Using water for the hookah base is almost a no-brainer. However, you can experiment with adding many other things to enhance the taste and flavour while smoking. You can get ideas from various online hookah communities and social media groups. But, you can’t use anything as your hookah base. For instance, it is harmful to add beverages like beer, milk, etc. For your help, we have mentioned the top safe foods and beverages you can add to your hookah base except for water. So, let’s have a look.
Top Substitutes of Water For The Hookah Base
Orange Juice
Adding orange juice to the hookah base can make the smoke thicker. Besides, there is no compulsion to use orange juice only as you can go with any other fruit juice of your choice, such as lemon juice, strawberry juice, etc. Keep in mind that the thickness of the smoke depends on the thickness of the juice you are using.
Coffee
Generally, a cup of coffee enhances your experience during the hookah smoking session. But, directly adding the coffee powder to the hookah base is also equally effective. An ideal combination is 50% coffee and 50% water. You can also add other food items that complement the coffee like chocolate, flavoured syrups, and more. However, only use the coffee for the hookah base occasionally as it can damage the shisha’s pipe.
Popsicles
Popsicles are the favourite snack of many people because they are available in a variety of colours and tastes. If you like them, you can experience the same flavours and colours in your hookah base by adding them. Besides, they are frozen and already made from ice. So, there is no need to add ice separately. Using popsicles, you get cool and thick smoke with tangy flavours.
Vanilla Extract
If you ask people about their favourite flavour, most will reply with “vanilla”. Almost everyone likes vanilla due to its calm, subtle, and pleasing taste and flavour. You can get the same while smoking, by adding vanilla extract to the hookah base.
A few drops will be sufficient for the entire hookah session. It will give you a nice hit, especially if vanilla is your favourite flavour. If the vanilla extract is unavailable, you can also go with vanilla sticks. Last but not least, you can add other substances that combine well with vanilla, like cappuccino, caramel, etc. For this reason, people prefer hookah over other smoking alternatives, as they can experiment with so many flavours.
Sugar Syrup
If you don’t want to add any flavour to the hookah’s base but just need a little sweetness in the taste, consider putting in sugar syrup. It will help you achieve thicker smoke throughout the shisha smoking session. If sugar syrup is unavailable, you can also mix sugar cubes or powder with normal water.
Ice
Adding ice to the hookah base is a common practice. It helps to make the smoke more thick and cool. Plus, it can be used with any other food item and beverage as it doesn’t interfere with its taste. However, it fades the flavour a little, so don’t add ice in excess.
In addition, don’t clean the base with warm water immediately after you complete a hookah session with ice. The reason is the glass can be damaged due to abrupt temperature changes, and can eventually burst. So, leave the base at room temperature for some time before cleaning it.
Food Dyes
Adding food dye does not bring any change to the taste and flavour while smoking hookah. However, it can give an appealing look to your hookah with different colours. Food dyes work best if you have a hookah with a transparent base. You can choose a food dye with your favourite colour and make your shisha aesthetically pleasing. It helps to uplift the overall vibe during the shisha smoking sessions.
Coconut Water
Coconut water has a balanced sweet and salty taste. So, if you are not in the mood to use strong flavours, you can get a mild taste and flavour by using coconut water instead of plain water. This way, you are still getting a better flavour than normal water without a strong flavour.
Frozen Fruits
Frozen fruits are great to enhance the flavour while smoking shisha. They not only make the smoke cooler & thicker but also add fruity flavours to it. An ideal way of using frozen fruits is to squeeze them a little before adding them to the shisha’s base. This way, the juice will be properly assimilated with the water, and the flavour will become stronger. If the shisha you are using with the hookah is also fruit-based, this combination becomes better.
Mint Leaves
Nothing can match the freshness and cooling effect of the mint leaves. So, you can consider adding mint leaves to the hookah base when you plan to smoke next time. Mint leaves have the benefit that they can complement most flavours used with the hookah base. So, if you want to give a strong and cooling hit to the shisha’s base, you can use mint leaves.
Soda
Soda can be another good addition to your shisha base. However, most of them are loaded with carbon dioxide gas, which can go into the hookah’s hose and ruin your smoking experience. So, instead of using regular soda, choosing flat soda is a better option.
In addition, if you like energy drinks, you can also mix beverages like Red Bull. However, keep its quantity low compared to the water as energy drinks also have carbon dioxide gas in some amount. Various online hookah forums suggest keeping 70% water and 30% Red Bull for the best results.
Herbal Tea
If you want to try something out of the box, you can add herbal tea to the hookah base. It has an appealing smell, taste, and flavour to it. Depending on your preferences you can try adding ginger herbal tea, peppermint herbal tea, chamomile herbal tea, etc.
Conclusion
The above are some of the safe food and beverage options you can add to your hookah base to experience newer tastes and flavours. After going through all of them, you can figure out which ones suit your preferences and try them in your next hookah session. However, the taste and flavour also depend on the quality of the tobacco and the hookah itself. So, consider investing in a high-quality hookah and shisha to ensure the best smoking experience.
