How to Deal with Harsh Smoke: Tips for Packing Hookah Coals

What to Do When Hookah is Harsh

What’s more frustrating than spending the time and effort preparing your hookah coals just to take a few draws and find that the smoke is too harsh?

We know that harsh smoke can ruin any hookah experience. That’s why we would like to offer some tips on how to pack your bowl with hookah coals and flavored hookah tobacco so your smoke session flows smoothly. Whether you are packing a bowl of the Starbuzz finer-cut shisha or the longer cut of Fantasia, be sure that you break up the hookah tobacco to experience a smoother smoke.

Why is my Hookah Harsh?

It is a common misconception that more hookah tobacco equals more smoke, but this is not true. Tightly packed hookah tobacco restricts air-flow, and not only does this lead to a tough draw but also harsh smoke. This is because the hookah tobacco on the surface of the bowl receives most of the heat.

How to Make Hookah Less Harsh

Here’s how to fix a harsh hookah – what you do: Sprinkle the hookah tobacco, shisha, into your bowl without filling it over the top or packing it down. This allows the air and heat from the hookah coals to move freely and evenly, resulting in a cleaner and wider draw.

Now you are ready to secure your metal hookah coals screen or wrap some Vapor hookah foil around the top of your hookah bowls. If using foil, be sure to start poking small holes in the center and work your way out. Stop before getting too close to the rim of the bowl. This will control the level of heat flowing through the hookah tobacco.

Ideally you want to be able to place your hookah coals along the rim of the bowl without holes being under the entire hookah charcoal. This will allow the heat from the hookah charcoal to be at the desired level to vaporize the flavored molasses, creating a tasteful smoke. If you poke too many holes in the foil, making the heat level too high, the hookah tobacco will begin to burn causing the smoke to become harsh.

The number of hookah coals you place on top of the bowl depends on your brand of choice. A brand of hookah charcoal such as CocoNara is a smaller coconut charcoal, that doesn’t put off as much heat as a larger Exotica square-finger coal. Whether using natural hookah charcoal or a quick-lighting hookah charcoal tablet like Miraculum, two or three cubes of hookah charcoal should always suffice.