Carnival of the Shisha: Havana Hookah Tobacco
A Review of Havana Hookah Tobacco
Havana is another Emeriti Premium Tobacco, just like Al Fakher. It shares a lot of similarities with Al Fakher, in taste and texture, but we wouldn’t go so far to say they are equal brothers in Hookah Tobacco Land. More like Havana has a bit of growing up to do, before we’d pay the same dollar as for Al Fakher.
Havana is a pretty widely distributed tobacco, especially to tobacco shops that don’t necessarily specialize in hookahs. Many times, if a place carries Havana, that’s pretty much all they carry. And its not a bad tobacco to have on hand, but definitely not our preferred hookah smoke.
Like we said, Havana shares a lot with Al Fakher. They both have similar packaging, but Havana’s looks a little less professional and the jar feels flimsy. The texture of this hookah tobacco is similar, but less juicy and adapts a little better to climate than Al Fakher, maybe a mix between Al Fakher and Nakhla, which is a positive.
Havana has a good variety of flavors, including some downright weird ones. One of Havana’s strong points is their flavor mixes, like Lemon-Grape, which is our Havana Signature Flavor. Both their grape and lemon are nice, and when mixed together, they make a sweet/tart taste that is really great. Their fruit flavors are mostly solid, with Mango and Blueberry being their best and the ever difficult Strawberry being their worst. We definitely don’t recommend the Strawberry. They also have a Carrot flavor, which took us by surprise. We haven’t had the chance to try it out (the places we shop are reluctant to carry it), but we’ve heard its a surprisingly good flavor.
Havana’s biggest downfall is its smoke longevity. It just doesn’t retain flavor as long as Al Fakher or even Nakhla, and while the flavor itself is good, its not amazing. Short smoke, without crazy amazing flavor at the Premium Hookah Tobacco level just doesn’t cut the mustard.
Havana is a Premium Hookah Tobacco, in price, but there are so many Premium Tobaccos out there that offer a bit more in quality: A bit longer smoke, a bit better flavor, a bit cleaner packaging, etc. While its not a bad hookah tobacco by any means, it doesn’t wow us, and with Al Fakher around nearly every corner, its hard to pick up a jar of Havana at the same price. If you want to try out some of their flavor mixes, this is the way to go, and makes Havana more attractive, but for most smoking situations, if we want solid fruit flavors in a no-hookah-hassle package, than we’ll go with Al Fakher.
Hookah Tobacco Review: Havana Hookah Tobacco
Type: Premium Hookah Tobacco
Signature Flavor: Lemon-Grape
Best Flavors: Peach, Grape, Raspberry, Banana, Carrot, Cappuccino, Mango, Blueberry, Orange,
Worst Flavors: Strawberry, Raspberry,
Price: $11-14 per 250 grams
Ease of Use: 7/10
Overall: 6/10
