Shisha Pack Density by Hookah Tobacco Brand
By Amir / April 29, 2024
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In Search of the Optimal Hookah Session
We in the hookah community are always striving for better sessions. Thicker clouds, stronger flavor from our hookah tobacco, and longer smoking times. If you get all three of these, you are doing things correctly. Let’s call them the three pillars of a quality hookah session. Sometimes it may seem impossible to accomplish all three at once and several factors play into this. A quality hookah can be the most obvious and a solid hose with a good draw will help. Have you switched to a vortex or phunnel hookah bowl yet? Those make a big difference. But, maybe the most important aspect that can sometimes be overlooked is the shisha pack method of your flavored tobacco. Intrigued? We are here to help!
“Always Learning” - Shisha Pack Density
This phrase seems to be the theme in Hookah Unbiased (HU), a Facebook group centered around helping people grow in the world of hookah. Sarkis, a founder and admin of HU, has a lifetime of knowledge and experience in hookah and shares it whenever he can. Through years of trial and error and countless hours of dialing in hookah sessions, Sarkis has created a table of pack densities that are ideal for each shisha brand. Scaled from extra-fluff to extra-dense, these packs are how you get the most from your flavored hookah tobacco.
Make the Most of Your Shisha
After a quick review of the table, you start to notice a trend. For the most part, the lighter blonde shisha brands like Fumari Tobacco and Azure Gold will be found closer to the fluff end of the spectrum. Bigger leaves normally found with blonde leaf need more airflow to capture the flavor and prevent burning. Dark leaf blends like Starbuzz Vintage, Serpent and Tangiers tobacco need to be packed denser to enjoy the full effects of the nicotine levels and fuller tobacco flavors. The heat needs to be pulled through the thick pack to get the best from these dark hookah tobaccos. While it’s not the only aspect of quality smoke, this pack density chart is a solid starting place for dialing in your hookah sessions. Different hookah bowls may affect the desired results slightly. But, this chart works for most set-ups and heat management devices (HMD).