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The Best Paan Shisha Mixes
Paan is the most divisive thing on a shisha menu and the least like anything else on it. Built on the betel leaf and rose preparation served after a meal across South Asia, it tastes of nothing else in the range, which is exactly why people either order it every time or never again.
Paan is my go-to smoke. Not the thing I order to be interesting, the thing I come back to, and the top two entries here are what I build at home more than anything else. It is also the hardest family to mix, because it does not blend so much as take over, which is why both of them are three-flavour builds.
The List
- 1
My favourite mix on this site, and the one I would put in front of anybody who thinks they do not like paan. It breaks my own two-flavour rule and gets away with it because all three have separate jobs. Paan leads with the rose and betel. The vanilla rounds off the sharp edge that puts people off it. The coconut, which is barely sweet at all, thickens the whole thing and stops the vanilla turning it into pudding. Take any one away and it stops working.
Ratio: 50 paan / 30 vanilla / 20 coconut
- 2
Paan, Coconut and Rubicon Lychee
Fumari, Nakhla and Adalya · scores 45/60
One of my five · see all five
The lighter cousin of the mix above, and the better one in summer. Rubicon Lychee is floral in the same direction as the paan rather than against it, so instead of contrast you get depth. The coconut does the same binding job it does everywhere on this site. Keep the paan low here, because lychee is easily lost and the whole point is that you can still taste it.
Ratio: 40 lychee / 35 paan / 25 coconut
- 3
Madagascar Nights and Pan Masala Mint
Adalya and Al Fakher · scores 46/60
The best paan mix in the database, and it works because both flavours carry mint. Rather than trying to soften the paan with something sweet, this leans into the cooling that is already there, so the two share a common thread instead of arguing. Madagascar Nights brings enough fruit to stop it becoming medicinal. The most sophisticated bowl on this list.
Ratio: 65 madagascar nights / 35 pan masala mint
- 4
Madagascar Nights and Pan Raas Mint
Adalya · scores 46/60
Level on score and the easier one to find, since both are Adalya and tend to appear on the same menus. Pan Raas Mint is the slightly gentler of the two paans, which makes this the better first paan mix if you have not had one before. Same ratio, same logic.
Ratio: 65 madagascar nights / 35 pan raas mint
- 5
Pan Masala Mint and Simply Mango
Al Fakher and Starbuzz · scores 45/60
The classic pairing, and the one most lounges will suggest. Mango is sweet and generous enough to give the paan somewhere to sit, and the combination of rose, betel and ripe fruit is genuinely excellent when the ratio is right. Get the ratio wrong and the mango vanishes entirely.
Ratio: 70 mango / 30 paan
- 6
Pan Masala Mint and Rubicon Lychee
Al Fakher and Adalya · scores 45/60
Lighter than the mango and, for my money, the more interesting bowl. Lychee is floral already, so pairing it with paan doubles down rather than contrasting. The risk is that it becomes perfumed, which is why the paan stays low. When it lands it is the best after-dinner bowl in shisha.
Ratio: 75 lychee / 25 paan
- 7
Pan Raas Mint and Simply Mango
Adalya and Starbuzz · scores 45/60
The gentler paan against the same mango, and the entry point for the whole category. If you have been told you would not like paan, this is the bowl that tests the theory without committing you to an hour of it. Keep the paan right down at first and add on the next bowl if you want more.
Ratio: 75 mango / 25 paan
How to Stop Paan Taking Over
Paan behaves like a base and should be treated like an accent. That contradiction is why most home paan mixes fail.
The rose and betel notes are unusually persistent, so even a modest amount carries through the whole session. Start lower than feels right and adjust on the next bowl rather than the current one.
- Start at 25 to 30 per cent paan, never half.
- Pair with sweet tropical fruit, which has the body to survive it.
- Avoid pairing paan with citrus. The two fight and neither wins.
- If in doubt, smoke it alone once first so you know what you are working with.
Common Questions
What is paan shisha?
A flavour built on the betel leaf and rose preparation served after meals across South Asia. It tastes of nothing else on a shisha menu, combining floral, herbal and slightly sweet notes, and it is the smallest family in the database at nine flavours.
What mixes well with paan shisha?
Sweet tropical fruit, above all mango and lychee, both of which have the body to survive paan. Vanilla and coconut also work well: vanilla rounds off the sharp edge that puts people off paan, and coconut thickens the mix without adding sweetness. Avoid citrus, which fights the rose notes.
How much paan should you put in a mix?
About a quarter to a third of the bowl. Paan is unusually persistent and will carry through a whole session even in small amounts, so start lower than feels right and increase on the next bowl rather than the current one.