For New Year 2012 I had planned to host a shisha party within a large marquee in the fields beside where I live. I made some rough calculations I would need to hire 20 shisha pipes and about 10 kg of different flavoured tobacco for the 200 guests I had invited to smoke away on all night long.

My intentions were to simply hire the pipes and some staff to serve the shisha to my guests but after discussing the cost with several rental companies I soon started to think why don’t I just buy the shisha pipes myself.

After some further thought and consideration I concluded it would be cheapest if I buy the pipes from a wholesaler, making a saving and then simply train the bar staff to serve them.

Although it took a while I eventually found a wholesaler that sounded right, trust me many we’re just time wasters, and the vast majority didn’t even answer the telephone or emails. However one of the retailers I found, www.smokeshisha.com  kindly gave me details of High-Life Hookahs which are supposedly the Uk’s number one wholesaler of authentic shisha pipes.

I have to fly so to cut the story short I ended buying the 20 shisha pipes, 10kg of tobacco and loads of shisha coal for half of what the shisha hire companies and retailer were offering.

For those of you that don’t know The Addams Family they are a group of fictional characters conceived by an American cartoonist Mr Charles Addams. The Addams Family members are Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday and Pugsley.

The Addam’s are the opposite of the ideal American family; an eccentric family who are unaware that ordinary people find them bizarre and frightening. The Addam’s Family was originally published in The New Yorker newspaper in 1938 and appeared up until Addam’s death in 1988. The Addam’s Family has since been turned in television series, films, video games and even a musical.

Check out Gomez and Morticia Addams smoking shisha!

Shisha Smoking Addams Family

Please anyone with an idea on the episode they smoked shisha get in touch and I’ll try and find it on YouTube.

Queen Victoria with a shisha pipe

The shisha pipe prints that you can buy from redbubble are either $3.48 for a postcard size or $15.75 for the larger size. The portrait orientated shisha pipe print is bright pink and when you look at the artwork in detail you’ll probably notice the shisha pipe has a cobra shisha hose. Maybe today Royalty smoke from the nammor shisha hose seen as its the highest quality of hose or maybe as the print actually says “ONE HAS NEVER INHALED” meaning she has never smoked on a shisha pipe. I don’t believe that!!…do you?

The artist behind the print, tillymagoo real name Sarah from London UK has a fantastic gallery of funny pictures and this one with the Queen Victoria smoking a shisha pipe is no exception.

Check out this shisha pipe print and more http://www.redbubble.com/people/tillymagoo/art/5493463-the-queen-and-the-hookah

Shisha pipe fitted in Cadillac

While modifying the Cadillac Louie didn’t only add the shisha pipe to the interior dash of the car (as shown in the picture above) but also had an under seat compartment that was used to refrigerate shisha tobacco, water and other supplies.

Back then in 1952 the only shisha tobacco that was available in the USA was the non flavoured shisha molasses, but that didn’t stop Louie or the other drivers enjoying the shisha on their 6,320 mile journey from New York to San Diego.

Today the Cadillac, shisha pipe and all can be seen at the San Diego Auto Museum in California. Its well worth a visit to check out the shisha pipe, no amount of money could buy such a shisha pipe, with its history and the length of journey this shisha pipe has travelled. Believe it or not the quality also seemed amazingly good for such an old shisha pipe, with only the shisha hose been replaced since been on display at the Museum.

Years ago there was Nakhla and if you were lucky Al Waha, today there are many brands of both the original shisha tobacco and herbal shisha available online and in the shisha shops across the nation. In fact there are so many brands and shisha flavours that deciding on which to buy has become quite difficult.

I have written this post to help anyone with the same question of that I came across.

The brands most commonly found in the UK are:

Soex Herbal Shisha

Manufactured in India soex herbal shisha was the first herbal shisha to enter the market. 100% tobacco and nicotine free this herbal shisha is available in over forty flavours. Providing a great tasting quality smoke that lasts for as long as the original tobacco molasses.

High-Life Herbal Shisha

This herbal shisha is manufactured in Egypt, introduced shortly after Soex it’s one of the other herbal shisha brands that’s 100% tobacco free. I have searched around a lot but have only been able to find just nine different flavours.

El Rosha Herbal Shisha

El Rosha is the latest herbal shisha to enter the market. Manufactured in Egypt and 100% tobacco free.

Al Fakher Shisha Tobacco

Manufactured in the United Arab Emirates this brand has quickly become the most popular shisha tobacco in the UK and across the world. Using flavourings with higher flash points and sweeter sugars al fakher costs slightly more than other tobacco’s.

Nakhla Shisha Tobacco

The original brand manufactured in Egypt. Known for its consistency and long lasting taste Nakhla tobacco has been manufactured since 1913 (almost one hundred years)

You may want to note that although many shisha shops across the UK sell al fakher and nakhla the price is considerably more than the herbal shisha due to import tax and tobacco excise. And be warned if you buy it from a shop that ships it from abroad you will be liable to pay the excise duties.

Forgetting the brand for a minute, in my opinion apple, cherry, grape and mint are the best tasting flavours.

It seems that looking for a new activity or a way to relax with friends is the primary reason why so many people decide to buy shisha pipes. However there’s also many other reasons, five of which I have posted below.

Shisha Pipes at Romantic Occassions

• Romantic Occasions – Some male shisha smokers have mentioned using shisha pipes after romantic dinners and during other romantic occasions as away to entertain and relax with your partner.

• Social and Business Events – A popular reason why so many people buy shisha pipes seems to hold social and business events. There are also many shisha hire companies set up in the UK to cater for birthdays, weddings, corporate events etc.
  

  Shisha Pipes Hire - Birthday

• Stop Smoking – There were comments that I found saying they had started smoking the shisha pipe as away to stop smoking cigarettes. Most went on to say they now smoked it just once a week and although appreciate it’s still a health risk consider it to be more acceptable and obviously more social.

• Smoking Cannabis – The research I did discovered that even though the purpose of the shisha pipe is for smoking tobacco theirs many people using the shisha pipe to smoke cannabis.
  

  Shisha Pipes used for Cannabis

• Ornamental Souvenir – There were mentions of using the shisha pipe as an ornament. Posts suggesting they had purchased a shisha pipe on their travels as a souvenir and had used it as an ornament ever since.

Comment on why you would buy a shisha pipe, why have you?

I had been walking around the city for almost two hours when someone handed me a flyer advertising light snakes, coffees, juices and shisha pipes. Been quite hungry and thirsty I followed the little map on the flyer which took me into the Scarab Cafe.

Scarab Shisha Cafe and Shisha Shop

It was quite a strange place, half cafe and half gift shop. I order a coffee and sandwich with a shisha pipe to follow after. By the time I had finished my sandwich I had also finished my coffee. As the shisha pipe arrived they asked me to move to the outdoor smoking area, I quickly moved to a table outside ordering another coffee as I past the waiter.

Once sat back down I started to smoke from the shisha pipe. The waiter brought over the coffee as I relaxed with the pipe. While sitting there I could see a collection of shisha pipes through the window of the gift shop available to buy.

After finishing the bowl of shisha tobacco, it was time to settle the bill and head off to the train station. I went back into the Scarab gift shop looking at the shisha for sale. I decided to buy a shisha pipe but somewhat smaller than the one I had been smoking from.

I paid my bill a total of £83.29 which included the two coffees and a sandwich, a bowl of al fakher shisha tobacco that I smoked, the small shisha pipe, 250g of al fakher shisha tobacco and 1kg of natural shisha charcoal to take home with my new pipe.

Has anyone else visited the Scarab Cafe and gift shop?

Porsche Shisha Pipes

The Porsche designed shisha pipes are precision engineered using high quality aluminium, stainless steel and glass. The shisha pipe is a single hose unit made in Germany and stands just 55 centimetres or 21” inches. The pipe is branded with an embossed Porsche Design along the rim of the aluminium casing. The shisha hose is just less than a metre long, made from a long flexible TecFlex tube and a perfectly formed aluminium and stainless steel hose handle.

Although different in design and look and certainly of higher quality the shisha pipe from Porsche seems to resemble a mix of the latest designs of shisha pipes from Medusa in Czech and the Leila shisha pipe from Lebanon.

At time of writing there is was only one shop selling the new Porsche shisha pipe and that’s the Porsche shop within Harrods of London UK, the shisha pipe sells for £1260 almost $2050

Let us know would you buy such a high value shisha pipe from Porsche?

So far I’ve only had time to try the double apple herbal shisha and at the rate I’m going it will take until next year to sample all the different flavours. If there are any of you shisha smokers that want to try it then get in touch or leave your name and address in the comments.

I’ve got 5 kg of samples (flavours below) so let me know if you would like to sample it and I shall send you a pack in return for you reviewing the herbal shisha, informing us of your opinion on the sample.

For my review of the product I would give the herbal just 3 out of 5 as although the double apple flavour tasted good and there were large volumes of smoke it didn’t seem to last that long! Thinking back I must have put 25g in the bowl, as it comes it 25g wraps as shown in the image to below, almost like mini processed cheeses.  The other problem was that while handling the herbal shisha the red colouring dye went absolutely everywhere!

Herbal shisha from Beetobacco

Shisha flavours I received:

1. Red Apple
2. Double Apple
3. Green Grapes
4. Strawberry
5. Apricot
6. Cherry
7. Banana
8. Cola
9. Honey Melon
10. Guava

If you’ve already tried it then let us know, and if you’re in the UK and wish to sample it then let me know.

• The first thing to consider is budget. How much do you have to spend on your first shisha pipe? Shisha pipes range from as little as £15 up to £800 (not a typo that’s £800)

• You shall need to purchase herbal shisha tobacco and shisha coals, does your budget in mind cover these items? Prices of herbal shisha tobacco vary by brand starting at around £2 for a 50g pack of herbal shisha tobacco and shisha coals at £1.50 to last for up to ten bowls.

• Will you take your shisha pipe to friends, parties, camping or out to the park? It may sound like a strange question but if you are taking you pipe out and about then you don’t want a 5ft shisha pipe sticking out your backpack! There are smaller portable shisha pipes, even indestructible pipes which are much better suited for travel.

• Do you want the pipe to have single or multiple shisha hoses? If you intend to have numerous people smoking from the same shisha at the same time then multi shisha hose shisha pipes are the way to go, however if you’re smoking the shisha pipe on your own then a single hose is probably more suited to you.

• What colour shisha pipes do you like? The colour of the shisha pipe you choose is more important than you may think. While some glass bases are clear others are not. Either highly decorated or even opaque glass bases can make it awkward achieving the correct water level.

• How tall do you wish your shisha pipe to stand? I think the smallest shisha I’ve come across was 7″ inches, and as I said above others can be as tall as 5ft or more!

• Another question relating to height or at least with height in mind is, will you place the shisha pipe at ground level or on top of a table while been smoked? I would recommend that all shisha pipes taller than 18” inches be smoked from ground level.

• What flavour herbal shisha tobacco do you think you would like? Will you be buying a few shisha flavours? Some of known to be popular shisha flavours are Apple, Cherry, Mint, Peach Melon and Grape.

• Do you have a gas stove or gas hob to ignite natural shisha coals? By answering this question you shall determine if you able to use natural coals Natural coals are favoured by many providing a quality slow burning shisha coal however quick-lite charcoals have become extremely popular allowing one to spark up the shisha pipe almost anywhere.

• Have you got tin foil at home? Kitchen foil or tin foil as some of us refer to it is used on top of the shisha bowl in between the herbal shisha tobacco and shisha coal. Using a toothpick, knife point or even the end of some charcoal tongs the tin foil is perforated allowing the heat from the shisha coal to transfer to the herbal shisha tobacco. Pre-perforated shisha foils are available to buy from many shisha shop.