How To Make Thicker Clouds

Everyone loves thicker clouds from their hookahs, just like the ones you may have experienced at a shisha lounge. But many people are disappointed when they fail to replicate that at home. The problem isn’t the setting of a shisha lounge and your home. The issue is with your hookah.

Dense or thicker clouds that are evidently more voluminous require a specific setup. Also, you must tweak your approach to how you set everything up for your session. This guide has all the secrets about how to make thicker clouds.

Use a Top-Quality Clay Hookah Bowl

The universal truth that you get what you pay for also applies to your hookah. You cannot get an inexpensive and thin hookah bowl made of some mixture of unknown materials to deliver thicker clouds that a solid clay stoneware will offer.

All hookah bowls are essentially ceramics, but the type and quality of clay used isn’t identical. Also, the thickness, shape, and other physical characteristics affect the hookah bowl’s capacity and performance.

For instance, a thin and poor quality hookah bowl won’t retain the heat necessary to generate a voluminous cloud of smoke. Likewise, bowls that get too hot in a short span of time may burn the shisha tobacco. Burnt tobacco doesn’t exactly deliver thicker clouds.

Furthermore, use a sizable hookah bowl for the quantity of shisha tobacco you intend to use in a session. You cannot overpack a bowl if you want thicker clouds because there won’t be enough air.

Prevent Air Leakage at the Connections

The entire hookah setup shouldn’t have any air leakage after all the parts are connected. The only airflow should be through the hole of the hookah bowl, which is facilitated by the pores in the aluminum foil or vents under a heat management device.

If air leaks out or gushes in due to a negative draft inside your hookah, your shisha clouds will be diluted. The smoke may even disperse and you won’t get the kind of draw and hit you want. Always check the grommets and fit every connection snugly before you start your session.

Pack the Shisha Tobacco Flavor Perfectly

Never overpack a hookah bowl with any shisha tobacco, irrespective of the flavor. And you must have sufficient air pockets inside the bowl as you load it with the shisha tobacco. Thicker clouds need more air to flow through the bowl and sufficient heat to uniformly work on the entire pack.

If some parts of your packed shisha tobacco don’t get hot enough or there’s poor air circulation, the extracted smoke won’t be thick or desirable flavorful. So, you should pack a hookah bowl in a stepwise manner. Pack one layer at a time, sprinkle the tobacco, and don’t press it down.

You should use a poker or fork to make some tiny air pockets during and after you pack a bowl. This tactic applies to all bowls, be it Egyptian, phunnel, or vortex. The exact quantity you need to pack depends on the hookah bowl size and the type of tobacco. However, aeration is vital.

Use Foils or Heat Management Devices Properly

Once you have a perfect pack, you should use the foils or a heat management device properly. Don’t poke too many holes in aluminum foil. Ensure the foil is wrapped neatly so that the top is absolutely flat. There shouldn’t be any sagging. Also, prevent excess airflow into the bowl.

Heat management devices should be snugly fitted atop the bowl. If there’s any air leakage at the connection, you will lose heat from the charcoal. Thus, you won’t get thicker clouds. Likewise, if the heat management device restricts airflow, you won’t have sufficient smoke.

If all your hookah components are of reasonably good quality, making thicker clouds is all about packing the shisha tobacco properly and using the foils or heat management devices accurately. 

Manage the Heat Throughout the Session

Last but not least, you must use the right number of charcoal pieces. Too many pieces, and you will burn the shisha tobacco. Too few, and you won’t get thicker clouds. Also, every charcoal piece should be burning hot before you place it atop the foil or in a heat management device.

Getting started is only the beginning of a hookah session if you want thicker clouds. You must manage the heat throughout the session. Change charcoal that’s burned out. Move the pieces atop the foil or in the heat management device to ensure the bowl gets heated uniformly.

Prevent wind and other ambient factors from reducing the heat directed at the bowl. If you can ensure these fundamentals are alright, you will make thicker clouds every time and with almost all types of shisha tobacco flavors made by any of the leading brands.