Archive for the ‘Hookah Bowls’ Category

• Bowling for Bowls – What Works and What Doesn’t

  Date: 2010.06.25 | Category: Hookah Accessories, Hookah Bowls | Response: 1

  There are tons of bowls available for hookahs on the market today – with a host of different shapes and materials available, not all bowls are created equal.  What you’re going to get out of this blog is an overview of shapes and materials to help you make the best decision.
  CLAY, CERAMIC, AND PYREX – the eternal argument
  CLAY BOWL CERAMIC BOWL PYREX BOWL	If you see a bowl that’s not made out of 1 of these 3 materials… you should probably avoid it. There are a few bowls on the market that are made of aluminum that are effective, but due to metal’s tendency to heat up rapidly, shisha tends to burn more rapidly in metal bowls. First, there’s the old traditional bowls that are made of clay – and they’re made of clay for a good reason.  As soon as the clay is fired, it becomes a ceramic, and as such it gains properties that make it both heat resistant and deflect heat.  Once clay is fired it goes through a permanent chemical change that makes it remain that way forever – unless you really want to take the time to shatter it into dust. So, what’s the difference between clay bowls and ceramic bowls, since clay becomes a ceramic when fired?  Well, it’s all a matter of semantics, for sure, so bear with me for a second.  ‘Clay’ bowls are made from the reddish clay that is used in old pottery and bricks.  Think about a chimney in a house – more than likely it’s made of bricks.  In this case the chimney and the clay bowl are serving much the same purpose. Modern ‘ceramic bowls’ on the other hand are typically made with the less coarse, less heat resistant ceramic that’s known as “whiteware.”  If you see it unglazed it will be white or off-white.  This is the style of ceramic that’s used to make tableware like plates.  However, while it may not be the better heat reflector, since it’s less coarse it allows for more elaborate bowl forms – that’s why bowls such as the Vortex, the Phunnel, and Mya bowls that require more formation to perform a slightly different function will favor this material. Finally, there’s Pyrex, one of the more versatile materials on the list.  It doesn’t reflect heat anywhere near as well as clay or ceramic, but it’s the only way to get an entirely see-through medium, making it highly favored for aesthetic reasons, if not the most efficient way to smoke hookah.  The other positive side of Pyrex is that an experienced glass blower can shape it to their whim and create the most complex designs of any of the materials.
  SHAPES AND DESIGNS
  There are a ton of shapes and designs on the market today – but there are only a few that are tried and true.  There are some gimmicky bowls out there that simply don’t work the way that they were intended to.  Those won’t be mentioned – this is simply about the designs that work. First up – the Egyptian clay bowl.  These bowls tend to be somewhat shallow with 4 large holes drilled through the bottom.  Since the holes are large, it has increased air flow, but doesn’t work well for extremely juicy shisha such as Starbuzz or Fantasia.  A drier shisha is preferred – like Nakhla, Al Fakher or Ayam Zaman. Next, we come to the regular ceramic bowl – formatted after the clay Egyptian bowl, it tends to be a little bit deeper with smaller holes in the bottom.  Airflow is a little bit more restricted, but it works better with the moist shisha than the Egyptian bowl simply due to the hole size.  However, it also has a higher chance to overheat due to it being made of a “whiteware” style of ceramic.
  	Now, the acclaimed Vortex bowl is also made of a whiteware style of ceramic, but in this case, design overtakes material, making it one of the highest ranked bowls simply by using innovation to force the moisture to remain in the bottom of the bowl, making your smoke more flavorful and your tobacco more resistant to burning. Finally, we come to Pyrex bowls – and most bowls have a Pyrex version.  The Vortex shape, the standard Egyptian shape, and a whole host of other options fall into this category – and, as stated above, they may not be quite as practical as their ceramic/clay counterparts, but they will always be the most aesthetically pleasing, and a bit more expensive.
  So there you have it – the most common materials… the most common styles of bowl – and a few prime examples of how to best utilize them.  To be honest, if you read the entire blog, I applaud you.  I’m worn out from writing, it’s time to go pack a bowl – Happy Smoking!

  

• Multi-Headed Vortex Hookah Bowls

  Date: 2009.12.04 | Category: Hookah Accessories, Hookah Bowls | Response: 0

  

  At HookaH-HookaH Co., we not only appreciate your comments, we embrace them. Each and every issue you have, we want to address, and give you the most thorough feedback possible. We have had some questions about the Multi-headed Vortex bowl and I’m here to set that record straight.

  Most of you are familiar with the original Vortex bowl, which was invented and patented by HookaH-HookaH Co. This bowl is manufactured with a raised middle section, or the apex, which is perforated with holes. That might sound pretty simple, but really, this innovative design allows for more hot airflow to reach maximum coverage over the entire bowl, keeps the tobacco juices that increase the flavor of your smoke from dripping out of your bowl into your vase and keeps the charcoal from getting too close to your tobacco and scorching it.

  On top of that, with the addition of the two and three headed Vortex bowl options, you can pack more shisha into your bowl in one sitting, mix and match multiple flavors at the same time and more than double the expanse of a typical hookah smoking session. But beware: you could end up with a flavor overload that could rock your world!