in other trials I have read about that I doubt the milk is having the optimal effect on the smoke that it could be.  I am not saying that it has no effect but it is not having the effect it potentially could be.  If you could find a way to fill your glass with milk entirely without having it bubble up I imagine this would be a very different experience.
2. Milk has much more to it than water.  Milk is made up of water, fats, sugars and inorganic salts.  Milk has a much higer absorbative quality than water does and when mixed with other substances, including smoke, will absorb the odors and qualities of those substances.  This would lead me to believe that in fact that hookah smoke would end up thinner after passing through milk.
3. Cow milk and goats milk are entirely different things.  While Peenk was in Armenia she had an incredible experience with a milk hookah that was made from goats milk, which is much more prevalent in the middle east.  It makes me wonder if this is where the whole debate arose from given that hookah originated from that part of the world.  It wouldnt surprise me if centuries have gone by and Americans just screwed up the recipe because of our own assumptions.

I am interested to hear if anyone else has tried it with goats milk.  I’ve also heard promising things about coconut milk.  Please, enlighten us.

You can find almost any type of place you want to have a session.  Whether you prefer a more cultural feeling with less of a “done-up” style or a classy restaurant where you can enjoy drink service alongside your shisha, you can find it in the DMV.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to stop by Chi Cha Lounge on U Street.  Chi Cha is one of those club/lounge/hookah bar hybrids.  They have a full menu of mostly Spanish fare and full bar to accompany their decent shisha selection.  The hookah is a bit on the pricey side for the area ($18) but price reflects the premium atmosphere they promote.

The furniture and seating arrangement really adds a great aspect to the whole experience.  In the main bar area you’ll find very low comfy ottomans breaking up the large open floor in front of the bar.   A corridor wrapping around the perimeter of this main area has wall to wall velvet benches with tables staggered for smokers that want a more private feel.  Some would call it cramped, I call it cozy.

Probably the biggest surprise about the whole evening was the sheer number of people that flooded the bar just after 11pm.  Granted it was a beautiful night in a city that hasnt seen one like it since last fall, but it definitely isnt the scene typical to many DC area hookah bars.  Everyone came dressed to impress and with a great energy.

Even though the mob of people in the main lounge were enjoying a mix of dance and house tunage, the perimeter lounge, where I sat, wasn’t overwhelmed by how loud the music was.  It wasnt difficult conversing with company and it was nice to know that there was a party going on in the next room.  Again, not your typical hookah bar.

My only complaint lies in how our hookah was prepared.  I believe both of the bowls we ordered through the night were a little over packed causing the shisha to burn harshly.  I usually don’t mind too much and enjoy a little extra edge every now and again but my company did not appreciate it.

I know I’ll be back to Chi Cha.  It has a lot to offer and this time I’ll probably go check out the food.  It’s what I imagine is an urban hookah smoker’s delight.  It allows you to go out for an evening with friends who don’t like to smoke and still have a good time at the same place.  Chi Cha may be the pioneer of the up and coming DC hookah scene,  definitely check it out this spring and summer.

Chi Cha Lounge
1624 U Street, NW
Washington DC 20009 (map)
(202) 234-8400‎
http://www.latinconcepts.com/chi-cha

I like this product for 3 reasons:

1. Without being too cliche and using current popular culture buzzwords, this is an environmentally friendly way to smoke hookah.  With this product you’re actually recycling your old jugs of moonshine and bottles of Jack Daniels for use as your very own tacky but “green” hookah water pipe.  Leave it to us Americans to take the culture out of the hookah.
2. I like the idea of being able to customize my hookah with whatever bottle I can find.  I would take pride in experimenting with different types of bottle shapes and bottle sizes.  It allows you to fit your hookah to personality or your living room.  I’m really interested to start seeing some pictures of what people have come up with using this product.  Please don’t hesitate to send them to me.
3. I especially like this product because it’s dirt cheap.  It’s less than $15 to get your own Witch Hookah set up.  Thats a great deal especially if you’re new to hookah and dont want to commit to a nice one yet.  Check it out in our Store

I’ve read mixed reviews about how well the product works.  It apparently works better on plastic two liter bottles of soda rather than on glass bottles.  Though I’ve hard any leaks are easily sealed with electrical tape, which maybe ruins the whole point of having your own customizable piece of hookah art.

Another similar product I’ve heard about but its significantly more expensive is the HoboHookah.  In addition to the clever name, it looks promising but it’s less available out there.  HoboHookah does have a Hookah Gangbang video to it’s credit:

I’d love to hear your feedback about how these products work.

The Beta Band Dry the Rain was popularized in the movie High Fidelity:

Rob Gordon: I will now sell five copies of “The Three EPs” by The Beta Band.
Dick: Go for it.
[Rob plays Dry the Rain]
Customer: Who is this?
Rob Gordon: The Beta Band.
Customer: It’s good.
Rob Gordon: I know.

’nuff said.

LCD Soundsystem has a great sound and this song specifically has a very rainy and smooth ease in and ease out.? If you like this track I recommend their other albums they have a very unique sound which is really refreshing without being sounding totally “out there.”? One of my favorite bands and definitely my favorite track from them.

The Gentle Rain is another track remixed by RJD2, who I mentioned last week.? This song is part of a compilation called Verve Remixed which took a bunch of classic Jazz songs and some contemporary electronic artists remixed them.? This song has a much colder feel but it’s still very relevant to right now.? Check out the Verve Remixed series if you liked this one.

See you all next week and Happy April!

Download these tracks at Amazon:

• Beta Band – Dry the Rain
• LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great
• Astrud Gilberto – The Gentle Rain (RJD2 Remix)

Our first track comes from a DJ who goes by Deadmau5. I originally discovered him when he did a remix to one of my favorite Daft Punk songs. I would have posted that one but it’s much more of a unnh-tss unnh-tss unnh-tss at the club as opposed to a puff puff pass in your living room. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.

A lot of you may be familiar with MGMT – Electric Feel as it’s gotten some good air play on the radio. I’m quickly becoming a big fan of this group and they’re lyrics and videos tend to incite a lot of conversation. It has a nice slow but primal feel to it which sits nicely in the background.

Finally, RJD2 makes puts a nice cap on this weeks trio. If you haven’t heard this track you’ll likely love it instantly and if you have I know you’ll enjoy reliving it. Play. Enjoy. Comment. Request.

Download from these tracks from Amazon:

• Deadmau5 – I Remember (Vocal Edit)
• MGMT – Electric Feel
• RJD2 – Ghostwriter [Explicit]

I especially appreciate this first one because who doesn’t like a little production value in their youtube videos …even if it does resemble an acid trip.

I am dying to know what the scene is like at Alhambra Palace Restaurant.  I stumbled on this photo of this hookah bar (or maybe I should say kingdom) place when I found the picture you see to the right, which I found on flickr.  Upon further investigation I found that this place looks to be nothing shy of immaculate but I have no idea because I’m nowhere near Chicago.

I know this seems like some shameless promotion but this is entirely based on intrigue.  I have a special place in my heart for restaurants and venues that aim to sell an experience such as the one shown in this picture.  If you are in the area and can visit Alhambra tonight, well I’m jealous.  If you’ve already been, tell me about it so that the rest of us can live it through your experience.What’s it like?  Astronomically Expensive?  How’s the hookah?  How’s the music?  When’s the best time to go (because you better believe I’m putting it on my list of places to visit based on looks alone)?

If you’re like me and you’re several hundred miles away make sure to check their web site and view the images under the tour section.  You will not be disappointed.

Speak!

Every week you can expect to have a new post of three songs we find particularly fantastic for smoking hookah too. So much of a relaxing hookah smoking session has to do with the environmental factors. A relaxing environment comes in all shapes and sizes whether it’s a canopy outdoors in the summer time or a warm cozy couch with a glass of steaming turkish tea. Regardless of the location we will try to provide music that is appropriate wherever you are.

The Tuesday Hookah Tune Trio is in no particular order but they all do serve one purpose: to create an ambiance fit for a narghile session. With summer just around the corner you’ll definitely want some of these songs on your iTunes playlist.

Download from these tracks from Amazon:

• The Verve – Lucky Man
• Telepopmusik – Breathe
• Royksopp – Eple (Original Edit)