The chimney attachment – ​​a small revolution on the German shisha market

The fireplace attachment , as we know it in Germany today, is an extension of the Turkish fireplace , because the country of origin of the fireplace has been Turkey for years. German dealers imported it from Turkey and established it in this country.

The first chimneys that came out under the name Badcha did not have today's grille or net and basically only consisted of the lower element with the chimney or tube in the middle of the top.
At that time they were used in combination with the unglazed natural clay heads from Turkey, which were not so popular or well-known until then.

The problem with the unglazed tape heads

With the import of the chimney caps, these clay heads also became established in Germany. However, they have a short lifespan because they become saturated with molasses relatively quickly and then begin to excrete the molasses when they become oversaturated. This is due to the unglazed surface, whose pores are permeable . This is usually visible at the bottom of the head in the form of teardrop-shaped outlets . You can boil them in a saucepan with hot water or buy a new one relatively inexpensively.

With the first version of the fireplace attachment or badcha, you couldn't really regulate the heat well. The tobacco received either too much or too little heat. In addition, the openings in the lower element were round and smaller compared to the current standard attachments, which are oval and elongated and therefore allow a relatively large amount of air to pass through.

This is how the fireplace attachment works

The Genie fireplace attachment is now the most popular head variant in Germany and not without reason. The long tube and the physical principle associated with it give the head its name. They describe the chimney effect , which is caused by the construction and the vertically rising warm air - also called natural convection .
Warm air has a lower density than cold air and therefore rises automatically due to thermal convection. We see the same principle in chimneys and other stoves or combustion systems.
The self-regulating chimney system simplifies the entire smoking process. It ensures a constant temperature in the head and prevents the tobacco from burning due to overheating and heat build-up by escaping hot air.
With aluminum foil you have to play around with the holes, the height of the tobacco and the placement of the coal in order to achieve optimal heat development; the fireplace regulates this largely automatically.

A small revolution on the shisha market

Later, a grid was added that took the Badcha to a completely different level and revolutionized the shisha market, because the grid made smoking shisha much easier. The grid helps to regulate the heat by pushing the coal slightly outwards or placing it more centrally, as required. If you place the charcoal in the middle, the head gets more heat. If it is too hot or scratchy, you can take out the heat by simply moving the charcoal to the edge. In addition, depending on the mesh size of the grid, the additional attachment ensures that less ash comes through, which burns the tobacco more quickly. The tobacco is therefore heated more gently and is not burned directly. Contact between coal and tobacco is also avoided, which leads to less smoke development and more vapor content . A small amount of smoke is essential for gentle smoking behavior, as this is harmful compared to the water vapor created by the liquid substances in shisha tobacco.

Chimney cap or aluminum foil?

The fireplace is very important for every beginner to slowly get to grips with smoking shisha. We also advise advanced users to use the fireplace because this is healthier compared to direct contact between tobacco and coal, because the resulting combustion process produces a lot of smoke and you just want to increase the steam content with a shisha .

It is also a misconception that direct contact between tobacco and coal would release the tobacco aromas better. However, most flavors and their components are not designed to have direct contact with the coal, which reaches a temperature of up to 750 degrees Celsius . This causes any aroma to dissolve into smoke.

This is how the fireplace attachment is used

When using a fireplace attachment for the first time, you should make sure that the head is or has been burned out beforehand, because new attachments contain emulsions, i.e. oils, that must first be burned down, otherwise the first head will taste very unpleasant.
It's very easy to use: simply let the tobacco fall loosely into the bowl up to the edge, then place the chimney and place three Genie Cubes on the 120 degree angle . Initially place the charcoal in the middle and as soon as there is enough smoke, move it outwards to provide less heat to the tobacco.