When I buy shisha at our local hookah bar, I always consider the Gold Label first, because it’s always an amazing smoke. This is the top-shelf product line from Al Fakher, targeted at the particular hookah smoker and available in only five flavors, Strawberry, Black Grape, Rose, Eskandarani Apple, and Bahraini Apple.

Apple is king of flavors in the middle east. At the hookah cafes your best bet is the Double Apple, a mix of red and green apple flavors that even the cheapest brands (looking at you, Nakhla) get right. In homes of the upper class, you’re more likely to find Bahraini Apple. It’s a more complex set of flavors based on the style of apple shisha commonly produced in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Al Fakher, a UAE-based company, has taken this flavor, combined it with Virginia tobacco, and produced an elite smoking experience. The flavor is pronounced and smooth, with a clean aftertaste that leaves me wanting another puff. Every exhale is a mix of caramel, sweet apple, cinnamon and coffee, with hints of licorice and clove. The essence is distinct and memorable; it’s a long burn, outlasting our coals and fading into thin smoke rather than going sour.

Definitely recommended. Gold Label is only available in 250 gram containers, and costs about $15-$20.

The sour taste of the flesh and peels of the orange blends beautifully with the almost citrus taste of the Jordanian blended tobacco. Its taste is reminiscent of candied orange peels. Before this I had a kiwi-lemon-strawberry smoothie that accented on the citric taste of this wonderful Al Ajamy flavor. Using two quick-light coals on a standard Mya burner kept the taste going strong and even throughout. The very soupy shisha tobaccos of Al Ajamy generally relate their wetness to the high fruit pulp content in most of their tobaccos. The strong fruit content of the orange tobacco produces a strong flavor that tastes more like oranges, and less like tic-tacs or artificial flavoring. Of course the fruit content also leads to a shorter shelf-life. Once the bag is unsealed, it should be treated like fruit and kept in the refrigerator and used often. This won’t last like a bag of pipe or cigarette tobacco. You’ll always get the best taste when this stuff is fresh after opening.

Prices for this tobacco vary, usually you will find it for about $3.00 USD for 50 grams, and around $13.00 USD for 250 grams.