| More than likely, you've seen a hookah in your lifetime. | | | | every time a cigarette is lit and smoked. |
| However, unless you're a regular at a hookah bar, | | | | Cigars, another 'natural smoke,' have long been the |
| you've probably forgotten all about it. Do you still think | | | | gourmet smoke among smokers and socialites. They |
| you've never heard of a hookah? Think back. Way | | | | have a "good ol' boy" reputation that makes it socially |
| back. There you are, lying on your bed, while your | | | | unwelcome for women to smoke and are usually |
| Mother is reading the fantastic tale of a little girl in a | | | | found in cigar bars and private clubs. For years, cigars |
| land of pure imagination. If you guessed Charlie and the | | | | have had no real competition and the hookah stands |
| Chocolate Factory, you'd be wrong. No, this book was | | | | poised to edge out a serious piece of the gourmet |
| written nearly 100 years before Roald Dahl's tale of | | | | smoking market. |
| Charlie. The book (and later movie) that gives children | | | | Hookahs come in all sizes, makes and colors. They are |
| their first glimpse of this curious device is Alice in | | | | crafting of everything from acrylic to crystal, which |
| Wonderland. Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in | | | | allows them to traverse the social lines. People can |
| Wonderland, wrote about an inquisitive, smoking | | | | spend anywhere from $20 to $5,000 to find the |
| caterpillar. You may remember Sammy Davis, Jr., | | | | hookah of their dreams. There are even custom |
| perched atop a giant mushroom, asking young Alice, | | | | hookah producers who, if you cannot find the hookah |
| "Who ... Are ... You?" The device the caterpillar was | | | | you are seeking, will build a hookah that is completely |
| smoking is called a hookah! | | | | personalized and truly yours. |
| Hookahs have been around, in one form or another, | | | | The cigar bars of yesteryear are finding themselves in |
| for several centuries with their origins generally traced | | | | direct competition with a new type of business that is |
| back to what is modern day Turkey. Needing a way | | | | sprouting up everywhere. From college towns to |
| to cool the smoke that leaves a tobacco pipe, the | | | | bustling metropolises, hookah bars and cafes are |
| Turkish developed a way for the smoke to first pass | | | | becoming the new, trendy place to hang out and |
| through water before being inhaled. This cooled the | | | | smoke. Patrons can rent a hookah (or bring their own) |
| smoke and gave the hookah its trademark bubbling | | | | and smoke for anywhere from $7.00 to $20.00 per |
| sound. | | | | bowl of tobacco. Each bowl of tobacco can be |
| Modern hookahs have evolved in design but still | | | | smoked for nearly an hour, making this an inexpensive |
| perform the same, simplistic function as the hookahs | | | | alternative to cigars and other smokes. |
| of old. The tobacco that is smoked in the hookah has | | | | More than anything, the hookah provides its |
| also seen evolution and change. Originally, tobaccos | | | | participants with a wholly-unique, intimate environment |
| would be mixed with molasses or honey and placed in | | | | that has no boundaries or rules. Everyone is allowed |
| the bowl-like apparatus atop the hookah. Coals would | | | | and dreams, thoughts and opinions fly, completely |
| be directly-applied to this mixture and, instead of | | | | unabated. |
| burning, the tobacco would be heated to the | | | | Business entrepreneurs are recognizing the curious |
| appropriate temperature to create smoke. Today's | | | | draw that the hookah has over customers. The |
| hookah tobacco, commonly referred to as 'shisha,' is | | | | investment to open a hookah bar or cafe pails in |
| made with modern components. Tobacco, glycerin and | | | | comparison to the funds required to open a cigar bar. |
| sugar are combined with countless flavors to produce | | | | There's no need for an elaborate humidor and, in fact, |
| a truly unique smoking experience. The flavors range | | | | one could even get away with just offering hookahs. |
| from fruity apples and oranges to cultural favorites like | | | | It's no wonder that hookah bars are one of the fastest |
| bubble gum and cola. In fact, there are over 50 flavors | | | | growing concepts among modern day bars and cafes. |
| available to today's hookah smokers! | | | | As simplistic as the hookah's design, a hookah |
| As mentioned before, the tobacco is heated rather | | | | business is incredibly easy for first-time business |
| than burned. The hookah tobacco is generally void of | | | | owners to own and operate and requires a minimum in |
| the chemical additives found in cigarettes. In fact, | | | | upfront capital investments. |
| hookah tobacco is usually composed of only tobacco, | | | | So, from a hookah-smoking caterpillar to the day's |
| glycerin, sugar and flavoring. This is a far cry from the | | | | newest craze, hookahs have come a long way. Only |
| nearly 600 additives that can legally be added to | | | | time will tell if they have a chance against cigars and |
| cigarettes. These additives also transform into other | | | | other gourmet smokes but one thing's for sure: |
| chemicals when burned - a process that happens | | | | hookahs are here to stay. |