Your first time at a hookah lounge may seem a bit strange or even overwhelming when you see a tower of metal coming out and being set on the table. Hookah is also called narghile, argileh, shisha, hubble-bubble, and goza. Its use began centuries ago in ancient Persia and India. Hookah still is an instrument used to support social gatherings and promote great conversation among family and friends.

The modern hookah has a head (with holes in the bottom), a metal body, a water bowl, and a flexible hose with a mouthpiece. Tobacco (shisha) is heated, and the smoke passes through water and is then drawn through a rubber hose to a mouthpiece. 

Smoking hookah is not safer than cigarette smoking. A common myth is that water filters out harmful substances.  This isn’t true. An “herbal” hookah may still contain tobacco. You can find tobacco-free hookahs, but they’re not as common.

The main problem that most lounges face is relatively low-quality shisha brands, and lack of creativity also many hookahs bars don’t clean pipes daily and use unwashable hoses that quickly become ghosted. Another problem bars face is the atmosphere. There a several “styles” that lounges can go for, like a tea shop, a traditional bar, or even a nightclub. Finding the right atmosphere for a hookah bar is a tough thing to do. 

Some people gather over drinks or food and others do this over hookah. Whether you are brand new to hookah or experienced, as with anything, there’s a time and a place to smoke a hookah. Milwaukee offers great places from fancy lounges to low-key joints where you can collapse on the sofa and puff, puff, pass to make sure you enjoy a world-class hookah experience!