Commentary on hookahs, smoke rings, and The Dream

…what coals should you use and why?

There are a lot of coals out there, and when you get a bad batch, it can literally ruin an otherwise peaceful night with your favorite hookah pipe. 

We’ve made some bad decisions in our lives, both hookah and non-hookah related, and some of those have been in trusting the mantra that all hookah coals are created equal.  They aren’t, in case you haven’t had the displeasure yet.  Here is a quick breakdown of the quick lights that you may be in the market for:

Three Kings Quick Light Hookah Charcoal – made in Holland these guys have been the gold standard for the last decade.  Clean burning, with a nice foil wrapping.  You can never go wrong with Three Kings.  The only down side is that they can be a bit ashy, which hampers the heat management when you are going on your 4th coal.  Overall, a buy.

Starlight Quick Light Hookah Coal (Red Packaging) – these are our favorite.  Made in China, they are typically a hair cheaper than Three Kings and have a bit less ash to boot.  They light up quick and hot with just a lick of the lighter.  We’d carry them, but we have no idea who distributes them, except for our local Egyptian grocer.

Starlight Quick Light Hookah Coal (Blue Packaging) – one of the bodegas in Jersey City started carrying these monstrosities instead of the red package for some weird reason.  They smoke okay, but lack longevity.  They provide a ton of ash per coal and don’t heat up like the red coals.  Stay away, unless your only option is Roland.

Roland Quick Light Hookah Charcoal – these things taste like a burning wood in your month and whatever hydrocarbon they are using to light up the coal basically smells like a tire fire.  If you got these for free from some hookah site and MUST use them, make sure you do it in a ventilated space or you will have a headache.  Don’t go here, take the night off and buy some good coals tomorrow.

Al Fakher Quick Light Hookah Charcoal – these guys are a great go to if you can’t find Starlights or Three Kings.  They are the fastest lighting quick lights around and have one of the cleanest tastes of any hookah charcoal out there.  The only downside is that they won’t go as far as the Starlights and on first ignition they light up unevenly, taking a little longer to get the heat up and the hookah smoke rolling.  Definitely a good go to hookah charcoal, weaknesses considered.

We have a new video up at the Hobocans Happy Hour where we tackle this very question: Get ready to meet the Al Fakher Quicklights and Starlight All Natural Coconut Coals.