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Steam stones and steam paste replace the tobacco in the hookah bowl. Both are nicotine-free and consist of mineral, glycerine and flavouring: stones as soaked granules, paste as a creamy mass from the tube. Packing works much as with tobacco, but the paste needs more heat.
| Type | Made of | Bowl and top | After the session |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam stones | Porous mineral granules, soaked in glycerine and flavouring | Single-hole bowl or Phunnel, tight foil | Wash out, dry, soak again |
| Steam paste | Diatomaceous earth, vegetable glycerine, flavouring, colouring | Glazed Phunnel, foil or HMD | Scrape out residue, rinse bowl |
| Cellulose blend | Cellulose with molasses, packed like tobacco | As with tobacco | Dispose of like tobacco |
Stones and paste carry no plant fibre. The mineral only stores the liquid; in the bowl the glycerine evaporates together with the flavouring. Cellulose blends are closer to tobacco: they are packed loosely and soaked with molasses. These come in lines with and without nicotine, so check the tin. The charcoal on top glows with every substitute just as it does with tobacco. You can find everything without tobacco leaf under nicotine-free tobacco substitute.
Steam stones are small grains of porous mineral, such as zeolite. They soak up glycerine and flavouring and release both under the charcoal as dense white vapour. The mineral itself does not burn. Many smokers re-soak used stones with molasses instead of buying new ones.
Packing is done in a single-hole bowl or Phunnel. Fill the stones to about one centimetre below the rim; they must not touch the foil. On top goes tight, densely perforated foil and two to three charcoals. A wind cover helps when lighting up. If the puff is scratchy, tastes of plastic or the stones turn dark, the bowl is too hot. Take one charcoal off then. After the session you wash the stones out, let them dry and soak them again. If the taste stays flat even when freshly soaked, new stones are due.
In the Hookain Onlineshop we currently stock steam paste, not steam stones. The basic rules for packing a bowl are in Building a hookah bowl properly.
Knead the tube beforehand; the paste settles. Use a glazed Phunnel such as the Hookain Lit Lip. Unglazed clay absorbs moisture, and in a multi-hole bowl the paste runs into the holes.
Around 5 g is enough for one bowl. Spread it thinly over the floor and wall of the reservoir, up to just below the rim. On top goes foil or a pre-warmed HMD from the Chimneys and HMDs. You will find matching bowls under Hookain Phunnel.
Steam paste needs more heat than tobacco. With foil, experienced smokers count on three to four charcoals, with a chimney top rather four large ones. Give the bowl a few minutes to get going before you really draw. If little vapour comes, heat is lacking: add more charcoal or close the HMD further. If it scratches in the throat, it is too hot.
A good sign is the paste after the session: it should be dry. If it is still creamy, you used too much paste or too little heat. If vapour or taste fades early, use a little more in the next bowl. How to control the heat with the HMD is explained in HMD, smokebox and chimney top.
The paste can also be combined with tobacco. For this, 1 to 3 g on top of the packed bowl is enough, with menthol flavours rather 1 g. Let it soak in briefly, then put foil or HMD on top. If you want to smoke for longer, build a sandwich: a thin layer of paste at the bottom, tobacco on top of it, and paste once more at the top. With tobacco in the bowl, the session is then no longer nicotine-free.
Made for the mix is Big Red, a chewing gum and cinnamon paste with Nameless. How to put tobacco flavours together is explained in Mixing hookah tobacco.
Paste and stones deliver dense, very white vapour, often more than a tobacco bowl. Opinions differ on taste. Pure, it lasts around 45 minutes with paste, after which the draw becomes more neutral. Stones are often described as weaker in the scene. If you come from tobacco, you miss the nicotine kick; non-smokers see exactly that as an advantage.
hookahSqueeze comes from Bavaria and covers fruit, mint and classics. The whole selection is under hookahSqueeze steam paste.
Big Red tastes of spearmint chewing gum with a little cinnamon and is meant for the tobacco mix.
Grapefruit is tart and fruity and smokes well pure.
Strawberry brings sweet strawberry into the bowl.
Sweet Melon is sweet honeydew melon.
The glazed Lit Lip is a Phunnel in which the paste stays cleanly in the reservoir.
Let the bowl cool down completely. Scrape the paste residue out with a spoon or spatula and put it in the general waste, not down the drain. Then rinse the bowl out warm. If the paste is dry after the session, this is quick. If a taste stays in the clay, thorough washing out helps, as described in Cleaning your hookah.
Yes, both contain neither tobacco nor nicotine. With cellulose blends there are lines with and without nicotine; the information is on the tin.
Pure, around 5 g, spread thinly over the floor and wall. Mixed with tobacco, 1 to 3 g is enough.
A glazed Phunnel or single-hole bowl. In a multi-hole bowl the paste runs into the holes, and unglazed clay absorbs moisture.
Pure, the taste lasts around 45 minutes. As a sandwich with tobacco, the bowl lasts noticeably longer.
Yes. Wash the stones out, let them dry and soak them again. If the taste stays flat afterwards, new stones are due.
Usually the bowl is too hot. Take one charcoal off or open the HMD a little. Conversely, if hardly any vapour comes, heat is lacking.
About the author
Julian
Hookah expert
For this article
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