Tangiers is one of the most popular brands in the hookah industry, and not without reason. It's a brand of hookah tobacco that focuses on flavor longevity and providing an enormous buzz. It's a brand that has gained worldwide fame, and it's even gone so far as to be copied in Europe. What's the deal with Tangiers? Why the buzz? It's a brand that many swear by, but why? Today, I'd like to cover this. We're going to be talking a little bit about what Tangiers is, and why it has such a craze behind it. Without further ado, let's jump into it!
The Brand Itself Tangiers, like I said, is a dark leaf tobacco. It's extremely finely chopped, and doesn't have much excess juice to it. It's one of the finest chopped brands on the market, with the possible exception of Lavoo. Tangiers is based out of San Diego, CA. It's a small operation, but one that provides a brand to the entire world. There's a lot of enigma shrouding the brand itself, and the owner, Eric. Eric is practically a mythical figure in the hookah industry - there aren't any photos of videos of him whatsoever. Some say that he's crazy, others just say that he prefers his privacy. Regardless, he's clearly a genius. It's not easy to build a brand with such renown, but he has managed it nonetheless. Emerging to the market in 2006 or so, the brand itself quickly garnered much attention, and by 2011 or so was already one of the most prevalent and popular brands that you could find online. Currently, there are four lines of Tangiers, each identified with different colored labels. First is Birquq, the green label line. Birquq has less nicotine, and it's easier to pack and manage heat. It's definitely a great place to start with Tangiers, as it still is one of the buzzier brands on the market. Next up, Noir, the yellow label line, and easily the most popular line. Noir is finely chopped, and it's without a doubt the most popular line. Noir features a pretty substantial buzz, something that'll knock new smokers off of their ass. Noir is the brand that people seem to struggle the most with packing, as it requires a very specific packing method. Thirdly, we have Burley, the purple label line. Burley is the strongest line of Tangiers, and arguably the strongest line of tobacco on the market. The cut is more similar to Birquq, and it's easier to pack and manage heat because of that. However, this brand can buzz even the most regular of smokers, including myself. It's not a brand that I would recommend to anyone that isn't sure of themselves, but it's a solid brand nonetheless. Finally, we have the F-Line, which also comes in a purple label, however it's marked as F-Line. This line is somehow infused with caffeine, and I actually have yet to smoke it. I'm not entirely sure how the process works behind mixing caffeine into your shisha, however reports say that it can certainly give you the jitters. Because of this, I group it with Burley, and I wouldn't recommend it to newer smokers. Smokers find themselves loving the long sessions that you can get from Tangiers. While a normal pack in a bowl like the 80ft will last roughly an hour and a half or so, Tangiers can go easily three hours. They also have very robust flavors, like their "Cane Mint", which is easily their most popular flavor.
How to Pack
Because of the learning curve involved with packing Tangiers, I've decided that now is an apt time to show you how I like to pack my Tangiers. Keep in mind, that this is not how Tangiers recommends you pack their tobacco, and that this is just what works for me. I cannot guarantee that this will work perfectly for you, but it's a good general guideline to follow when packing.
This is what we'll be working with today. Foil, HookahJohn 80ft bowl, a paper towel, a foil poker, and Tangiers Noir Blackberry.
Start by mixing your tobacco. Make sure that you get the juices nice and mixed well.
To start, I'll just take some clumps of the shisha and just throw it into the bowl, above the spire.
Next, you'll want to pack it down densely, so that it looks like the right half of the bowl here.
This is what it should look like afterwards. It should be well below the spire at this point, and tightly packed in there.
Next, just take some shisha and sprinkle it on top of what you've already packed. It should still be a bit over the rim at this point, so don't worry about it too much. You don't want to have crazy amount in there either, so as to avoid overpacking.
After that, do the palm test. Push the palm of your hand against the bowl itself, tightly packing the bowl.
Your hand should look like this after the palm test. Messy, yes?
This is roughly what the finished product should look like. For the final step, I'll take my thumb and just run it along the packed tobacco, so that it's mostly level with the spire across the board. You want to make sure that your shisha is level, so that it burns evenly.
Take a paper towel and clean the outside of the bowl itself, just to make cleanup later easier on you.
Foil your bowl, as tight as you can get it (which I am obviously not great at, by any means).
Poke some holes! Hole patter doesn't matter too much, however you do want to make sure that you're poking holes all the way through the shisha, so that air flow isn't completely blocked to the bottom of the bowl.
Throw on your coals (two Prestige cubes is what I'm using here), and you'll be good to go! A pack like this can last three hours easily, with two or three rounds of coals.
Overall?
If you're new to packing to Tangiers, or just looking to get into the brand, this is where I would recommend getting started. Grab some Cane Mint in Birquq, and go to town. What do you think? Have you tried Tangiers? Do you like it? Are you part of the craze? Do you agree with my packing method? If not, just let me know in the comments below! As always guys, thank you so much for reading, and happy smokes!
