How is hookah tobacco made?
Tobacco used for a hookah is a special blend of noble tobacco leaves, various flavors, as well as molasses and glycerin. It is worth noting that after tobacco, the most expensive ingredient is the flavoring additives that give it its taste.
There is an opinion that one liter of flavoring costs from $50 to $1200, and this is enough to produce - of smoking tobacco blend. However, the data above is very difficult to verify, as the details of the production process and the ingredients used in it are a secret of every company that produces hookah tobacco.
The Emergence and Smoking of Regular Tobacco in Hookahs
Hookah pipes in one form or another have existed for more than 500 years, but the smoking tobacco for hookahs that we enjoy today is not as old as one might expect. However, the origin of the tobacco plant—cultivation and use—can be traced back to 5000 BC, with the first sources of tobacco associated with the Coxcatlán phase in Mesoamerica (Mexico).
During this time, Native Americans smoked tobacco for its medicinal properties and as part of spiritual ceremonies. Tobacco leaves were crushed and packed into pipes made of reeds and clay. Tobacco smoking in hookahs began in the 16th century, when Indian glass manufacturers created what could be called the first glass bong pipes.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the pleasure of smoking hookah gradually spread to the Middle Eastern countries, including Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Egypt. Although at that time hookah tobacco did not differ much from the tobacco plant itself, each country developed new designs for hookah pipes, using different materials and production technologies.
Up until the 1990s, tobacco was not flavored with anything. Tobacco leaves were mixed with water, and then pressed into a shape suitable for smoking from a hookah bowl. As a result, they were very difficult to light, and they produced a strong taste and smell combined with a high nicotine content. Even after filtering through the water in the nargile, this form of hookah tobacco was very harsh to smoke and was losing worldwide popularity compared to other methods of smoking, such as cigarettes, cigars, and tobacco pipes.
Smoking Flavored Hookah Tobacco
In the 90s, hookah smokers experimented by fermenting tobacco leaves with honey, molasses, and glycerin to create a sweeter smoking sensation. This led to a revival of hookahs, as young smokers preferred the sweetish taste of tobacco and began exchanging experiences as a fashionable alternative to cigarettes.
Pieces of apple pulp, grapes, cherries, bananas, watermelons, lemons, or peppermint were added to the mixture. The popularity of such tobacco continued to grow, facilitated by rapid globalization and the boom in internet business. And today, hundreds of different flavors are available. This addition does not leave an unpleasant characteristic aftertaste in the smoker's mouth from the smoke of burning tobacco leaves.
What and How Is Hookah Tobacco Made Today?
As mentioned above, the smoking hookah blend consists of tobacco, flavoring ingredients, molasses, and glycerin. Each company that produces such a product has its own rules, so the composition of individual blends will vary depending on the brand.
Most often, light varieties of Virginia tobacco are used in hookahs. Sometimes Virginia leaf tobacco is mixed in various proportions with other varieties (mainly Burley and Oriental). Freshly harvested leaves are slowly oxidized in a heated room, but not until withered, after which they are cured, i.e., dried on a chimney. This process gives them a beautiful yellow-orange color and a mild taste. Dark tobacco leaves, which have a much higher nicotine content, undergo drying and fermentation outdoors while suspended for - weeks.
Molasses (treacle) is made from dehydrated juice of sugar beets or sugar cane and is used in the tobacco blend as a sweetener syrup. It can be replaced with corn syrup or bee honey, but popular manufacturers of hookah tobacco prefer classic molasses.
Glycerin is used to increase the cloudiness of the smoke. It helps to keep the tobacco leaves moist longer—for their longer smoldering. It is enough to add a couple of drops of glycerin or wet your fingers with it and fluff up the tobacco mixture with your hands.
The flavoring in the composition of hookah tobacco is intended to resemble the taste of a certain product. It has a liquid consistency and a special, rich aroma. Manufacturers of food flavorings are constantly expanding their assortment to better reach the tastes of consumers and thereby gain their favor. Some companies currently offer more than seventy flavors. Thanks to this, we can smoke tobacco that mimics the taste of fruits, drinks, candies, and even spices.
When buying a hookah blend, you should consider how often you smoke. If this happens quite rarely, you should not buy a large package of one flavor. The same taste quickly becomes boring, and over time there is a desire to try something completely new.