One of our Egyptian neighbors smoking his hookah and contemplating on the fact that the water in the bowl filters out a large percentage of unclean pieces of tobacco and tar had a brainstorm :

“Why ,the vast majority of smokers today put a plastic mouthpiece on their hookah hoses to make them hygenic from previous users, lets go one step further and make a plastic mouthpiece that also filters any unwanted substances from the hose, such as tobacco flakes &fumes.”

This would also add to the security of the most sensitive smoker!

But how to filter? Many home water filter systems use charcoal to pass the water through and cleanse it, air systems too, why I remember 45 years ago finding a “Lark” brand cigarette and after smoking I tore apart to see it’s celebrated charcoal filter supposedly the cleanest cigarette smoke.

Basically at the Egyptian factory he has made a good sturdy filter that acts also as a mouthpiece, can be used 20 or so times. Inside you will find 2 super-thin mesh screens, a charcoal chamber enclothed in a plastic cartridge so each puff is actually 3 times filtered.

These great filter system mouthpieces may be purchased at “Smoking-Hookah.com” at this link :

Either in single packs of one for 20 smokes, or a five-pack which is good for 100 sessions.

In case you’re at a public hookah bar and you’d prefer not to smoke from exactly the same mouthpiece as hundreds of other people, then you might consider getting a few hookah condoms.  These are usually called “mouthpiece tips” or “mouth tips,” but “hookah condom is so much more memorable don’t you think?  It’s appropriate in light of their similar purposes.

Your hookah condom should create an air-tight seal so prevent any air-leakage.  Many hookah bars these day provide this handy little accessory free of charge.  For example.  The mouth tip you see below was provided free of charge with a standard hookah from King Tut’s Cafe (Tempe, AZ).  Good customer service move.

How to light hookah coals with a blazing fireball of fury:

They are using a coal lighter/holder to keep the coals right next to the flame.

In retrospect, I think this lighting apparatus would have been useful for my recent experience with Coco Nara.

A hookah wind cover can be useful not only for outside wind, but also for indoors, to protect your coals from freezing gusts of air conditioned air.  Air conditioning is good for people, but it tends to turn your coals into dust a lot faster than if there was no AC at all.

The following Youtube video demonstrates how to make a custom wind cover in case the store bought variety isn’t tall enough to reach over your bowl apparatus.  He uses an old coffee can as an extension for his first example, to make the cover reach higher.  In his second example, he shows how to make a taller cover entirely out of aluminum foil.  Very practical, very easy, very cheap.

A wind cover can be extremely useful for making your hookah coals burn evenly and for longer periods of time.  This is one of the best ways I know of to increase the quality of your shisha smoking experience.

Shop for Hookah Accessories

A variety of Hookah Tongs.