The different types of hookah charcoal

Hookah charcoals fall into two broad families: natural hookah charcoals and quick-lighting hookah charcoals. The latter are also sold under the names self-combusting or self-igniting hookah charcoal.

Natural hookah charcoals

Natural hookah charcoals can be compared to ordinary wood charcoal. They come in pieces and, unlike other hookah charcoals, they give off very little smoke of their own.

Lighting a natural hookah charcoal does, however, call for patience. It has to be held in the flame for one to two minutes before it is properly alight, much like wood charcoal. Once past that drawback, natural hookah charcoals leave no side taste behind. Quick-lighting hookah charcoals, by contrast, add a taste that is foreign to the tobacco, without altering it too much unless you are a purist.

Once a natural hookah charcoal is lit, it burns for a long time, sometimes more than 45 minutes. With standard hookah charcoals, that is to say the self-combusting kind, combustion is much quicker. The hookah charcoal is therefore best chosen according to how long the session is expected to last.

Quick-lighting hookah charcoals

Quick-lighting hookah charcoals are so widespread that they are regarded as the standard type. How quickly they light is clearly a considerable advantage of self-combusting hookah charcoal. These charcoals can also be used elsewhere in the home, with certain types of incense in particular.

Quick-lighting hookah charcoals are made with a surface layer that catches fire within seconds when it meets a flame. It is the burning of that layer that produces smoke. Once the surface layer has burnt off, the quick-lighting hookah charcoal no longer has this drawback.

Self-combusting hookah charcoals are available in several diameters: 33 mm, 40 mm and 50 mm.

Hookah charcoal: what to look at when choosing

Unless you are loyal to one brand of hookah charcoal, the deciding factor varies a good deal depending on whether the priority is burning time, ease of lighting or the absence of a residual aftertaste. The general quality of the charcoal can also weigh on which brand smokers prefer.

It can be worth trying several hookah charcoals in order to find the one that best suits your own use.

Find more advice on using hookahs in our advice section