Best Lists
The Best Shisha Mixes for Beginners
The first few shisha sessions tend to go one of two ways: somebody who knows what they are doing orders for you and it is excellent, or you pick something off a menu at random and spend an hour wondering what the fuss is about.
These six remove the guesswork. All blonde leaf, all low on harshness, all forgiving if the coals are not perfect, and all available on a normal menu.
The List
- 1
Grape and Lemon Mint
Al Fakher · scores 57/60
The highest-scoring mix in the entire database, and conveniently also one of the easiest to find. Grape is soft and forgiving, the lemon mint keeps it lively, and the balance is right even if your ratio is a bit off. If you order one shisha in your life, this is a good candidate.
Ratio: 70 grape / 30 lemon mint
- 2
Blueberry and Mint
Al Fakher · scores 53/60
The safest order in shisha. Blueberry has enough body to survive a heavy hand on the coals, mint lifts it, and there is nothing here to dislike. Not exciting. Genuinely impossible to get wrong, which is exactly what you want early on.
Ratio: 75 blueberry / 25 mint
- 3
Mango and Mint
Al Fakher · scores 53/60
Sweeter and more approachable than the blueberry, and the better choice if you are not sure you like tobacco flavour at all. Mango is generous and obvious in the best way. Keep the mint light, because mango is easily buried.
Ratio: 80 mango / 20 mint
- 4
Strawberry and Mint
Al Fakher · scores 53/60
Familiar enough that nobody at the table will object, and clean when it is done properly. Strawberry varies a lot between brands, so stick with a name you recognise. The Al Fakher version is the safe one.
Ratio: 75 strawberry / 25 mint
- 5
Love 66 and Mint
Adalya · scores 53/60
If the menu is Adalya rather than Al Fakher, order this. Love 66 is a mixed fruit that already does several things at once, so it feels more interesting than a single-fruit bowl without being harder work.
Ratio: 80 love 66 / 20 mint
- 6
Lady Killer and Mint
Adalya · scores 53/60
The other Adalya answer, slightly sharper than Love 66 and a good second bowl once you have found your feet. Same principle, same ratio, marginally more going on.
Ratio: 80 lady killer / 20 mint
What Makes a Mix Beginner Friendly
It is not about the flavour being mild. It is about how much the bowl punishes a mistake, and the mistakes early on are almost always heat.
- Blonde leaf. It forgives an extra coal. Dark leaf does not.
- Low harshness. Everything here is 2 out of 5 or under.
- A clear base. One flavour leading means you can taste when something goes wrong.
- Widely stocked. No use recommending something you cannot order.
New Lounge? Order Al Fakher
If you walk into somewhere you have never smoked before and the menu means nothing to you, order Al Fakher. It is the single safest bet in shisha.
It is not the most exciting brand on any menu and it does not need to be. It is the most consistent: the same tub tastes the same in Manchester as it does in Dubai, the leaf is forgiving of a heavy hand on the coals, and every lounge stocks it, so the staff know how to pack it. An unfamiliar lounge is exactly the wrong moment to gamble on a brand nobody there has worked out yet.
- Al Fakher is on nearly every menu in the country, and it is the largest range in the database.
- Consistent tub to tub, which almost nothing else in shisha can claim.
- Blonde leaf, so it tolerates the extra coal a new lounge might give you.
- Save the small-batch brands for a place you already trust.
The Three Things to Get Right
Order one of the six above and then do these three things. That is genuinely the whole of it for the first few sessions.
- Two coals to start, no more. See heat management.
- Do not judge the bowl for five minutes.
- If it goes harsh, take heat off rather than adding it. More detail in why is my shisha harsh.
Common Questions
What shisha flavour should a beginner start with?
Grape and Lemon Mint, or Blueberry and Mint if that is not available. Both are blonde leaf, low on harshness, forgiving of imperfect heat and on almost every menu. Start with a fruit base and a small amount of mint.
Is shisha harsh for beginners?
It should not be. Harshness early on is nearly always too much heat rather than the tobacco. Start with two coals on blonde leaf, wait five minutes before judging it, and remove heat rather than adding it if it catches your throat.
What is the safest shisha brand to order at a new lounge?
Al Fakher. It is the most consistent brand in shisha, it is stocked almost everywhere so the staff know how to pack it, and it is blonde leaf so it tolerates an extra coal. Save the smaller specialist brands for a lounge you already trust.
Should beginners smoke blonde or dark leaf?
Blonde, without question. It is washed harder so it holds less nicotine, and it tolerates an extra coal without turning harsh. Move to dark leaf once you can manage heat without thinking about it.