How to set up your first hookah

A Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Your First Hookah

Are you eager to experience hookah smoking but unsure of how to go about setting the device up?

If so, or if you’re generally interested in seeing what the exciting world of hookahs is all about, you’re hardly alone. The hookah, which consists of a burning chamber and multiple hoses that allow users to draw smoke, is used with great-tasting tobaccos, most of which are flavored with fruit. When you’re enjoying a hookah, good times and good memories usually accompany pleasant smoking experiences.

That said, the prospect of setting up your first hookah can be daunting. But with a little bit of guidance and supplemental information, which this guide provides, your hookah will be operational in no time at all. Hookah smoking (and tobacco use generally) is one of my favorite hobbies, and in addition to being fun in its own right, hookah smoking provides everyone with a means of experiencing a piece of international culture; the device was created in India in the 1500s.

To get your hookah up and running as soon as possible, let’s take a step-by-step look at everything you need to know.

What You’ll Need

• A Smoking Area
• A Hookah
• Filtered Water
• Hookah (Shisha) Tobacco
• Hookah Coals

Don’t freak out if the items on this list seem like a bit much (particularly in comparison to those required to enjoy other forms of tobacco). Most of the products can be purchased in the same location, and if a tobacco doesn’t meet your taste preferences, you can always replace it or change its coals, filter liquid, or even its hookah. (Different hookahs operate in different ways, producing unique flavors.)

In short, the biggest hurdle you’ll encounter is getting started. Once your hookah is set up, you can easily make preference-related changes later on.

Step One: Designate a Smoking Area

As you’re probably aware, tobacco smoke sticks to the interior of homes and buildings. As you’re probably not aware, though, hookah smoke is especially potent and will more than likely impact the smell of a room — and the adjoining rooms.

So long as you don’t mind the smell of shisha tobacco, smoking indoors is fine; just make sure that you have consistent airflow and reliable ventilation in the space. Otherwise, smoke may get “stuck.” It also wouldn’t hurt to have an air purifier, which won’t cost much, near the hookah.

And if you do mind the smell of shisha tobacco in your home, all you have to do is designate an outdoor smoking area. There’s something inherently relaxing about stepping outside and enjoying a hookah on a gorgeous summer or autumn day.

Step Two: Clean and Assemble the Hookah

Even if your hookah is brand new, you’d be wise to gently wash its base, or bottom bowl where water is stored. In this way, chemicals and/or substances left behind from the production process won’t impact the smoking experience.

Once the hookah is clean and dry, you can attach its hose/hoses into their designated slots; doing so is as easy as matching the hose’s connection piece to the connection piece in the hookah itself. In the past, you might have had some difficulty with this process, but today’s hookahs are incredibly user friendly.

Your clean, dry, and assembled hookah should be placed on a flat surface that’s clear of other items. Being made of glass, hookahs are fragile, and the more cluttered a space is, the greater the chances of an accident taking place.

Step Three: Fill the Base

Next, you’ll need to use filtered water to fill the hookah’s base. Filtered water can be purchased for about one dollar at most grocery stores, and because it’s free of contaminants, it will aid — not take away from — your hookah experience.

When the base is connected to the hookah proper, you’ll notice that a small, moisture-drawing piece extends into the base. This piece is called the stem, and the base should be filled about an inch past the stem. Underfilled hookahs won’t operate properly and/or will provide less-than-stellar-tasting smoke.

Step Four: Pack the Hookah’s Bowl

The hookah’s bowl, or the small compartment that’s used to hold the shisha tobacco that will be burned, should be packed lightly. If you push the tobacco down too far and make the pack too tight, it’ll be tough to get a draw, and the hookah won’t operate optimally.

Drop shisha tobacco into your bowl until it’s about three-quarters filled. Also, be sure to level the upper layer of the bowl’s tobacco prior to smoking, to assure an even (in terms of both draw and taste) burn.

Remember to replace your hookah’s bowl cover after packing the shisha tobacco. Coals are applied to this bowl cover — not to the tobacco or the bowl itself.

Step Five: Apply Coals to the Bowl Cover

Using either quick-light coals, which can be lit in a matter of seconds with a lighter, or natural coals, which require about ten minutes on the stove or before an open flame to heat up, apply heat to the bowl by using tongs to lightly place the coals on top of the hookah’s bowl’s cover. (This is the uppermost portion of the hookah.)

Be careful when using the aforementioned heat sources and when handling the coals themselves. Generally, two evenly sized coals will prove satisfactory, but you can adjust this number based upon your preferences and needs; more coal means more smoke, albeit because the tobacco will burn quicker than it otherwise would have.

Let your hookah warm up for a few minutes before indulging in order to have a flavorful smoking experience.

Step Six: Enjoy

Try to draw once every minute or two — and no more frequently than that, as doing so will accelerate the shisha’s burning speed and make harsh flavors. After an hour or so of smoking, if you notice that the taste has become stale and/or tasteless, it’s probably because the shisha is spent. Be careful when you’re taking coals off the bowl and when you’re emptying the bowl, which can become hot.

Did you find this information helpful? I sure hope you did. As I mentioned, I thought it was important to make a hookah guide for first-time users, and I think your hookah experience will be better — and more enjoyable — as a result.

Thanks for reading, and don’t hesitate to leave feedback in the comments section!