Creating Shisha - The Tobacco

My real appreciation of hookah has come down to tobacco.  When I first started smoking shisha, I loved the big fruity flavors, the classic double apple, and the massive clouds.  Somewhere along the line that took an abrupt turn and I find myself smoking unflavored shisha 75% of the time.  This led me to the idea that instead of taking a semi-flavorless tobacco and giving it different flavors, why not make a variety of tobaccos with the intent of experiencing the nuances of the leaf itself.

That's not to say that I don't still love my flavors.  Two of my favorites that I make are a banana/clove blend and a peppermint/blueberry blend.  I smoke them all the time and I love the experience.  And I'm also still addicted to Al Fakher's Double Apple with Mint.

But for me, the leaf is where it's at.  Here are a few that we use to make our shisha.  Each has their very own personality, look, and feel.  Each requires a different cut based on the build of the leaf which makes for its own challenge.  But the enjoyment is in the ritual, yes?

Canadian Virginia Flue Cured

The mainstay tobacco that we use for our flavored blends is the Virginia Flue Cured.  Light in color and light in flavor, it is a perfect leaf for flavoring.  And luckily it is one of the easier leafs to cut.  Being that everything we do is hand-cut, the process is very time consuming and tough on the hands.  Also known as Brightleaf Tobacco, it is a very smooth smoke.

The cut that we put on this leaf is done by rolling the tobacco into a bunch and cross cutting the roll.  This makes for a long, thick shisha leaf and gives a great amount of surface area for flavor to hold on to.  We are also able to separate the stems very cleanly from this leaf, so what you get is a 99% stem free shisha with a nice even cut.

American Virginia Flue Cured


Much fuller and richer in flavor that the Canadian Flue Cured, the American Virginia Flue Cured has a lot more depth and seemingly a greater buzz than the Canadian.  This is also a drier leaf with smaller stems that are reasonably usable and cut for the blend.  This makes for a different texture in the package than the Canadian.

The cut is also made slightly different because with the drier nature of the leaf, the cuts tend to be much smaller and random than that of the Canadian blends.  It also makes for a drier feel in the hands when being packed.

We only use the American VFC for unflavored blends.  It is a 100% natural Gallberry honey blend that we buy at a local farm.  When burning this blend, you can also get a beautiful whisp of the honey burning on the aroma.  The richness of the leaf is perfect for the light and flavorful honey mix as the two make a combination that is unmistakable once you've had a few bowls of it.

Connecticut Broad Leaf 

This is a big-punch leaf.  A very strong, but smooth and very flavorful leaf.  This is one that you don't want to smoke on for too long. lest you have a massive buzz.

A very elastic leaf, this one.  When we cut it, it takes much more effort and the leaf wants to bind up.  Not that it's not worth it.  This leaf is used in making the Magdy Louis blend, which is named after a man who I greatly respect.

This leaf is also special to me for another reason.  The punch this one packs, coupled with the massive flavor it throws off reminds me of smoking the difficult-to-find Tombac while I was in Egypt.  The Tombac was a man's-man smoke and I wanted to replicate that as closely as I could with this leaf.    Trying to replicate that experience requires a lot of heft.  Therefore, we make the Magdy Louis with 100% molasses and leave the honey out.  The rich molasses flavor is the only thing that can stand up to this big leaf and I must suggest smoking this blend with the same care as when smoking Tombac.  I woould recommend short, light puffs on this one as opposed to the big shisha drags you're probably used to.

Brazilian Habano Viso

This is a new leaf for us.  I have one pound sitting waiting for a glycerine injection as we speak.  I'm pretty excited about this leaf as everything I've read leads to me thinking that it is going to be very flavorful.  On this run, I am just blending it with Gallberry honey to see the nature of what the lead provides. It is also a very expensive tobacco, making the prospect somewhat nerve-racking.

When I received the leaf, the aroma was jumping out of the bag.  Described by experts as having a leathery, chocolaty, peppery aroma, I could definitely see the leather before I even opened the bag.  The texture on the leaf was also leathery and very easy to cut, with the perfect level of moisture for our needs.  

This particular leaf is apparently native to Cuba, but the seeds for this blend were planted and grown in Brazil.  From what I have read, it still keeps much of the characteristic of its Cuban cousin.

When we do get a good clutch on what this leaf is all about, I suspect it's going to be a candidate for a honey blend, but I'm leaning toward an orange blossom honey, which is also harvested 100% natural and local to me.  The flavors sound like they'd be a nice match, so this month of curing is going to see exceptionally long.
If there are any questions in reference to our leaves or what is used in which blends, feel free to ask.  We will also be moving into some more exotic leaves as time goes by to get deeper into the idea of unflavored shisha production.  Cheers to all of you and happy smoking!