11 PM on a Saturday night, and Alex’s lounge was the busy destination spot. Across the room, there were two loyal customers, sitting at the corner table, smoking the same flavor of shisha, out of the same model of shisha. One of them made thin wisps of smoke that floated up to the ceiling and disappeared. The other made huge smoke clouds that rolled and linger.

Alex was familiar with both of the setups. Same shisha hookah bowls. Same heat management device. Same heat management technique. The only variable was the shisha.

The difference was in the glycerin.

The Chemistry Behind the Cloud

Every cloud is produced by a simple chemical reaction. Plus heat, plus vegetable glycerin, plus flavor molasses, plus a proper ratio, of course.

Vegetable Glycerin, or VG, is a viscous, odorless liquid that comes from plants and forms the base of producing smoke. When it is vaporized, it produces a thick white mist. This is the mist that most of your customers want to see.

Propylene Glycol, or PG, has a different purpose. It holds flavor and also produces vapor, but it is a very thin mist. The majority of shisha tobaccos use a combination of both VG and PG. The ratio of these two ingredients, VG and PG, dictates the density of the cloud.

For lounge owners that are looking to produce thick shisha smoke clouds, the target ratio for shisha is 70/30 VG/PG. Some Verpackung mit dunklen Blättern tobaccos are measured at 80/20. The thicker the VG, the thicker the cloud.

What Is Vegetable Glycerin?

VG is a humectant, meaning it attracts moisture and retains it. In shisha tobacco, it has two purposes. First, it keeps the tobacco cut hydrated. Second, it provides the vapor in your lounge.

When it comes to glycerin, the standard is food-grade USP vegetable glycerin. It is colorless and odorless and provides clean vapor. An inferior grade of glycerin can carry impurities. These impurities will negatively affect the taste and quality of the clouds.

For any lounge business, you must check the glycerin source when purchasing tobacco. Established companies will have specifications. You can find the glycerin source on the tobacco’s label. If the company/brand cares about the quality of their ingredients, you can expect good cloud performance.

How Glycerin Creates Volume

When glycerin is heated, it ruptures the bonds between its molecules. When this happens, it becomes a gas. The gas occupies a lot of space, which is the vapor you see.

The density of the cloud is determined by the glycerin concentration, temperature, and airflow. When glycerin is concentrated, it means there are a lot of vapor molecules in a pull. If the temperature is maintained, it can fully vaporize the glycerin without burning the tobacco. With the right amount of airflow, it will pull the vapor through the water and into the Wasserpfeifenschläuche.

The combination of those three factors will provide the shisha tobacco your clients will want to use over and over again.

The Role of Propylene Glycol

VG is much thicker than PG. Because it has a lower boiling point, PG will vaporize before VG. Because of this, PG is the better vaporizer, but does not produce a good volume of vapor without the help of VG.

Standard shisha blends typically contain liquid PG from 20 to 30 percent. This provides moderate cloud output with decent flavor. Manufacturers add VG to increase cloud output. Hence, PG is reduced.

For some lounge owners, the cost of PG tobacco blends is substantially lower and the cost savings help the owners. The reduction in PG content tobacco blends results in a significant deduction in the output of shisha clouds. The compromise is the reduction in shisha clouds in the lounge.

How Glycerin Concentration Affects Session Length

High-glycerin tobacco does extend the life of a bowl of shisha and also supports the thicker cloud output. This is due to the vaporization slowing and evaporating more glycerin. These blends can support more than 90 minutes and up to 60 minutes of smoking sessions.

High VG tobacco blends can also support longer sessions than standard tobacco. Standard tobacco tends to dry quickly and requires frequent replacement.

The overall cost is often higher for high-glycerin products that can support long smoking sessions of up to 60 minutes and have consistent quality clouds throughout the duration of the session than standard tobacco that can dry quickly and have subpar clouds that are poor after the first 30 minutes.

Flavor Molasses: More Than Just Taste

In shisha blends, the term “molasses” refers to flavor compounds, glycerin, and a mixture of sweeteners. It is not the same as cooking molasses. It is an engineered suspension designed for even vaporization.

The molasses base does three things. It suspends flavor oils. It holds moisture. It regulates burn rate.

Even the best glycerin produces weak vapor without an adequate molasses base. These two components work together.

Molasses’ carrier role.

Flavor oils are volatile. They evaporate at temperatures lower than glycerin. The molasses base prevents them from burning off when the glycerin hasn’t fully vaporized.

It’s like a fuse. The molasses is a carrier for flavor until the glycerin is ready to be vaporized. When the temperature is sufficient, they release at the same time.

This is why cheap tobacco has that rough, irritating aftertaste. The molasses base is cheap and burns at a different rate compared to the glycerin and flavor.

 Viscosity and vaporization

The molasses’ viscosity changes how the tobacco heats. A thicker base burns slower and is harder to vaporize. A thinner one heats up faster and can burn quickly.

Manufacturers control the ratios of molasses and glycerin to control viscosity. More glycerin means less molasses and/or a thinner tobacco base. This leads to thicker clouds.

High-viscosity molasses bases are one of the reasons why dark-leaf tobaccos are so good. High glycerin means longer sessions and thicker clouds.

Tobacco leaf types also affect how glycerin is absorbed.

Not all tobacco leaves absorb the same amount of glycerin. Dark leaf tobacco has a denser, oilier structure. It can hold more glycerin per gram. Blonde tobacco is less dense and has a lighter cut. They absorb liquid quickly, but hold less total volume.

This is a useful distinction for lounge buyers. Dark leaf tobacco has a higher weight as it carries more moisture. A 200-gram pack of dark leaf can have 40 percent more glycerin than a blonde leaf.

The dark leaf tobacco has a very noticeable difference. Dark leaf tobacco produces denser clouds. Hence, lounges that prefer producing maximum cloud out of a limited bowl find dark leaf the best choice.

The Effect of Storage Conditions on Molasses

Heat and light have a degrading effect on the tobacco base. John F. Kennedy once said, “time and tide wait for no man”. The same concept applies for shisha tobacco. In our example, tobacco stored at 25 degrees Celsius:

• – Loses moisture
• – Causes glycerin separation

As a result, the tobacco dries. This produces undesirable smoke.

Store shisha tobacco in a cool, dark place. Keep containers sealed between uses. A stable storage environment preserves the molasses chemistry and the glycerin content. Your customers will notice the difference.

The Relationship Between Heat management and Cloud Density

If you want thick clouds, you need the right balance of heat and moisture.

If you don’t heat up the tobacco enough, you don’t get thick clouds. Burn it too much and you get the harsh smoke.

The Temperature Vaporization Range

Glycerin can vaporize and provide great clouds as long as the temperature is maintained between 190 to 210 degrees Celsius.

Using a high quality heat management device (HMD) will help you maintain the correct temp. The Kaloud Lotus III and the Alpha Hookah FNX heat management devices can help you achieve this.

Without consistent heat, VG-to-PG ratios are meaningless. The chemistries just sit there.

Packing for Performance

Tobacco placement plays an important role in the performance of heat transfer in each bowl. A fluffy pack of tobacco leaves channels of uninterrupted airflow. On the other hand, a dense tobacco pack impedes airflow, and as a direct consequence, impedes the production of the resultant vapor.

Phunnels, and specifically Oblako phunnels, work great with high-glycerin tobaccos. The single central hole of the phunnel prevents liquid gylcerin from traveling down into the phunnel stem. The phunnel ensures more glycerin stays in the bowl, and ultimately more vapor reaches the customer.

For lounge operators desiring shisha with big smoke clouds, the choice of bowl becomes as crucial as the choice of tobacco. A bowl with high-quality tobacco wastes high-glycerin shisha.

The Impact of Water Level and Diffusion

The level of water in the base determines how much glycerin vapor will reach the customer. An excessive amount of water creates back pressure, forcing the smoke to bubble through a longer column of water, stripping some of the vapor mass.

As a general rule, water should fill the base enough to submerge the downstem by one to two inches. This allows for the right amount of diffusion to give smooth pulls, and also preserves cloud density.

Some lounges use ice or very cold water in the base. Cold water can condense some vapor before it reaches the hose, and may decrease the visibility of clouds. Room temperature water may actually result in bigger clouds being produced.

HMD Functionality vs. Performance

HMDs have unique features and functions. Aluminum HMDs retain heat for a short period of time. Conversely, HMDs made from stainless steel retain heat for longer periods of time.

The Kaloud Lotus III has an aluminum based HMD with a heat retaining lip and distributes heat evenly across the surface of the bowl. The Alpha Hookah FNX uses stainless steel and has ventilation slots that allow for precise airflow control.

Stainless steel HMDs are better for high glycerin tobaccos. The sustained heat is needed for the longer vaporization curve of VG based tobaccos. Aluminum HMDs work well with standard blends, are less useful for high glycerin broads, and may require frequent coal management.

Coal Management for Optimal Production

The position of the coal on the HMD determines how the glycerin vaporizes. Coals situated in the center produce direct heat and burn the tobacco. Coals placed at the edge of the bowl produce indirect heat and result in warming the bowl more evenly.

The standard starting point for coal placement involves two coals situated on opposite sides. For high-glycerin tobaccos, as defined by the VG vaporization threshold, three coals are needed to reach the standard measure of vapor.

The first five minutes of a session are the most important for determining the coals to be used. If the clouds are rather thin, add a coal. If the clouds are thick but harsh, one coal should be removed. This process should be repeated until clouds are thick and smooth.

Choosing High-Glycerin Tobacco for Lounges

The majority of shisha tobacco are not made to produce large volumes of clouds. The focus may be on flavor delivery and the volume of clouds may be in balance with flavor delivery.

For those who want guaranteed output for their lounge’s cloud production, high glycerin dark leaf tobacco is the solution. MustHave and Darkside produce their blend with the intention of a maximal cloud output.

At Linkup Hookah, a variety of premium tobacco lines is available, and the MustHave and Darkside series offer high glycerin production for a consistent output.

Optimal results require pairing premium tobacco with the right equipment. The Oblako phunnel bowl helps retain glycerin within the bowl instead of letting it flow through the stem.

Lounge Owner’s Guide on Increasing Cloud Production

Perform an analysis of your lounge’s current setup. Assess the glycerin content of the tobacco you sell. If the output is less than satisfactory, the ratio of your tobacco is off.

Try these suggestions:

• – Use dark leaf tobacco with a higher VG content.
• – Use a phunnel bowl to retain loss of glycerin.
• – Use a Heat Management Device (HMD) to control the heat.
• – Pack the bowl with light airy tobacco.
• – Control the temperature of the tobacco to avoid burning it.
• – Keep the water level in the base with a height of 1-2 inches over the down stem.
• – Use room temperature water instead of ice for maximum vapor.
• – Store tobacco in a dark place to keep it below 25 C.
• – Regularly replace old stock to keep products fresh.
• – Educate staff on how to identify when a bowl needs a heat adjustment.

Implementing these ideas may improve performance, but the most important thing to remember is that the switch to a higher glycerin dark leaf blend can double the output of volumetric cloud production.

Closing

We made some changes to our tobacco to see how it might make a difference. An experiment during that Saturday night session inspired Alex to try out a high-glycerin dark leaf. The corner table transformed from thin wisps to full, rolling clouds, in less than five minutes.

Our loyal customers noticed. They noticed and inquired about the changes. Alex explained the science of the glycerin, he explained the chemistry of molasses, and the product they were smoking.

The entire lounge was taking a hit and comparing results by the end of the night. Alex sold three boxes of tobacco before the night was done.

The science of shisha glycerin is not complicated. It is a ratio. It is a temperature. It is the right equipment.

Give your customers the vapor they are looking for. Your lounge will fill up, and so will the room.