Hookah Juice: How To Smoke Weed In A Hookah (Without Tobacco!)

How to transform your herbs into shisha with Bongify’s secret formula

Have you ever wondered if smoking herbs in a shisha is a good idea? If, like us, you are creative and passionate about cannabis, you probably did. And, if you gave it a try, you might have noticed that there are some inconveniences. Buds are generally too dry to be used directly in a shisha, and if mixed with shisha tobacco, you simply loose all the natural flavour of the herb. This is when Hookah Juice steps in: Hookah Juice is the product you need to use cannabis in a shisha and make the most of it.

What’s a shisha?

A shisha, or hookah, is a traditional waterpipe common in the Middle East, typically used to smoke a special type of tobacco preparation called molasses. The working principle of the shisha is not combustion, but rather vaporization: the molasses is placed in the shisha bowl, then covered with a piece of aluminium foil. A hot coal placed on top of the aluminium foil provides enough heat to vaporize the tobacco, but not enough heat to burn it.

Overall, despite not being as healthy as breathing mountain air, vapor is considered a healthier option compared to smoking, as it doesn’t contain as much tar and other by-products of combustion. In addition to that, shisha vapour passes through water before reaching the lungs; water has the ability to cool the vapour down, making it smooth and silky.

image 1: smoking weed in a hookah/shisha

Why smoking weed in a shisha?

Shishas feature big bowls capable of holding quite a lot of material. Some of them feature multiple hoses for more than one person to use the shisha at the same time. Furthermore, a typical shisha session can last anywhere between 30 minutes and one hour, making it a perfect device to distribute delicious cannabinoid-rich vapour to a whole bunch of party goers.

If you are more of a solitary smoker, shishas can deliver a laid-back, long-lasting session with loads of smooth vapour, so you don’t have to worry too much about rolling multiple joints or packing one bowl after another. Just place a coal on the bowl of your shisha, and take it slow in your journey towards lunar orbit.

How do you smoke weed in a shisha?

The most obvious answer would be by mixing some weed with some maassel, or shisha tobacco, and enjoy. However, this is far from being a good solution, for a number of reasons. First, maassel tends to be heavily-flavoured, often with artificial ingredients. Second, by adding the dry buds you risk altering the humidity levels of the maassel, making it more prone to combustion. Third, you might be wanting to smoke pure weed, to avoid the nicotine from the tobacco.

This is why the science guys here at Bongify decided to develop Hookah Juice, a natural product specifically-formulated to transform your weed into shisha. Just mix in equal amounts herb and Hookah Juice, pack a shisha bowl with it and you are ready to go.

What’s Hookah Juice?

Hookah Juice is Bongify’s proprietary shisha mixer; a 100% natural and safe liquid that you can add to your herbs to make them shisha-ready. Hookah Juice delivers just the right amount of humidity, while at the same time creating a layer of juicy sweetness to protect your weed from combustion. Instead of combusting, your herb will vaporize and deliver the best of its medicinal qualities. Hookah Juice is slightly sweet - thanks to the natural sweeteners used, and neutrally-flavoured, not to alter the aroma of your herbs.

Image 2: dry weed before adding Hookah Juice

image 3: marijuana mixed with Hookah Juice - it already looks like shisha tobacco... but tobacco-free!

How is Hookah Juice made?

That’s a well-guarded secret.

How do I use Hookah Juice?

Using Hookah Juice is simple. You just have to mix it with ground buds until you reach the desired consistency, similar to the one of shisha tobacco. Make sure you follow the instructions below to get the best possible results:

1. Grind the herbs: use a precision grinder, such as this one, or a pair of scissors to grind the herbs. It’s up to you to choose the preferred grind, but usually a medium-coarse grind works best with a shisha.
2. Add a small amount of Hookah Juice: start by adding one part of Hookah Juice to two parts of ground flowers and start mixing with your fingers or a wooden stick. Slowly add some more Hookah Juice and mix. The objective is to obtain a paste that is not too thick or too runny, usually when the proportion is part to one part. If too thick, add a small amount of Hookah Juice and mix. Remember to add only a small amount of Hookah Juice at the time until you reach the desired consistency.
3. Place the mixture in a shisha bowl: pack a shisha bowl with the mixture and tap it gently to create a flat surface.
4. Cover with tinfoil: cut a tinfoil square, slightly larger than your shisha bowl. Put it on the top of the bowl, and wrap it around its edges. Then, use a metal or wooden point to poke many tiny holes on the surface of the tinfoil.
5. Light up a coal: light up a traditional shisha coal, as you would do to smoke a normal shisha. Wait for it to ignite totally before putting it on the shisha bowl. Once lit, carefully place it flat over the tinfoil covering the bowl.
6. Inhale: start taking some long inhalations from the shisha hose. After something like 5 or 6 inhalations, you will start to exhale some vapour. As the session proceeds, the vapour will become more intense.
7. Relax: sit back, relax, and slowly smoke the shisha with Hookah Juice. After some time, when you notice a change in taste (more burnt) the bowl is over and it’s time to pack a fresh one.

Does it taste good?

Hookah Juice has a natural, sweet but neutral flavour that doesn’t alter the taste of your herbs. What you’ll get depends pretty much on the terpene profile of the herb you are using, with the added sweetness coming from Hookah Juice. Feel free to experiment with as many different strains as possible, or even prepare a bowl with two or more different strains for a cocktail effect. Delicious!

What are the effects of smoking weed in a shisha?

The effects are very similar to the effect you would get from smoking a joint, and less similar to the effect you’d get from smoking a bong. The cannabinoids are delivered throughout a longer session, thus creating a mellow, persistent high. Smoking weed in a shisha with Hookah Juice is ideal when you want to relax in front of a movie, listen to music, play videogames or read a book. Or, at a party or even at the cannabis club, whenever you have some time for pure relaxation.

Why use Hookah Juice?

Hookah Juice allows you to easily and efficiently smoke your herb in a shisha, thus creating a whole new experience of velvety, cool cannabis smoke. In fact, what you get from a shisha is mostly vapour, thus a far safer substance than smoke, much easier on the lungs and throat.

Furthermore, Hookah Juice allows you to use weed in a shisha without having to mix it with tobacco, eliminating undesired effects. It has no aromas, so you can experience the full flavour of the herb. And, in just a few seconds, it allows you to easily transform your weed into a perfect material to vaporize in a shisha.

Other cool recipes with Hookah Juice

1. Making your own maassel with your tobacco of choice: with Hookah Juice, you can transform your favourite tobacco in shisha tobacco. For example, there are some deliciously aromatic (vanilla, rum, cherry, and more) pipe tobaccos that can be smoked in a shisha. Follow the same procedure and quantities you’d use for weed, but use aromatic (or neutral) pipe tobacco instead.
2. Make your own shisha tobacco with hash: use a neutrally-flavoured, natural tobacco and mix it with ground hash. Then, add Hookah Juice to make a thick paste out of the hash-tobacco mix. Enjoy a hash-shisha!
3. If you don’t want to use tobacco, you can substitute it with a nicotine-free natural alternative to tobacco such as damiana, or even weed. Use it as a base and crumble the hash on top of it. Mix well, then add the right amount of Hookah Juice. You now have a tobacco-free hash-shisha!

So... where do I get some Hookah Juice for myself? Here at Bongify, of course! And yes, we also have (unique!) hookahs for sale.