Hookah Charcoal
Start your session with our curated selection from the world's leading coal brands.
Hookah Charcoal
Al Fakher Cube Coconut Hookah Charcoal
Al Fakher, the world’s number one shisha brand, now offers premium cube shaped coconut charcoal to complete your perfect hookah session. With a burn time of at least 90 minutes and a low ash content (2-3%), this cube-shaped charcoal provides excellent heat and a natural, clean smoke. Made in Indonesia, it’s the perfect match for your Al Fakher shisha experience!
CocoNara Flat Hookah Charcoal
These unique, 100% natural hookah charcoals are made from compressed coconut shell. Eco-friendly and clean-tasting, CocoNara coals are easily lit on a stove top and are the natural coals of choice for many hookah enthusiasts. These are not quick lite coals, which means that there is no additive chemicals.
CocoNara Quick Light Hookah Charcoal 33mm
The most well known natural hookah charcoal brand around has create an instant light coal. These Coco Nara 33mm puck shaped charcoals put off the perfect amount of heat to prevent a burnt taste.
CocoNara Quick Light Hookah Charcoal 40mm
One of the most popular natural hookah charcoal brands is here for the quicklight fans out there. These Coco Nara quick light coal are 40mm in diameter and sit atop nicely on any hookah bowl. Just make sure they're full light before using them.
Three Kings Quick Light Hookah Charcoal 33mm
These are smaller Three Kings quick lighting hookah charcoals and they're a quality clean-burning hookah coals manufactured in Holland. Very similar to other brands of quick lighting hookah coals, these coals are easily lit with a single flame lighter or torch lighter and are fully lit in less than a minute.
Three Kings Quick Light Hookah Charcoal 40mm
Three Kings quick lighting hookah charcoals are quality clean-burning hookah coals manufactured in Holland. Just like other brands of quick lighting hookah coals, these coals are easily lit with a lighter or torch lighter and are fully lit in less than a minute.
CocoNara Cube Hookah Charcoal
One of the most well known hookah charcoal brands on the market, Coco Nara, has typically focused on making the "flat" style charcoal. Well that all has changed! Along with the flat style coals, Coco Nara now makes CUBE style charcoal!
Hookah Charcoal FAQ
Hookah charcoal is explicitly made to heat shisha flavor. There are a couple of reasons shisha smokers need hookah charcoal. First, your hookah charcoal is designed to burn at a temperature that's optimal for shish. It maintains a temperature that volatilizes the molasses and flavoring off of the tobacco without physically igniting the tobacco leaves. While cigarette smokers rely on igniting the tobacco when they smoke, shisha smokers do not burn the leaves. Hookah charcoal is considered the most effective heat source when smoking shisha.
The other reason for using hookah charcoal has to do with burn time. Because hookah charcoal burns longer, your smoke session can be enjoyed longer and less frequently. This means more time smoking and less time worrying about heating more charcoal.
Manufacturers of coconut based products convert the organic waste, mainly coconut husks and shells, into hookah charcoal. By limiting the oxygen flow during a burning process they carbonize these materials and convert them into a powder.
Briquettes are molded from this powder by combining and compressing it with a binding agent composed of corn, or potato starch, and water. These pieces then go through a drying process that ultimately results in the small pieces of charcoal you see on hookah bowls all around the world. Some manufacturers produce six-sided cube briquettes, while others make longer briquettes that look like fingers. Some companies also sell hexagonal briquettes.
The two main types of hookah coals are quick-lighting hookah coals and natural hookah coals. Quick-light coals and natural coals use wood, rice, or coconut charcoal briquettes.
Manufacturers coat quick-lighting hookah coals with a chemical accelerant, such as benzene or sulfur. The accelerant allows each piece to be lit quickly using nothing but an open flame. This means that smokers using quick-lighting coals don't need a coil burner to light their charcoal. Instead, they can light their coals with a candle lighter, torch, or cigarette lighter. The convenience offered by quick-light charcoal is unmatched. The primary drawback is that the chemical accelerant may interfere with the flavor of your shisha.
Natural hookah coals do NOT contain any chemical accelerant. You can't use an open flame to light them, so you must have an electric coil burner. You can invest in a charcoal burner if you have a gas stove. Natural hookah coals are less convenient than quick-light coals because they take longer to light. However, natural coals tend to burn longer and more evenly than quick-lighting coals. Since they aren't coated in a chemical accelerant, natural hookah coals often provide a cleaner tasting, more accurate flavor profile to your smoke session.
Both quick-light charcoal and natural charcoal users need metal tongs. Metal tongs are approximately half a foot long, letting you grip the charcoal without touching it with your fingers.
All smokers can opt to use an electric coil stove or hookah charcoal burner. Hookah charcoal burners come in various shapes and sizes, and it's possible to buy a small burner you can easily store in a cabinet when not in use. Hookah charcoal burners are also light, making it easy to transport them to a friend's house or a different room in your home. Set your charcoal burner on a sturdy, flat surface close to a three-prong electric outlet. Remove flammable items from the area to ensure your safety when using a charcoal burner. You can't light charcoal on a gas stove.
Quick-light charcoal users can also opt to use an open flame. This is convenient if you keep a lighter or torch at home.
Shisha smokers can start quick-lighting coals with a lighter or torch. Hold the piece of charcoal with your metal tongs. Hold the flame lighter to the edge of the charcoal. After a couple of seconds, the charcoal will begin to emit sparks rapidly and will fully light after 2-3 minutes.
Quick-lighting hookah charcoal users can also follow the directions for lighting natural hookah charcoal to light your quick-light coals. Since quick-light coals have a chemical accelerant coating their exterior, they should start quickly on an electric burner.
Using an electric burner has one clear advantage over using an open flame. You can start multiple coals simultaneously. This means you won't have your first coal burning while you're lighting additional coals.