Sahara Smoke Company has revised their popular specialty bowl, known as the Vortex. The bowl retains its classic funnel shape, with the air holes drilled uniquely around the sides of the spire. The revised bowl retains most of its classic qualities, and gains a few improvements. But, the really important question is, how does it stack up against the classic Vortex bowl? In a word, great.

While the aroma of the tobacco is nearly identical to actual graham crackers, the flavor, unfortunately is not. The flavor is a combination of honey and a subtle sweet spice. Possibly cardamom.

Babylon is a fairly common composition of sweet blueberry and mint. The flavor is similar to other popular offerings such as Starbuzz Blue Mist and Social Smoke’s Baja Blue. Tonic’s version, Babylon, outperforms Starbuzz’s Blue Mist in longevity, with the mint flavor lasting nearly the entire length of the session. Babylon also uses a bit more mint than other similar flavors.

Pumpkin Pie is a sweet, mellow and mild earthy flavor with only slight hints of authentic pumpkin pie. In a real-world comparison, it tastes much like honey and some kind of sweet nut.

Sweet Tang was, well, sweet and tangy. The flavor is a mild citrus, most likely orange. The flavor, in the real world, is much like a sweet orange-aide drink, with a subtle mint flavor.

Taqseem Inc, the maker of the popular hookah tobacco brand, Tonic, has released their own version of the fully-washable Egyptian hookah hose, as well as a fully-washable replacement for the standard short handled modern hookah hose.
Tonic’s Fully Washable Egyptian Hookah Hose

Like the other washable hoses on the market, Tonic’s premium washable hose is made without any metal which is prone to rust and eventually cause the hose to deteriorate. The alternative rubber materials, on the other hand, will last indefinitely. Though it will be a tad stiff until it’s …

The last several years have seen some fantastic innovations in the hookah industry. From ultra-efficient hookah bowls that use less tobacco and coal, to hoses that won’t deteriorate under normal use. And Hookah-Shisha.com, creators of the Nammor washable hose and Romman tobacco, have taken another stab at modern innovation. This time, with the Mystique Hookah Ice Hose Tip.

The Ice Tip takes the simple concept that cooler smoke is smoother smoke, and approaches the process of cooling the smoke in a brand new way. Rather than the traditional method of placing …

Minty Dreams, as the name suggests, is very minty. Though the mint is not an intense mint, such as Nakhla’s Mizo Mint. Rather, the mint is a variety of sweet mints, probably of more than one variety, with an underlying sweetness which is likely a berry or fruit flavor, but it’s so subtle it’s nearly impossible to pin-point which ones.

While the flavor is distinctly peaches, the flavor is also sweet and mild and surprisingly realistic. In spite of no mint element whatsoever, the peach flavor is impressively refreshing.

Romance is a truly elegant blend of floral Jasmine and mint. There are also some subtle citrus flavors, possibly lemon, as well. The mint is sweet, but not overpowering, allowing the floral flavors to really shine through.