How to Set Up a Hookah: The Steps Explained

Hookahs are stemmed devices that are used for heating, vaporizing, and smoking various types of specialized tobacco. There are tons of interesting flavors that a person can try such as apple, cherry, chocolate, and mint.

It’s for this reason that many tobacco enthusiasts want to try it at least once. The problem is setting the thing up. With all the separable parts and assembly steps, it can be difficult for beginners to work their way through it.

If you’re one of these enthusiasts who just bought their first device, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Here is a full step by step hookah for beginners guide.

Step 1: Grab What You’ll Need

Before we get into how to set up your device, let’s talk about what hookah materials you should grab. You’ll need to buy a hookah, obviously.

After that, you’ll have to pick up a clay hookah bowl. This is the thing that holds and bakes your tobacco. Speaking of tobacco, you’re going to need some.

There are tons of flavors available. All you need to do is pick one that stands out to you. If you don’t already have tinfoil, go to the grocery store and pick some up.

You’ll need a fork to spoon the tobacco into the bowl and hookah coals. Keep in mind that hookah coals are supposed to get hot. Buy a pair of tongs to carry them from your electric burner to the bowl.

Step 2: Separate the Stem and Base

Now that you’ve gone through your shopping list, you can begin setting up your hookah. Separate the stem from the base. For some devices, this is as simple as unscrewing it.

Some use a grommet to attach the two, which is a little more difficult. You’ll have to pull and twist at it until it decides it wants to separate.

Step 3: Fill the Base with Water

Carry the base over to your sink and fill it up with cool water. You will not be filling the base all the way up. The Stem shouldn’t be totally submerged once you reattach it.

It only needs to cover up the bottom of the stem by about half an inch or so. Any more than that and it will be hard to inhale the smoke. It won’t be a good first experience, to say the least.

Step 4: Assembly

After you think you’ve filled the base up with an appropriate amount of water, you can reattach the stem to the base. Once that’s on good and tight, grab your hose and connect it to the hose port.

The last step of assembly is placing the ashtray onto the small ledge that’s located on the stem. It’s meant to catch the charcoal ashes from your smoking session, but it’s a good place to hang your tongs when you’re not using them, as well.

Step 5: Heat Your Coals

Grab three pieces of charcoal and place them on your electric burner. You can buy quick lightning or natural hookah charcoal.

We will warn you that the quick lightning doesn’t give off the greatest smell in the world while it’s burning. Leave the charcoals on the burner while you get your tobacco ready to go.

Step 6: Scoop Your Tobacco

Get a fork out of your kitchen drawer and use it to spoon your tobacco of choice into the bowl. As far as how much hookah shisha to pack into the bowl, that’s up to you and the size of the bowl you’re working with. We’ll tell you that you should leave at least a few millimeters of space around the edge.

This way, the tobacco isn’t rubbing against the tinfoil in the next step. Be sure that you also don’t pack the bowl too tight.

You want to allow for a little air to blow through. To this end, use something to create a hole in the middle of your tobacco mound for the same reason.

Step 7: Wrap Aluminum Foil Around the Bowl

Tear off a sheet of tin foil that’s big enough to wrap around the top of the bowl. You’ll need to fold it a few times to make it a little easier to work with.

Once it’s secured around the top, grab a poker and punch a few holes into the top of the tin foil. We say a few, but it’s going to be more like 30 holes. When you’re done, place the bowl on top of the stem.

Step 8: Place the Hookah Coals

Go over and check on your charcoal. If they’re glowing red, they’re ready to go on top of the tin foil. You want to make sure that you place the charcoal evenly.

If you don’t, the smoke won’t distribute evenly, which will mark a bad first experience.

Step 9: Enjoy

After a few minutes of heating, take the coals off the bowl and enjoy your hookah. You may have to place the coals back on the bowl throughout your session to heat the tobacco back up. Other than that, you’re good to go.

How to Set Up a Hookah the Right Way

Learning how to set up a hookah can seem like a daunting task to someone who has just bought their first device. Take a deep breath and follow the steps we’ve provided. It’s the easiest way to get your device set up for what will hopefully be a great first smoking session.

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