187 Strassenbande
Blond Virginia under a Hamburg rap label: a mild base, loud berry flavours, and a number stamped on every tin.
A Hamburg rap label, a Stuttgart factory
Most musician-branded products stop at the logo. This one did not: in late 2017 the Hamburg crew 187 Strassenbande put out its own shisha tobacco, and it stuck around in German retail rather than lasting a single season.
The crew does not make it. Alhamra e.K. of Stuttgart does — that is the company named in the manufacturer field on the tin. Loud music-world branding, an ordinary German tobacco factory behind it.
Blond Virginia, and what follows from it
The base is bright Virginia, finely and evenly cut. It is the mildest leaf that goes into shisha tobacco at all, so the strength here is deliberately low: the flavour leads and the nicotine stays out of the way.
The practical upshot is that the mix is ready to pack straight from the tin — no wringing out, no drying — and the smoke comes out dense despite the light body. If you want a head rush, look elsewhere; if you want flavour, this is the place.
One exception: a separate Dark Blend range exists on dark Burley, in 150 g tins — different leaf and a completely different strength. We do not carry it yet, so everything you see here is the light base.
The flavour numbers, and why they are not on the tin
In shops every flavour carries a code: #001, #007, #017, #052. It is release order rather than a reference to songs — flavours are numbered from the first onwards.
Two caveats. First, the maker does not print the codes on the tin at all — retailers add them, and they use two competing schemes (a long one and a shortened one), so the number is not a reliable key from shop to shop. Second, two flavours replace the number with a crew member's alias: #0S4 on Quelle is Sa4, and #LX53 on Sparkling IZE T is LX. #040 on Hamburg is both its place in the queue and the city's dialling code; whether that was arranged, no source says.
Heat: start with two coals
Sources genuinely disagree here, which is worth knowing up front. The official shop and some retailers call the leaf heat-tolerant and allow up to four coals; reviewers warn the opposite — that the bright flavourings scorch before the leaf does.
The safe compromise is the maker's own figure: start with two coals and a heat manager, then add by feel. Pack loose and even, just below the rim of the bowl, 15–20 g per session.
Who it suits
This is tobacco for people who came for flavour rather than strength: beginners, mixed company, long conversations. The range leans berry and citrus, often with a cooling edge — 040 Hamburg, I Love Hamburg, Beach Vibez, Pink Mellow — with i scream Pist-chio on the dessert side.