The Curious Hookah
A Simple and Strange Thing...
The soothing sound of bubbles fills your ears as a sweet, fragrant aroma vies for your nose's attention. No, you are not standing over a pot of bubbling chocolate! You are in the company of a strange, yet curious device. You are in a room of a dozen hookahs!
More than likely, you've seen a hookah, although unless you are a regular at a hookah bar, you've probably forgotten all about it. You still think you've never heard of a hookah? Think back. Way back. You're lying on your bed, while your Mother is reading a fantastic tale of a little girl in a land of pure imagination. If you guessed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, you'd be wrong. No, this book was written nearly 100 years before Roald Dahl's tale of Charlie. The book (and movie) that gives children their first glimpse of this curious device is Alice in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland, wrote about an inquisitive, hookah-smoking caterpillar. You may remember Sammy Davis, Jr., perched atop a giant mushroom, asking young Alice, "Who ... Are ... You?" The caterpillar is smoking a hookah!
Hookahs had actually been around a long time before they graced the pages of Lewis Carroll's most famous book. In fact, hookahs have been smoked (in one fashion or another) for nearly 600 years! Ever since, many countries have had a large population that partake in smoking hookah. Today, people in Egypt smoke Egyptian hookahs, people in Turkey smoke Turkish hookahs and people in Syria smoke Syrian hookahs.
Hookah History and Design...
Interestingly enough, the design and function of hookahs have not changed much over the years. There are a small number of hookah parts that are required to build a hookah. The simplicity of the hookah has made it easy to produce, operate and clean. Before we go any further, let's discuss the various parts that come together to form a hookah.
Hookah Base
The first component — and some would argue the most important — is the hookah base. The hookah base, which resembles a vase, acts as a resevoir for water or, in some cases, wine or fruit juice. Smoke that is inhaled is first filtered through the water in the hookah base. Actually, the amount of filtering that takes place is purely speculative, as no major studies have been performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the water's filtering properties on the hookah smoke. One thing is for sure, the temperature of the fluid in the hookah base will directly effect the temperature of the smoke. So, a cooler liquid will, in turn, create a cooler smoke and vice-versa. The fluid also regulates the rate at which smoke is inhaled. It is the combination of the hookah base and the hookah shaft that make the trademark bubbling sound. It's this sound that has given the hookah one of its more common nicknames — the 'hubbly bubbly!'
Hookah Shaft
Above the hookah base lies the hookah shaft. This important conduit carries the sweet, flavored smoke from the hookah head to the hookah base. In fact, a portion of the shaft is actually submerged in water. Just as a rose stem rests in the water of a vase, the hookah shaft (or stem) rests in the water of a hookah base. Without the water, the whole hookah experience would be strikingly different — one that is harsh and unenjoyable. Although the shaft has an easy task, it's typically ornately-decorated. It's not uncommon to shafts made of brass or silver. There are even hookahs that have hookah shafts made of pure gold!
Hookah Head
Topping off the hookah is the hookah head. The hookah head rests on top of the hookah shaft and holds the hookah shisha (hookah tobacco). We'll discuss the hookah shisha (pronounced: 'shee-shuh') later on but let's talk about the hookah head. Hookah heads are made in a variety of colors, shapes, sizes and materials. Clay hookah heads have been around for hundreds of years and are, by all measurements, the most popular variety. Newer clay heads are glazed, which adds to their relative durability. More recently, companies have begun to produce hookah heads out of porcelain and ceramic. The porcelain hookah head is very durable and allows for very ornate designs. The ceramic hookah head is extremely durable is becoming very popular among modern hookah manufacturers.
Hookah Hose
The thing that connects the hookah to the hookah smoker is the hookah hose. Often crafted of leather, the hookah hose is a durable, reusable hose that carries the smoke from the hookah base to the person smoking hookah. As the hose is reusable, various hookah stores carry hookah mouthpieces that you can purchase when you buy a hookah. These are (more times than not) sterilized and appropriate for larger groups. You would think that something as simple as hose would be void of any style or design. That's not true with today's hookah hoses. They have started to come in a variety of colors, materials and lengths.
Smoke Hookah
Now that you know how a hookah is composed, here's how a hookah smokes!
- When hookah smoking, hookah smoke is forced in through the holes in the top of the hookah head.
- The smoke travels down the shaft and into the water.
- The water cools the temperature of the smoke and adds the bubbling sound.
- The smoke carries out of the water and into the hookah hose.
- The smoke is inhaled and exhaled by the person who is hookah smoking.
Hookah Shisha
We've devoted an entire area on our website to hookah shisha! But, we'll give you a quick run-through right here...
Hookah shisha, or hookah tobacco, is where the flavor of the hookah originates. Apple, orange, grape and cherry are just a few of the many flavors that are offered by today's hookah retailers. There are so many flavors, in fact, that you could smoke a different flavor for every day of the month — now, that's a lot of flavors!
Here's just some of the cool flavored shisha that we've found out there:
- Apple
- Double Apple
- Special Apple
- Bahraini Apple
- Pineapple
- Grape
- Special Grape
- Coconut
- Mango
- Orange
- Lemon
- Cherry
- Coke
- Cappuccino
- Mint
- Apricot
- Rose
- Pipe Flavor
- Banana
- Vanilla
- Fruit Mix
- Peach
- Plum
- Kiwi
- Anise
Hookah shisha is comprised of tobacco and a few other ingredients like sugar. Until recently, the only known ingredients in hookah shisha were tobacco and molasses. This gave the shisha a distinct, overbearing taste and took away from the natural flavor of the tobacco. This is why modern shisha is made with other ingredients that are present to lock in the taste of the shisha.
Hookah Information
Our site is jam-packed with information about everything 'Hookah!' In fact, we've even been called the Encyclopedia of Hookah. So, check out the other articles we have on the site and let us know what you'd like to hear about.