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Hookah pipes have been around in some form or another for nearly 500 years, but the shisha tobacco we enjoy today isn’t quite as ancient. The origins of the tobacco plant, early (unflavored) shisha tobacco, current (flavored) shisha tobacco, and tobacco smoking in Australia are all discussed in this blog article. 

Tobacco is a generic word for a group of plants of the Nicotiana genus. Tobacco plants come in over seventy different species. The majority of these species may be found in Mexico, the Americas, and parts of Africa, Australia, and Asia. Tobacco is now grown in many places of the world. China, India, and Brazil are the top three manufacturers. On this list, the United States is rated sixth. 

Origin of Tobacco 

Mexicans, according to history, were the first civilisation to utilise tobacco in a variety of ways. They smoked tobacco leaves and used the stems and other plant pieces for a variety of uses. Tobacco leaves were often used to cover wounds in order to speed up the healing process. Tobacco plants, especially leaves, were used in ceremonies and their extracts were used for medical purposes by Mexicans. Apart from smoking, various civilizations have chewed tobacco and consumed it in a variety of forms, including paste and mixes. 

Origin of Hookah Tobacco 

Since the 16th century, when Indian glass artisans built the first glass hookah pipes, tobacco has been smoked using water pipes. The simple pleasure of smoking shisha steadily spread throughout the Middle East, including Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Egypt, in the 17th and 18th century.  

Despite the fact that the shisha tobacco didn’t change much apart from the origin of the tobacco plant, each country developed unique hookah pipe designs employing a variety of materials and production processes. 

Shisha tobacco was unflavored until the 1990s. Tobacco leaves would be combined with water before being crushed into a form appropriate for hookah smoking. As a result, shisha tobacco (also known as Ajami or Tumbak depending on the location) was difficult to light and generated a strong flavour and odour, as well as a lot of nicotine. Even after passing through a nargileh’s water filtration, this type of shisha tobacco was extremely unpleasant to smoke, and it was rapidly losing popularity in favour of other tobacco smoking techniques like as cigarettes, cigars, and tobacco pipes. 

Recent History 

By the 1990s, shisha tobacco had spread around the world, from America to Australia. It was a suitable substitute for cigarettes, cigars, tobacco-smoking pipes, rolled joints, and other similar products. Shisha bars and hookah lounges were springing up around the country, particularly in tourist regions. Shisha became the focal point of lounges, cafés, bars, and even beach shacks when Persians, Syrians, Egyptians, and Turks demonstrated how it might be employed in social events. 

On the eve of the new century, firms began to use cutting-edge technology to increase the quality of shisha tobacco. Tobacco leaves were finer and mellower as a result of an endeavour to make them finer and mellower. The nicotine concentration of fresh and raw leaves is reduced by washing them, and the resulting material is more suited to fermentation, curing with honey or molasses, and subsequent blending or flavouring. The distinction between dark leaf and blonde leaf tobaccos is now widely understood among shisha fans. 

Hookah Tobacco in the 21st Century 

There are hundreds of varieties of shisha tobacco on the market right now. There are some that don’t have any nicotine in them. Unflavored shisha tobacco, menthol varieties, and multi-flavor mixes are also available. Extra honey or molasses are added to some shisha tobaccos to make the substance more juicier. To flavour shisha tobacco, anything from fruits to tea and coffee is increasingly being utilised. Shisha tobacco has a rich history dating back over 500 years. Another substantial shift is likely to occur, notably in the production of shisha tobacco and the variety of flavours available.