Caravansarai Hookahs

Hey, folks, it's been a while since I had time to do any posting to the blog, and I'm really sorry for that. Lots of things have been going on since my last post, so here's a quick recap:

• Because California's budget sucks right now, I took a REALLY early retirement from teaching. It was getting too stressful having to worry about whether or not my contract would be honored and if I'd lose my health insurance. When you've got a serious brain issue or having seizures like I do, you just can't afford to be without health care coverage. So to guarantee that I keep it, I had to retire. Maybe now I'll have time to post more regularly!


• We've got an air cargo container of Khalil Mamoon (KM) pipes coming to us in the next couple of weeks. It should have 10 of each style they make, so that's kind of exciting. Keep your eye out here for the announcement of their arrival and sale.


• The response to Saalaam Herbal Shisha surpassed anything we could have imagined. We know that some people prefer the buzz that comes along with using the tobacco brands, but we are thrilled to be supplying two local hookah lounges that serve Saalaam exclusively! It has also gone international, with representatives now in Russia and Latvia, and and negotiations on-going with reps in the Netherlands (Holland), Germany, the UK, Canada, and Australia. It's hard to imagine that back a couple of summers ago, when we recruited some of our regular customers to be samplers for us, that we'd see the success that we have. Thanks again, guys -- you know who you are!

We're working on a summer contest for one of those KM pipes I mentioned and as soon as we get the details all worked out with the legal peeps, I'll post it here. In the meantime, look for more regular posting from me as I branch out into areas that are related to hookahs without spending all my time talking just about the pipes. You'll soon find recipes for Egyptian food, photos of people and places to see in Egypt, virtual vacations to the Land of the Pharoahs, and lots more. I hope that you'll hang around and join in the fun!

It's that time again! Back by popular demand, we are holding another FREE sample promotion because everybody loves a freebie, right? We're offering one FREE box of 50 grams of Saalaam Herbal Shisha to the first 50 people who email us their name and shipping address. Once the 50 samples are gone, the promotion will end. One sample per person and per address, please. If you participated in the first promotion, you are not eligible for this one. But stay tuned for other FREE giveaways!

We've collected 100 requests for a free sample of Saalaam Herbal Shisha and are preparing them for shipment.

The promotion has ended. Thanks to everyone who participated. Your packages should arrive in the next couple of days for US participants; international participants can expect their packages within 10-21 days, depending on how quickly customs works in their respective countries.

Everybody loves a freebie, right? Ok, so c'mon and get happy with us! We're offering one FREE box of 50 grams of Saalaam Herbal Shisha to the first 50 people who email us their name and shipping address. Once the 50 samples are gone, the promotion will end. One sample per person and per address, please.

As I mentioned before, non-tobacco shisha is the wave of the future. The anti-tobacco and smoking bandwagon just keeps growing, so those of us who enjoy hookah need to check our options and alternatives. To this end, I recently tried some High-Life Smoke in the peach flavor.

My set up consisted of a 32" tall traditional Egyptian hookah with a single hose and a traditional Egyptian bowl made from clay. I'm not a fan of the Chinese porcelain bowls because they are too fragile and have the tendency to get way too hot. The only "modern" part of my set up was a charcoal screen that I used instead of foil. Basically, my set up is the same that you find in cafes all over Egypt.

High-Life comes in a sealed plastic bag inside a lightweight cardboard box. I couldn't smell much through the box before opening it but once it was open, a strong scent of peaches greeted me. The shisha looks like Soex except that the High-Life was a little more moist and softer to the touch. With the brightly colored and funky packaging, I expected to find a similar contemporary look in the shisha; however, in terms of color, it's just plain old reddish brown.

A group of friends shared the hookah with me, and we all came to the same conclusion -- High-Life is a decent product. The shisha maintained its flavor throughout our smoking session, which is a definite plus. It was a smooth smoke from start to finish with the shisha never becoming harsh. The only real complaint that we all had about it is that no matter how big our hits, we couldn't achieve the thick white clouds of smoke that we get with traditional shisha or with Soex.

Ratings:
Taste = 9/10
Smoke = 7/10
Cost = 8/10

As tobacco prices continue to rise and the list of cities banning smoking increases, hookah enthusiasts and lounge owners alike are seeking alternatives to shisha made from tobacco. And don't forget that with the New Year lurking around the corner, those "I will quit smoking" resolutions loom on the horizon! It's no wonder that the non-tobacco shisha products are quickly gaining a marketshare that few people in the industry expected.

Currently, there are three brands of herbal shisha on the market: Soex , Black Label, and High-Life Smoke. I've tried them all because even though I should be used to tobacco since I smoke cigarettes, something about shisha made with tobacco causes me to have coughing fits every time regardless of brand. A strong desire to avoid coughing while still being able to enjoy hookah prompted me to investigate the herbal products. If you're like me and seeking a tobacco, tar, and nicotine free hookah experience, perhaps this post will help you to make a purchasing decision.

Soex
None of the herbal shisha has the name power that Soex does. Made in India by the same company that makes Afzal tobacco molasses, Soex is the industry leader and enjoys immense popularity in Europe where it has a well established fan base. Contrary to urban myth, Soex is not made from sugar beets; its base is sugar cane bagasse, the pulp left behind after the juice has been extracted.

Soex is my personal favorite of the herbal alternatives. Although moisture levels sometimes vary from one production lot to the next, Soex nails the flavors every time. In addition to the standard fruit choices, Soex makes some fantastic exotic flavors that reflect its Indian roots. Bombay Panmasala, Pan Rasna, Rooh Afza Cool, Cardamom, and Lychee are among those traditional flavors.

If it's thick clouds of smoke and long-lasting flavor that you want, Soex will definitely do the job. I've shared my hookah with plenty of people who had no idea that what they were smoking was not tobacco. They could not tell the difference! The only difference that I note, aside from the appearance of the cut, is the fact that Soex does not send me into coughing fits like tobacco does. I've never experienced a headache from Soex.

Because the cut of Soex is thin, the heat has to be managed more carefully than it does with tobacco. However, once you've got the heat under control, a bowl will last 45-60 minutes. Best of all, you'll get the same delicious flavor and strong clouds of smoke from beginning to end.

If mixing flavors is something you enjoy, Soex lends itself quite well to flavor mixes. A couple of my favorites are Orange + Vanilla for a creamy orange flavor, Coffee + Mint + Vanilla for a delicious coffee with cream and a hint of mint, and Blueberry + Mint for a refreshing cool berry taste.

Flavors: Aniseed, Apple, Blackberry, Black Licorice, Blueberry, Bombay Panmasala, Bubblegum, Cardamom, Chocomint, Cinnamon, Coffee, Coconut, Double Apple, Golden Apple, Grape, Honey, Lime-Lemon, Lychee, Mango, Mint, Mintos, Mixed Fruit, Orange, Pan Rasna, Peach, Pina Colada, Pineapple, Pudina, Raspberry, Red Cherry, Rooh Afza Cool, Rose, Silver Fox, Strawberry, Sweet Lime, Sweet Melon, Vanilla, Watermelon, White Grape

Carleen's Top 5: Silver Fox (apple + mint), Rooh Afza Cool (extracts of citrus flowers, rose, and fruits), Blueberry, Mango, and Double Apple