Why can't I light a hookah? How to light a hookah quickly and easily? Even beginners can do it! What is the immediate preparation process?

Currently, hookahs have gained widespread interest: they began to be offered in cafes and clubs, but also purchased for private use at home. On your own at home light a hookah not difficult, especially if you have everything you need.

Preparing the hookah for ignition:

1. Select the drink that will be poured into the flask. Anything: from water to alcoholic drinks. It is better to use the liquid without gases, but if it is a carbonated drink, then let the gases come out.

2. Choose tobacco. There is a huge abundance of flavors and aromas: melon, cherry, vanilla, mint, etc. It is best to select tobacco that is more or less compatible with the drink in the flask.

3. Having chosen the drink and tobacco, take the flask and fill it so that the tube submerges approximately 1.5 cm. Tighten and install the metal bowl.

4. Then, in the device in the form of a small bowl, where the tobacco is placed, we place a little tobacco, loosening it with a match or a toothpick. You should not put tobacco all the way to the edge, as it will simply burn. Cover with special foil (you can use baking foil, folded in two layers). Use a toothpick to make holes around the entire perimeter, but preferably smaller ones in the center.

The hookah is ready to ignite!

Lighting up charcoal for hookah

To light a hookah you will need charcoal for the hookah. This is logical :) Their range is small, and there is practically no difference.

There is coal that is coated with a composition for better ignition; when ignited, it begins to spark a little and burn over the entire area. At this moment, it is placed on the foil, which is attached to the hookah, and small puffs are taken so that the coal flares up better.

Charcoal without a special coating must be lit with matches or a lighter. As soon as most of it turns red, we also place it on foil.

Charcoal can also be used as coal.

Any coal is best lit on a gas stove.

You can also make a hookah cap from food foil: after the coal flares up, cover it with a cap and press the edges.

The cap should be loose, but not huge. This is necessary so that the heat lasts longer and the coal does not burn out and go out so quickly.

Video on how to properly light a hookah

We invite you to watch a short video instruction on how to light a hookah yourself at home.

Every person who has at least once smelled the aroma of a hookah will forever remember it as an attribute of rest, relaxation and tranquility. However, in order not to spoil the impression, it is important to know a few subtleties. Then bitterness, thin smoke and unexpected sharp taste are not scary.

What does any hookah consist of?

The process of preparing a hookah is not ornate and “smoking” it for the first time will not be difficult, but the result can be disappointing if you do not take into account a few simple rules. No matter the size or place of production of the hookah, its structure remains unchanged.

1. The lower part - the flask - is filled with water or other liquid (milk, wine or mineral water) in order to purify the smoke and eliminate bitterness.

2. Smoke enters the flask through the shaft from the chilim.

3. A pipe is connected to the shaft via a tube on the side. The fragrant smoke is inhaled through the chibouk.

4. Chilim - a bowl, most often ceramic, where tobacco and coal are placed, and is located at the very top of the hookah.

If buying a hookah is only in your plans, then you should first study the advantages and disadvantages of each part of the hookah in detail.

What is the immediate preparation process?

Properly smoking a hookah at home is easy if you follow three simple steps. Over time, through trial and error, you can determine your favorite flavors of tobacco, feel the correct heating of the coal and determine the water level in the flask so that the smoke is clean enough and comfortable to draw.

First step. The hookah can be easily disassembled into all the listed parts. Before “putting” the tobacco into the party, the flask, shaft and chilim are washed under running water without detergents, as this will affect the taste. Even if the hookah is completely new and has never been used, it also needs to be rinsed. There is no need to dry it.

At the first stage, the flask is always filled. Water is considered the best liquid for hookah, because it does not affect the taste and aroma. In the future, it will be possible to conduct experiments with other liquids, but in this case it is necessary to wash the hookah immediately after use, no matter how difficult it may be, because it will be unrealistically difficult to eliminate odors later.

The flask is filled with water to a level so that the bottom of the shaft is immersed in water by 2-4 centimeters. The deeper, the purer the smoke, but the more difficult it is to draw in the smoke. Over time, you can determine the optimal level to make hookah smoking comfortable.

Second step. In the future, immediately after filling the flask, you can put the coals on the fire and proceed to filling the tobacco. But due to inexperience, the process of preparing tobacco may take longer than it should and the coals will burn out, which will ruin both the taste and the process.

1-2 teaspoons of tobacco, without pressing, are placed in the chilim so as not to cover the hole in the shaft, and tightly covered with foil. To do this, take foil measuring 15x15 cm, thick or folded in half thin, and its edges are pinched as tightly as possible. Please note that the foil should also be stretched as tightly as possible. It is pierced in random order with a toothpick (a needle or a pointed rod that comes with the hookah), and a small hole is made in the middle opposite the shaft.

Third step. Now that the hookah is ready, you can start heating the coals. Charcoal will prevent the appearance of unpleasant odors accompanying combustion, so you should not waste your money on an artificial charcoal substitute, it will only ruin everything. Two thumb-sized pieces are thrown directly onto the burner. Readiness is determined by the amount of orange flame: if it is about a third, then the coal is ready. Next, it is placed on the foil in the chilim so as not to cover the center - one piece near the very edge and the second a little further from the first.

By drawing smoke after a minute, you can determine whether the tobacco has warmed up or not. If during exhalation the smoke is thick and light, then the hookah is ready to share it with friends. Otherwise, you should inhale 5-6 times to “light” the hookah. You should be careful, because this procedure “gets into your head.”

When choosing tobacco, it is better for a beginner to take a closer look at gentle and neutral flavors, such as apple, cherry, peach, watermelon, etc. Strong flavors (like mint) may be too strong and unpleasant, but this is completely individual.

As you can see, there is no higher mathematics in the process. All that is required is desire and skill, and the latter comes with experience. Even if it didn’t work out the first time, then don’t despair, you should try again and a hard week will be crowned with a pleasant, relaxing pastime that restores physical and moral strength.

At the first stages of learning the hookah business, beginners have a lot of different questions, the most common of which is the difficulty of how to smoke a hookah correctly. In fact, this process is not entirely simple and requires taking into account several characteristics at once: the volume of water in the hookah flask, the degree of humidity of the tobacco and its quantity, the quality of the coal used for ignition. Therefore, we offer an excellent video that shows in detail how to smoke a hookah.

How to smoke a hookah correctly? First, you need to thoroughly wash and dry all its elements in a vertical position, this will help eliminate possible foreign odors and tastes. After this, add cold water to the flask in such an amount that the shaft tube is immersed in it no more than 2-4 centimeters. The deeper the pipe is immersed in water, the cleaner the smoke will be, but the more difficult it is to smoke a hookah.

After this, you can start filling the bowl with tobacco. Try not to compact it too much and do not forget to leave about 5 mm to the edges so that there is air space between the tobacco and the foil. After this, cover the bowl with 2-3 layers of foil and make several holes in it. Now you need to prepare the coal. Heat it over the fire until an orange tint appears and leave it for a while. Then we move the coal to the bowl, cover it with a cap and wait a couple of minutes.

After these manipulations, you can start smoking. If the previous manipulations were performed correctly, the hookah will be easy to smoke from the very first puffs, so try to avoid taking too deep breaths to avoid dizziness. Take leisurely and small puffs and fully enjoy the process. That's all, now you know how to smoke a hookah correctly!

For a detailed video where you can watch smoking a hookah, see below:

We suggest visiting an establishment where they will smoke hookah for you, and we have already compiled a list of where to smoke hookah in St. Petersburg for you.

Hookah is an exotic smoking device that came to us from 10 years ago, it was not very popular in Russia, but after our tourists began to choose Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and similar countries as their holiday destination, smoking tobacco in this way became quite common and familiar. business for many of us. In our article we will look at how to smoke a hookah at home - simply and quickly. Even beginners can do it.

What parts does a hookah consist of?

These smoking devices are different - you can find hookahs of relatively small sizes, 40-50 cm long, but in the East there are also giants, a meter or more in height. Several people can smoke them at once. An ordinary hookah does not exceed 70-80 cm in height - this is its standard size. The kit includes: a flask for water, then there is a seal with a thread so that the so-called “shaft” itself - ideally wooden - fits tightly to the main part and does not allow excess air to pass through. Approximately in the middle of the “shaft” there will be a hole for the mouthpiece, also with a seal, and on top there will be a saucer and a bowl for tobacco. Assembling a hookah is very simple: take a flask, which needs to be filled to about half with water - cold is best, you can also put ice cubes in the water, insert the “shaft” tightly into it, into the hole of the “shaft” in the middle - the mouthpiece for smoking should also fit snugly , and finish on top with a bowl and tobacco container. The structure is much easier and faster to assemble than any children's Lego.

at home: preparing coal

So, the device is assembled. Next you need to start preparing the coal and tobacco. Coconut or charcoal is considered the best. They are usually sold in small boxes in the same stores as hookah smoking devices. Simple charcoal is also suitable, the main thing is to take medium-sized pieces, otherwise the tobacco will “burn” and you simply will not be able to smoke a hookah. The prepared coal must be placed on the stove, turning on a small gas. It will heat up to the desired temperature quickly enough, usually 8-15 minutes are enough, depending on the size of the pieces. When they begin to turn white, this is a sign that everything can be removed from the stove and used for its intended purpose. In parallel with this, you can take up tobacco: its correct selection and preparation is part of the real art of how to smoke a hookah in the best way.

Tobacco is different from tobacco

Special tobacco with different flavors is sold in specialized stores (in the same place as charcoal, hookahs themselves and accessories for them) or in some large supermarkets. The choice of flavors is very wide - from traditional peach and “double apple” to various alcoholic and exotic fruit flavors. So, the hookah is assembled, the water is in the flask, and the coal is on the stove. The main rule for smoking a hookah is that there should not be a lot of tobacco, it should fill a maximum of a third of the container specially designated for it, and it should be distributed over the surface, and not placed in one piece. A couple of pinches is enough for one hookah smoking. One more nuance - before putting tobacco into the hookah, you need to squeeze it out a little. It should not be watery, otherwise you will be smoking it for a very, very long time. Then cover the tobacco container with regular foil, make small perforations on top - preferably with a knitting needle or a fork, and you're done. Actually, now let's move on to the most important thing - how to smoke a hookah.

The final stage of preparation: hookah smoking and some useful tips on the topic in question

So, the hookah is assembled, the coal on the stove is partially whitened, and the tobacco is placed in a special container and covered with foil. Now the most important thing - using tongs, carefully place the coals on the very top, on the foil, take the mouthpiece into your mouth and begin the process of smoking the hookah. At first you will not feel the smoke, continue smoking - soon the coals will “ignite” and the aromatic smoke will flow as desired. If this does not happen for a long time, or you are new to this business and are getting acquainted with how to smoke a hookah for the first time, there is one trick: blow into the mouthpiece several times, as if in the opposite direction. This will make the coal burn even more and the process will go as it should. If you feel that the smoke is very strong and “cuts” your lungs, this means that you have put too much coal on top. Just remove a couple of pieces and enjoy the process again. In our article, we told you how to properly smoke a hookah and explained the process of preparing it from the very beginning to the end. Now you can enjoy this action not only in the resorts of Turkey, Egypt or the UAE, but also at home.

Many beginners, having acquired a hookah, tobacco, coal, chili, everything they need, are faced with technical nuances and it turns out that all of the above is not enough for a good hookah. The user's qualifications also play an important role. In particular, you need to have a good understanding of how to light a hookah and how to prepare it correctly at the level of professionals? Today is just about this.

Preparation

As in any business, the preparatory stage is of decisive importance. When preparing the narghile, it should be disassembled, thoroughly washed and dried. Then assemble it correctly :)

Warming up the bowl

The second colossally important stage when lighting is: warming up the bowl. For this purpose we use coal. We sell raw materials of natural and chemical origin. Chemical self-igniting coal does not require additional preparation, but natural coal needs to be heated.

1. At home, we do this on a gas burner: turn on the gas and place the coal with tongs. We wait until it begins to slightly burn on the sides and characteristically crackle, and remove from the heat.
2. Pour liquid into the flask (water, milk, herbal or fruit tea).
3. Let's chill. The tobacco needs to be fluffed to ensure good traction. Hammer the moassel into the bowl so that it is positioned at a distance of five millimeters from the foil.
4. Cover the chilli with foil and pull the sheet tightly to prevent air from getting into the bowl. We use an awl to make several holes for air circulation.
5. To prevent the bowl from cooling down, you can make an additional foil rim, and then place the coal on the chili.

Let's smoke

Let's move on to smoking. Each hookah lover has his own method, but in general they all boil down to the following algorithm: the hookah should be lit gradually, increasing the inhalation force. Rhythmic increasing air shocks allow you to smoke a hookah with high quality. At the same time, you can notice that the coals flare up more and more with each intensifying inhalation. It is important not to get carried away here: hookah smoke should not be inhaled deeply. It is recommended to hold the steam in your mouth, savoring the aroma and slowly release it out. We don’t drag ourselves too deep.

Smoking a hookah is a methodical process. It is important to prepare the narghile correctly and choose high-quality tobacco and charcoal. Warm up the bowl well. And using a series of breaths, smoothly but gradually light the hookah. Smoky everyone!