Tangiers Shisha Tobacco

A USA made hookah tobacco produced in San Diego, CA with many unique flavors found nowhere else.

Tangiers shisha (Tangiers.us) is the creation of Eric Hofmann who also owns and operates the Odyssey Lounge in San Diego, CA. Starting as a hobbyist, Eric’s unique blends in Tangiers hookah tobacco gained popularity among members of online forums and has turned into a favorite among many smokers. Eric currently makes and blends his own tobacco and runs the website.

The actual tobacco is somewhere between modern and more classic tobaccos. Tangiers flavors consists of tobacco, molasses, glycerin and flavorings. There are no dyes or preservatives and it’s all made in San Diego, CA by hand with United States grown tobacco. There are four lines of Tangiers tobacco in production.

Here are some of our other articles on Tangiers that you might find useful:

[envira-gallery slug=”tangiers-guides”]

Tangiers Noir

Tangiers Noir is unwashed which means that it has a high nicotine content an is known for being hard to deal with. It’s susceptible to humidity shock which can cause it to smoke poorly and needs to be properly treated through a process known commonly as Acclimation. Usually this just means airing it out until it acclimates to your area. Many people prefer the Noir line because of the strong nicotine buzz and the robust nature of the smoke.

Noir comes packed with a yellow label, and is the most known style of Tangiers tobacco. As mentioned earlier it has a pretty high nicotine level, and is not recommended for hookah beginners. You can also find the most flavors in this line.

Tangiers F-Line

Tangiers F-line is a caffeinated version of the Noir line and only has a few flavors in its lineup.

Tangiers F-line comes packed with an orange or red label that specifies “F-Line / Caffeinated” on the label. F-Line, short for “Flat Line,” is essentially Noir + Caffeine. A common consensus is this is a line of tobacco that will knock you backwards if you aren’t careful or used to high nicotine or caffeine levels. This is not recommended for hookah beginners.

Tangiers Birquq

Tangiers Birquq (pronounced bir-kook) is another new line from Tangiers. It replaces the Lucid line, but makes some changes to the formula. It comes in a package with a green label, with no other markings. The main difference between Lucid and Birquq is that Birquq is unwashed tobacco. Birquq is said to take less time to acclimate, but I tend to disagree – in my experience, it took longer to acclimate a package of Birquq Horchata than it does with any Noir flavor I’ve ever had, but I expect that was an odd, one-time occurrence. Birquq is also very temperature sensitive – you’re supposed to only use 3/4 of the coals you would normally use for other Tangiers lines for better flavor and a better smoke. In my experience, it’s not as buzzy as Noir. I would recommend Birquq for someone that wants to get into Tangiers and might be a little more nicotine sensitive or doesn’t want a huge buzz, but expect a little more buzz from this line than from Lucid. I’d recommend getting Birquq over Lucid, primarily because you will not be able to find the Lucid line for much longer.

Also read our First Look at Tangiers Birquq new flavors.

Tangiers Burley

Tangiers Burley is the newest of the Tangiers lines of tobacco, and it is the strongest. Burley comes packaged with a purple label that states “Burley Noir / Very Strong” on the packaging. It’s an even higher nicotine level than Noir, and really isn’t recommended for anyone that has nicotine sensitivity or hasn’t smoked Noir for a pretty good amount of time. If you’re not used to high nicotine levels, expect to be giving regurgitated offerings to the gods that sit atop the ceramic throne.

Tangiers Lucid (Discontinued)

Tangiers Lucid is a washed version of the Noir with many of the same flavors. It is also easier to deal with than the Noir line and does not suffer from humidity shock.

Lucid, which is technically no longer produced, can still be found online. It comes packaged with an orange label, and says “Lucid” on the label. Lucid is a lighter blend, the only line made with washed tobacco, and typically requires less time to acclimate. However, even though it is washed, it’s still on par with something like Nakhla when it comes to nicotine. If you’re used to smoking Starbuzz and Al Fakher and want a little more buzz, or Nakhla doesn’t bother you, Tangiers Lucid is a good line for you, if you can still find it.

Tangiers Packaging

Tangiers tobacco is packaged in a vacuum sealed plastic bag with no box or tin. A piece of paper with information about the tobacco and the company is wrapped around this bag and then all of that is sealed in another bag. On the pamphlet, the color surrounding the name indicates what line the tobacco is from. Yellow is Noir, orange is Lucid and red is F-Line. The line is also printed next to the name of the blend.

Tangiers Smoke Duration, Thickness

Tangiers Tobacco is a very wet style of tobacco and can smoke for a very long time. Personally, I have smoked one phunnel bowl for 5 hours with multiple rounds of coals. Not all of the flavors will hold out for that long but the smoke will keep puffing away.