Tangiers

The phunnel looks like an obvious design today, but it appeared around this tobacco specifically — and not by accident. Tangiers makes extremely concentrated blends that need a different heating logic than a classic multi-hole bowl. The practical consequence: a bowl of this takes noticeably less tobacco than you are used to, and that bowl should be a phunnel.

This is close to the only tobacco on the market that genuinely requires a dense pack. The usual fluffy pack, correct for almost everything else, simply does not work here: the mix will not release its flavour. The right method is to overfill and press down so the tobacco sits dense and just below the bowl's upper lip.

The second mandatory step concerns Noir. It is unwashed leaf and sensitive to sudden humidity changes — a fresh jar is meant to be opened and left standing for four to twenty-four hours. Without that acclimation the first bowls smoke noticeably worse, and plenty of people write it off as a “bad batch”.

• Birquq — the lightest, with low nicotine and a wider heat window. This is the way into the brand for anyone who has not smoked dark blends. One caveat: it is heat sensitive, and it is usually run at around three quarters of your normal coal count.
• Noir — the line the brand's reputation was built on: unwashed American leaf, a deep earthy backbone and complex flavours. A middle by the brand's own standards, though not by the market's.
• Burley — the strongest part of the catalogue: full body and a pronounced tobacco tone, for experienced smokers.
• F-Line — the same Burley base with caffeine added.

The flavour is concentrated enough that a portion sized by other brands will be too much. Packs are 100 and 250 g, and a 100 g jar lasts a long time precisely because each bowl takes less. Worth factoring in when comparing price: per gram Tangiers is expensive, per session not necessarily.

Tangiers is not a first tobacco and not something to put on for a group. It rewards people willing to learn the bowl, the pack and the acclimation, and punishes anyone who smokes it like a Turkish blend. For dark strength without the ritual, look at Darkside or Burn; for the exact opposite approach — washed blonde leaf and flavour without the strength — Fumari.