You have finally purchased a shisha for your home shisha parties. That means your dream has come true. Congratulations! Trust us – having a shisha at home is cool, you gonna love it. Now you need to learn how to set it up. Moreover, how to start it for smoking and prepare a shisha bowl. Let’s get busy here.
Shisha parts
A brand new shisha has to be washed right away. Scrub every part of the shisha with a soft brush under running water. Except for the non-washable parts. For example, non-washable hoses. After washing, leave the shisha to dry out.
When all the parts are dry, you will need to set the shisha up. To do that first we learn the terminology.
- Base (or the water bowl) –- the lowest part of the shisha. It is usually made of glass. It can be detached from the entire structure. It is where you will pour the water.
- Shaft – the vertical main part of the shisha. The lower part of it will be sitting in the water when you will be smoking.
- Grommets help to connect parts of shisha making sure the connections are airtight.
- Valves – each shisha hose is connected to a valve. By the way it is located on the shaft.
- Bowl – a container on the top of the shisha. It holds the tobacco.
Let’s start!
To get started, pour some water into the base. So that the bottom of the shaft is about 2.5 cm under water. In addition, you can add a little ice to the bowl. The smoke will be cold and softer. Some shisha admires mix water with other liquids. In order to add extra flavoring sensations. Most often with vodka or juices.
Next, connect the bowl to the shaft using a big grommet. Once again make sure that the lower end of the shaft is submerged under the water for about 2.5 cm. Then, using small grommets attach the hoses to the valves on the shaft. At this point you really need to test it for the gaps. To test cover the upper part of the shisha shaft with your palm. Try to inhale through the hose. If you succeeded, it means that some of the connections are not quite airtight. Check each one once again and retest to make sure there are no air leaks.
Now it is time to add the tobacco. First, when the tobacco is still in the container, thoroughly mix it to bring the syrup up from the bottom. Take a pinch of your favorite tobacco and rub it up between your fingers. Then spread it over the bowl. If there are stems or too large pieces, simply cut them with a knife or scissors. When putting tobacco into the bowl, remember that it should not be packed there, just should be loose to let air flow through it. Otherwise, the top of the tobacco may be burnt while the lower layer will be still too wet. Also remember that the tobacco in the bowl should not touch the foil – the minimum distance to the foil must be at least 5 mm.
Step #2 – a shisha bowl
Next wrap the shisha bowl with foil. After that fasten the foil edges around the bowl tightly. Then punch holes in it (using a needle or a paper clip). Try to make holes spiral. The holes should be quite small. So that ash particles do not get into the bowl with tobacco. As for the number of holes, it is quite simple. The more holes, the more smoke there will be. Start with 15-20 holes and try to inhale. If it is difficult or you want more smoke, make more holes.
And finally – put the ash-collecting tray on top of the shaft. Place the tobacco bowl on the top. Now time to do the coals. There are a few coal types that you can use for your shisha. Let’s check them out.
Types of Coals
So, the coal can be wooden, coconut and quick burning.
Wooden coals are made of certain types of wood. For example, lemon or olive, as well as from vines. This type of coal burns steadily and really lasts long.
Coconut coals is made from coconut shell. It is considered the most suitable for shisha. Because its main advantage is a quite long burning period. These coals are for lighting up on a special burner or a gas stove.
Quick-burning coal is produced from wood too. However, to make it light up easy they add special chemical burning accelerators. The coals will light up from a usual lighter which is nice and easy. But at the same time they burn out much faster than wooden or coconut ones. We do not really trust those added chemicals due to unknown impact on health.
The size of the coals and the size of the shisha bowl may vary. So here you need to experiment. But we recommend starting with 2-3 coals. Take the right amount of coal and put it on the stove or the burner. Leave them on the oven until completely red. Only after that transfer them to the foil that covers the bowl. Place the coals as close to the edge of the bowl as possible. Leave the center of the foil free until you decide that you want to add more heat. Leave the shisha to warm for about 3-5 minutes before you start to smoke.
As you can see, it is not as complicated as it might seem at first. Now you can enjoy delicious smoke at home in the company of friends.