Catch-Up

I will make no excuses or pretenses about my prolonged absence. I'll only say, it's good to be back. And hi, McLane.

Here's a butt-ton of recipes and reviews I thought I'd already posted but haven't apparently!

HookaH-HookaH - Acai Berry

In the box: Not overtly fruity on the nose. Much like white grape, it's kind of rocking a fermented feel. Very unique, I'll give it that!
In the bowl: It's actually very floral. Like a rose? I can actually tolerate? It makes me see what everyone likes about a good rose! Acai is mellow but present, fruity/berry-y but not fake. Tasty and wonderful. Also probably one of my favorite favorite mixers. I should get a gigantic tub of this, stat. And you. should. too.

star star star star star
5/5 stars for H-H ACAI!!!

Orange + Acai + Margarita = The Everything Fruit!
Blackberry + Acai + Hazelnut = Purple Haze!

Becky's Shisha Kitchen!
Recipies of Delicious Smoking

Ha7elnut

Another mild and delicious chill-out flavor from the kitchen, this one is. The seven spice, I'll reiterate, is much different than when I first opened it. The nuttiness is really complimented by the spice amalgamation. After a bit of burn time it actually started tasting like chai. Nudge nudge, H-H.

1/2 Hazelnut + 1/2 7-Spice = Ha7elnut!


This one's not worthy of a name

Having in mind that my H-H Chai is too licoricey, and mintyness is the perfect foil to licoriceyness, I thought that equal parts Chai and Spearmint would be great. This was a grievous miscalculation on my part. Chai is so overpowering, I didn't taste the mint at all... so there was no coolness or, I don't know... enjoyability? If you're into this kind of thing, I would recommend either saving your Spearmint or messing with ratios.

1/2 Chai + 1/2 Spearmint = Something Becky hates


Mint Paddy's Day

DESSERT HOOKAH DAY. Have I got a sweet after-dinner class act for you. Cappuccino with Irish cream mixed and packed, with mint sprinkled over top is the smoothest of the smooth. Rich, creamy,

1/2 Cappuccino + 1/2 Irish Cream + Mint (on top) = Mint Paddy's Day!


York

There's nothing much written on this page, except for a big banner at the top that says "Knee-Deep in Cooch Napkin." Basically, this choco-mint mix tastes exactly like you'd expect and want it to. Mix credit goes to Mike Frye! :)

1/2 Chocolate + 1/2 Spearmint = York!

Now get outta my kitchen.

See you later, Internets, I am at a party! <3

Firsties and Lasties!

Like, the first and last day of the month.

Is there any way to assure having "lasties" in a comments section? I would say invariably no. I guess it might happen by chance... but in terms of guaranteeing it? I'd say naw way.

Layalina - Cappuccino

In the box: This shisha actually does come in a box; a clever little matchbox with a bag of WOW. WET. THIS STUFF IS WET. This tobacco is packaged in copious amounts of crimson molasses. I am slightly dismayed that once open, there's no self-sustaining way to be air tight, but this smells exactly like its namesake and with the ridiculous amount of molasses I'm not too worried about it shriveling up anyway. The cut is, I'd say, somewhere between Hookah-Hookah and Nahkla, and it was admittedly kind of hard to spread around. I felt as though I was kind of lumping it into the bowl instead of the all-important "sprinkle" technique, and as I'll touch on later this showed in the uneven burning.
In the bowl: You know what the best idea I've ever had is? Drinking hot chocolate while smoking this shisha. This tobacco is incredibly true to taste and the flavor is strong! Like everything I've ever wanted out of a H-H blend! And so, holing up in my new common-area-turned-hookah-lounge sipping powdered hot cocoa was the best compliment this shisha could get. And though it was delicious, the lumpy cut and the super thick molasses made for a kind of half-and half burning in the bowl. Like, it tasted fine the first time the coal(s) went around, and on my H-H bowls I'm used to making a second pass, maybe with a little turning of the, if you will, soil. However, with this one, it got around once and there was this nearly instantaneous harsh ashiness. I took the foil of to turn it over and it was completely fried on the top and completely pristine on the bottom.
It's economical, in a way, to turn over the shisha in your bowl and effectively have another bowl to smoke without taking more from the box. I still don't like that very much though. I'm not a big fan of the consistency of this Layalina even though the flavor and smell are so top notch I can't even describe. It's just a thing that bothers me. Like, my H-H bowls go for a long time, and the tobacco isn't too wet and it's super fine and it dries out evenly and if I'm really scrounging or if I burned it a bit along the way, I can turn it over with the poker on my tongs. It is still "fluffy" at this stage. It's not cemented together and absolutely singed all around. Layalina came up in sticky globs with a black top and that bright red underside and I smoked what I could and added a pinch to be safe. It wasn't the best texture, but it was a total crowd pleaser. And Becky pleaser. Whoop whoop!

star star star star star
Layalina Cappuccino: 4.25/5 stars

My birthday is coming up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Does that mean I will have more time to smoke? Oh god no. But we'll see how the other variables treat me.
Tra la la...
Toodle-oo.