Best Lists
The Best Dark Leaf Shisha Mixes
Dark leaf is where most people end up eventually. It keeps more of its nicotine, gives a denser exhale and carries the tobacco through the flavour instead of hiding behind it. It is also far less forgiving, and a dark bowl run at blonde-leaf heat is genuinely unpleasant.
These eight are the best dark-on-dark builds in the database. Number one is mine rather than the engine top scorer, and I have flagged it as such. Two names dominate the rest: Fizzy Dizzy from Must Have and the Severniy range, which between them turn up in six of the eight.
The List
- 1
Supernova, Falling Star and Pinkman
Darkside and Must Have · scores 44/60
One of my five · see all five
Not the highest score here, and the one I order anyway. The heaviest thing I smoke, and the bowl I go looking for in a lounge I have not been to before, on the theory that if they can build this they can build anything. Supernova is a 5 out of 5 cooler with almost no sweetness, so it works as a cooling agent rather than a flavour. Falling Star and Pinkman carry the berry underneath. Cold, dark and long, and utterly unsuitable for a first bowl.
Ratio: 40 falling star / 40 pinkman / 20 supernova · Two coals, check it at five minutes
- 2
Fizzy Dizzy and TNT
Must Have and Trifecta · scores 49/60
The highest-scoring Fizzy Dizzy mix and the sharpest bowl on the list. Two citrus-forward dark leaf flavours, which ought to be a mistake, except Trifecta TNT brings a peppery edge that gives it somewhere to go. Fizzy Dizzy is the workhorse of dark leaf citrus: it has enough sweetness to be a base and enough acidity to behave like an accent, which is why it turns up three times on this page.
Ratio: 50 / 50 · Two coals, one if your bowl runs hot
- 3
Green Skittles and TNT
Severniy and Trifecta · scores 49/60
Same TNT, different partner, sweeter result. Green Skittles is Severniy at its most approachable and a 5 out of 5 for sweetness, which on blonde leaf would be sickly within twenty minutes. On dark leaf the bitterness underneath holds it in check, and the TNT citrus does the rest. The easiest way into the Severniy range.
Ratio: 65 green skittles / 35 tnt · Two coals
- 4
Fizzy Dizzy and Arctic Mix
Must Have and Darkside · scores 48/60
The cold one. Arctic Mix does the cooling and Fizzy Dizzy supplies everything else, which is exactly the division of labour dark leaf likes. This is the mix to reach for when a session has gone on a while and a sweet bowl would be hard work. Straightforward to build and hard to ruin, provided you keep the coals honest.
Ratio: 65 fizzy dizzy / 35 arctic mix · Two coals, rotate at eight minutes
- 5
Fizzy Dizzy and Sever North
Must Have and Severniy · scores 43/60
The one I build most often when I want something cold without losing the flavour underneath. Sever North is Severniy doing what Supernova does for Darkside: 5 out of 5 cooling, 1 out of 5 sweetness, no real flavour of its own. It is not a flavour so much as a tool, which is precisely why it belongs in most dark leaf mixes rather than leading any of them. Keep it to a fifth of the bowl. Add Green Skittles as a third if you want it sweeter.
Ratio: 80 fizzy dizzy / 20 sever north · Two coals
- 6
Green Skittles and Glitch Ice Tea
Severniy and Darkside · scores 46/60
The second Severniy entry and the more grown-up of the two. Glitch Ice Tea is tannic in a way almost nothing else in shisha is, and it stops the Green Skittles reading as pure confectionery. If you have found dark leaf mixes either too sweet or too austere, this sits between the two.
Ratio: 55 glitch ice tea / 45 green skittles · Two coals
- 7
Sever North and Cherry Juice
Severniy and Must Have · scores 43/60
Berry and cooling, the shape dark leaf does better than blonde ever will. Cherry Juice is properly tart rather than sweet and the Sever North keeps the whole thing crisp. A winter bowl, and superb, but it turns harsh faster than anything else here if you overheat it. This is the one to watch at the five minute mark rather than the fifteen.
Ratio: 80 cherry juice / 20 sever north · Two coals, watch it early
- 8
Polar Cream and Saint-Tropez
Darkside and Banger · scores 49/60
The odd one out on a page full of citrus and cooling, and the smoothest bowl on it. Two creamy dark leaf flavours that should theoretically be too much together. Polar Cream from Darkside brings the cooling, Saint-Tropez the body, and the result is dense, rich and long. The mix to use if you want to convince somebody that dark leaf is worth the extra care.
Ratio: 55 saint-tropez / 45 polar cream · Two coals, rotate at eight minutes
Why Fizzy Dizzy and Severniy Keep Appearing
Six of the eight mixes above use one or the other, which is not me playing favourites so much as those two solving the two problems dark leaf actually has.
Dark leaf is bitter underneath and unforgiving of heat. What it needs is something with acidity to lift it and something cold to keep it comfortable, and it needs both without adding more sweetness on top. Fizzy Dizzy does the first job and Sever North does the second.
One thing worth knowing before you order: almost nobody writes Severniy out in full. On a UK lounge menu it will be listed as Sever, and the staff will call it that too. If you ask for Severniy you will get a blank look, then a nod. Same brand, same tubs, shorter name.
- Fizzy Dizzy is the citrus workhorse: sweet enough to lead, sharp enough to accent. Rare in dark leaf.
- Sever North is 5/5 cooling and 1/5 sweetness. A tool, not a flavour. A fifth of the bowl, never more.
- Green Skittles is the sweet end of Severniy and the easiest way in.
- Passionfruit is the third Severniy line, tropical and less obvious, worth a look once the other two make sense.
Heat, Because It Matters More Here
Everything above assumes you are treating the bowl properly. Dark leaf holds more nicotine and less washed-out plant matter, so it starts burning sooner and the margin for error is much smaller.
- One fewer coal than the same bowl in blonde leaf.
- Check it at five minutes, not fifteen.
- A dense pack suits dark leaf and buys you a longer session.
- If it goes harsh, remove heat and wait. Full detail in shisha heat management.
Common Questions
What is the best dark leaf shisha mix?
Polar Cream and Saint-Tropez, at 49 out of 60. Two creamy dark leaf flavours that produce a dense, smooth and long-lasting bowl, and the easiest introduction to what dark leaf does well.
Is Sever the same as Severniy?
Yes. Severniy is a Russian dark leaf brand and almost every UK lounge shortens it to Sever on the menu and behind the bar. If a menu lists Sever North, Sever Green Skittles or just Sever, that is Severniy.
What does Sever North mix with?
Almost anything dark leaf, because it is a cooling agent rather than a flavour: 5 out of 5 for cooling and 1 out of 5 for sweetness. It works best over a fruit or berry base such as Fizzy Dizzy or Cherry Juice, and it should stay at about a fifth of the bowl or it flattens whatever is underneath.
How many coals for dark leaf shisha?
One to two, which is one fewer than you would use on blonde leaf. Dark leaf holds more nicotine and burns sooner, so it turns harsh quickly if you heat it like blonde. Check it at five minutes rather than fifteen.
Can you mix dark leaf and blonde leaf?
Yes, and it is the best way into dark leaf. Roughly a quarter dark to three quarters blonde gives you the extra body and buzz without the harshness, and it is far more forgiving of heat than a full dark bowl.