Lebanon in smoke: Cigars for the rich, hookah for the poor

[El Presidente]

 

Lebanon's economic crisis hasn't stopped people from smoking. While smoking hookah remains affordable for almost everybody, cigars have become a status symbol for all those who profit from the crisis.

CONTINUED 

 

[Magnum Dongle]

Interesting read! In college we smoked a lot of hookah we because it was partly a social thing and frankly smelled better than cigarettes when drinking. While I liked it, I don't think I'd ever be able to get into a home setup because setting everything up and cleaning up after is more work than a nice cigar. There are lots of hookah spots in Georgia though, and seems to be a nice spot to go hang out. Not sure how the raising of legal age for tobacco to 21 has affected that, since I could see it being a cool high school, early college spot. 

I think it is interesting though that even though the economy there seems to be struggling, people still spend daily on it, although do you think that could be because of the social aspect I talked about above? The article seems to say that a lot of it happens in cafes, and the world just came off a "shortage of social encounters" due to COVID not too long ago. Very interesting overall, thanks for posting the article!

[BrightonCorgi]

I thought with the narghile, charcoal is placed directly on the tobacco while the shisha has it shielded from the foil? 

[Fuzz]

2 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I thought with the narghile, charcoal is placed directly on the tobacco while the shisha has it shielded from the foil? 

Narghile and hookah refer to the same thing, just different word/country origins. Shisha is the flavoured tobacco, though has been used in some places to refer to a hookah. I have never seen/heard of putting the charcoal directly on the shisha. Have always seen it used with a foil covered bowl, or a specially made bowl with a screen that separates the shisha from the hot coals.

 

[BrightonCorgi]

6 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Narghile and hookah refer to the same thing, just different word/country origins.

Narghile term is more widely used in Egypt, no?

[Arabian]

3 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Narghile term is more widely used in Egypt, no?

Shisha is more common over there, while the name Narghila or Arghila is more common in Iraq/ Syria. one thing that I find interesting between Cuban cigar factories and old Syrian cafes is the tradition of using El Lector.. here you can see a storyteller in one of those old cafes.

 

[El Presidente]

I had no idea of the Syrian Cafe lector. 

[Bijan]

4 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Narghile term is more widely used in Egypt, no?

Narghile means coconut, shisha means glass. At least from Persian language point of view. I think it's similar in Arabic. So different words for same thing (shape of device, vs material they're made of).

 

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/nargile

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/shisha#English

Edit: funny enough Iranians use Arabic derived word:

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/قلیان#:~:text=IPA%3A %2Fqaljɔːn%2F-,Noun,Synonym%3A نارگیله‎ (nârgile)

[Chibearsv]

The only hookah I used was in Boulder and it wasn’t tobacco. Our ultimate frisbee team was the Happy Hookahs 😜

[Drguano]

2 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

The only hookah I used was in Boulder and it wasn’t tobacco. Our ultimate frisbee team was the Happy Hookahs 😜

You are ‘reefering’ to the true “Rockie Mountain High”!

[Chibearsv]

4 minutes ago, Drguano said:

You are ‘reefering’ to the true “Rockie Mountain High”!

I’d figure a guy that owned that beetle of yours would know. 😁

[Drguano]

17 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

I’d figure a guy that owned that beetle of yours would know. 😁

It will be legal in Minnesota as of August 1st. Desnudo Blunts anyone?

[BrightonCorgi]

I like the hookah.  I have one at home.  It's hard to get the charcoal going like they do in middle east for me.  The coconut charcoal are bitch to get going.  The cheap stuff is like fireworks with all the minerals in it. 

[Bijan]

1 hour ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I like the hookah.  I have one at home.  It's hard to get the charcoal going like they do in middle east for me.  The coconut charcoal are bitch to get going.  The cheap stuff is like fireworks with all the minerals in it. 

If you need to get anything going charcoal wise, amazon (and probably others) sell an electric charcoal lighters. They work wonders.

I just point it at a pile of charcoal in the bbq for 3-4 minutes and it's roaring.

This is from Amazon Canada but they should have same or better stateside:

HomeRight Electro-Torch C900085 Fire Starter, Charcoal Starter and Lighter, BBQ Smoker, Grill Starter, Chemical Free Heated Air with Built-In Blower https://a.co/d/7gNVMFJ

[BrightonCorgi]

8 hours ago, Bijan said:

If you need to get anything going charcoal wise, amazon (and probably others) sell an electric charcoal lighters. They work wonders.

I use a MAP torch to light.  Works great for a chiminea.   Not like the bucket of hot charcoal that gets swapped out while smoking at proper place.

Will check out your suggestions!

 

[Bijan]

55 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I use a MAP torch to light.  Works great for a chiminea.   Not like the bucket of hot charcoal that gets swapped out while smoking at proper place.

Will check out your suggestions!

 

I haven't specifically used it for hookah coals. Though I'm now tempted to try, if I can source the coconut coals.

But I've used it for charcoal BBQ with lump charcoal (not just briquettes) countless times, and even used it 2-3 times to light a campfire. I just laid out the logs and aimed it at various spots along the base and fire was roaring within a couple of minutes.

It has 2 settings, one with low airflow to light the coal/wood and one with high airflow to fan the flames.

Edit: I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one hookah place using something similar in the back.

[BrightonCorgi]

I use the coconut charcoal mostly for lighting Bakhoor & Oud.  It doesn't need to get as hot and lit up as it does to get the shisha going.

[MrGlass]

I've spent more time in shisha cafes through the Middle East than I have in cigar lounges (anywhere), and loved the experience enough to eventually pick one up for home.  The setup and pack down is a lot of effort so I don't use it regularly, but it's still great whenever I do.  These days, it mostly gets pulled out when my brother comes over as we can just connect two hoses.

19 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I like the hookah.  I have one at home.  It's hard to get the charcoal going like they do in middle east for me.  The coconut charcoal are bitch to get going.  The cheap stuff is like fireworks with all the minerals in it. 

I use the coconut charcoal as well for my hookah, and picked up one of these coal burners which works really great.  I light three cubes at a time, and this thing get them going in around 10 minutes.  I just put it outside and turn it on while I set up the hookah, and flip the cubes after about 5-6 minutes.

[Fuzz]

21 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I like the hookah.  I have one at home.  It's hard to get the charcoal going like they do in middle east for me.  The coconut charcoal are bitch to get going.  The cheap stuff is like fireworks with all the minerals in it. 

Really? Coconut charcoal should be really easy to light. Never touch the ones that have the silver coating, as that is a fuel accelerant. I just use a butane torch to get the fingers/cubes lit.

20 hours ago, Bijan said:

If you need to get anything going charcoal wise, amazon (and probably others) sell an electric charcoal lighters. They work wonders.

I just point it at a pile of charcoal in the bbq for 3-4 minutes and it's roaring.

This is from Amazon Canada but they should have same or better stateside:

HomeRight Electro-Torch C900085 Fire Starter, Charcoal Starter and Lighter, BBQ Smoker, Grill Starter, Chemical Free Heated Air with Built-In Blower https://a.co/d/7gNVMFJ

If you have a paint stripper gun at home, they work just as well. And if you have an 18v cordless version, you at least don't need an extension cord, unlike that electro torch.

[Bijan]

1 hour ago, Fuzz said:

If you have a paint stripper gun at home, they work just as well. And if you have an 18v cordless version, you at least don't need an extension cord, unlike that electro torch.

Yeah, definitely a better way to go for lighting charcoal cubes for shisha.

Might run down a whole battery for a campfire or BBQ though.

1 hour ago, Fuzz said:

I just use a butane torch to get the fingers/cubes lit.

Now that you mention it, I think I have one triple jet lighter that is way overpowered and that should do the trick.

3 hours ago, MrGlass said:

I've spent more time in shisha cafes through the Middle East than I have in cigar lounges (anywhere), and loved the experience enough to eventually pick one up for home.  The setup and pack down is a lot of effort so I don't use it regularly, but it's still great whenever I do.  These days, it mostly gets pulled out when my brother comes over as we can just connect two hoses.

I use the coconut charcoal as well for my hookah, and picked up one of these coal burners which works really great.  I light three cubes at a time, and this thing get them going in around 10 minutes.  I just put it outside and turn it on while I set up the hookah, and flip the cubes after about 5-6 minutes.

I think I actually have two of these clanging around in the trunk of my car right now. Good to know.

[Fuzz]

1 minute ago, Bijan said:

Yeah, definitely a better way to go for lighting charcoal cubes for shisha.

Might run down a whole battery for a campfire or BBQ though.

Now that you mention it, I think I have one triple jet lighter that is way overpowered and that should do the trick.

An el cheapo butane canister attachment works well for the campfire too. And if you have any hand sanitiser that is nearly overdue, you can use it to help light the fire... as we found out on a recent trip to the Hunter Valley.

[BrightonCorgi]

10 hours ago, MrGlass said:

I've spent more time in shisha cafes through the Middle East than I have in cigar lounges (anywhere), and loved the experience enough to eventually pick one up for home.  The setup and pack down is a lot of effort so I don't use it regularly, but it's still great whenever I do.  These days, it mostly gets pulled out when my brother comes over as we can just connect two hoses.

I use the coconut charcoal as well for my hookah, and picked up one of these coal burners which works really great.  I light three cubes at a time, and this thing get them going in around 10 minutes.  I just put it outside and turn it on while I set up the hookah, and flip the cubes after about 5-6 minutes.

I just bought this.  Thanks!

 

[Fuzz]

Fancy!

[BrightonCorgi]

8 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Fancy!

$26 on Amazon

[Low]

I find that hookah setup is just as enjoyable as the pre-light ritual on a cigar. Packing the bowl correctly, poking the foil, and tending to the charcoal are all very relaxing. Great setup for indoor poker games as well, since no one is gonna complain about sour apple smoke.

This is going to sound kind of gross, but if you want ultra creamy smoke, use whole milk in the hookah. This trick was taught to me by some very old Armenians, and it works wonders. Pair it with a dessert flavor, my favorite is vanilla with a small amount of honeydew