Commentary on hookahs, smoke rings, and The Dream

A Review of Afzal Hookah Tobacco

Afzal comes from the first home of the hookah: India. India is known for producing a lot of hookah gear, however, unlike Arabia or the upstart US hookah operations, there aren’t many tobaccos from the subcontinent. The Afzal is a fine offering, and available as the exclusive tobacco at many hookah shops, but it also has some low points.

Afzal is made by the same makers as Soex, the herbal tobacco. And as far as flavors, they pretty much follow suit. This is a mid-range tobacco, that is thinly cut, and a little juicy. It’s served from a box, with the tobacco contained in a zip-lock bag for resealing. They also hook you up with a few mouth-tips, which is a nice touch.

As for flavors, there is a mixed bag here. Their mint is great, as is their double apple, which they have since mixed into their signature flavor: Silver Fox. If you dig mixing your mint and apple together, this is a a unique offering from Afzal and one that we would consistently buy. We also like their Orange and Grape flavors, which are both different than the Nakhla or Al Waha competition, but good. Not all of their fruit flavors are great, however: Stay away from their blueberry or strawberry. Both are below par.

While overall, a pretty good smoke, in our experience, Afzal has a weird, plastic-like aftertaste, which is a problem especially on their more subtle flavors (the blueberry and strawberry for instance). The session length on this hookah tobacco is also not great, maybe a bit below Nakhla and far below any of the premium brands we have tried. The price isn’t bad, at about $10/250grams, but its hard to find online in the 250 gram size and you’ll get nickel-and-dimed buying 50g samples.

If your neighborhood joint has Afzal on the shelves, there is a good chance that that’s your only option, and its not a bad option. Stick to their proven flavors, like Silverfox or Orange and you should be okay. If you see some online, it’s worth a try, but there are other brands, like Al-Waha or even Al-Fakher, that come in at the same price point and offer a better variety of more-consistent flavors.

Hookah Tobacco Review: Afzal Hookah Tobacco

Type: Mid-Range Hookah Tobacco

Signature Flavor: Silver Fox

Best Flavors: Mint, Double Apple, Orange, Grape, Lemon-lime

Worst Flavors: Peach, Blueberry, Strawberry

Price: $10-12 per 250 grams

Ease of Use: 6/10

Overall: 5/10