The horror…
I never thought I would want anything called SCAB anywhere near my hookah, but here we are and it’s time to spread the stomach turning deliciousness. This combination of Nakhla Double Apple and Nakhla Zaghloul became popular last year at the height of the black moassel boom that hit the online forums. This is a potent and flavorful blend that is not for the faint of heart, but a must try combination for lovers of black moassel and double apple.
Making a batch of SCAB mix is very simple. It’s a one to one ratio, so simply taking a 250g pack of each Nakhla flavor and smashing them together like the worst looking bread dough you can imagine will work nicely. If you’re like me and like to mix small amounts at a time you need to take a little more care. I like to use my kitchen scale and weigh out 25g of each into a pyrex bowl because glass won’t get stained with both the color and smell of this formidable tobacco. You can use plastic, but be prepared to devote that container to SCAB or toss it in the trash after you’re done with it.
Mixing can be done with any utensil, but I’ve found the easiest option to be my hands and a little water. Dip your fingers in the water and start kneading. It will still look like you’ve been doing the worst job on the farm without gloves, but the water will help to keep the tobacco from sticking to your hands as you knead. You’re shooting for an even distribution of each component and once you reach that point you’ll realize why it’s called SCAB shisha. You should be left with a ball of tobacco that looks like a lump of coagulated blood speckled with dots of bright red. Yum…
SCAB should be smoked like any other tobacco but requires a bit more heat than you may think. That’s thanks to the Zaghloul, which is offset a bit by the double apple, but is still a black moassel. There are a lot of people that say you should smoke this without foil and the coals resting directly on the tobacco but that was more the result of macho chest pounding than any real appreciation for tobacco. Foil it up as normal and smoke with indirect heat to experience a rich and complex combination of fermented tobacco, sweet molasses and spicy double apple. Putting the coals directly on the tobacco will only serve to burn a good portion of it and destroy and subtlety that it may have once had. If the buzz is all that matters to you then be my guest just don’t waste my tobacco doing it.
Have you tried SCAB before? Do you love it or hate it? Is there a better ratio that you prefer? Should I be removed as the main writer for suggesting something so disgustingly named? Let us know in the comments below and on the forums where there are plenty of people who also think I need immediate replacement.