Hookah pipes have become the missing link and must-have ingredient for fun times with friends and family. For shisha fans, time with buddies is never well-spent if a hookah is not present.

But while the shisha pipe has gained so much momentum as a way of enjoying some sweetened tobacco, preserving the flavored tobacco used in hookahs remains a challenge for most people.

This article is aimed at sharing a few tips with you on how to keep your shisha fresher and tasting sweeter for a longer period of time. How long you can preserve it will greatly depend on the preservation method. Following these tips and tricks will however keep it in pristine condition for longer than a week at least.

1. Seal it

Too much or too little moisture are the most common reasons for shisha going bad. You should therefore make sure that yours remains covered if you want it to last longer.

To do this, you can gently wrap the tobacco in a plastic wrap, wax paper, or foil. If yours is in a container, keep it sealed at all times. You can also use plastic Tupperware for short term storage. Only use it as a temporary alternative because it is not airtight.

Another option is to put your shisha tobacco in a zip lock bag.

2. Keep in a cool, dry place

Keep your tobacco in a cool, dry place to preserve its freshness for longer. Warm temperatures change the chemical composition of shisha and therefore reduces its shelf life.

The best place to keep it would be in a cold dark and dry place, away from sunlight. This is usually the first rule for all hookah lovers. You can also keep it in a cabinet or drawer at room temperature. Just make sure it is not exposed to direct sun.

3. Store in a fridge

The idea of keeping your hookah tobacco in a refrigerator might not be appealing at first and might put you off, but it is a good technique. Chilling your hookah tobacco increases the lifespan by slowing down the chemical process that give it a stale taste. If you don’t like this option though, airtight containers will do just fine.

4. Avoid the freezer

It is important to note that storing your tobacco in the fridge is NOT the same as keeping it in the freezer. The freezer is too moist, and the moisture will eventually seep into the tobacco making it go bad faster.

Another reason is that freezing will drain out the original tobacco moisture faster. In the process, it destroys the sweet taste of your hookah tobacco.

5. Add moisture

You cannot completely stop the drying process of your shisha, but there are several ways you can re-introduce moisture to keep it fresh.

One way is to spray some water on your shisha using a sprayer. This is not a recommended method though, because you can make the tobacco too damp, which will require dehydration before you can use it – that is if you get to use it before it goes bad.

Another challenge of this is that the water will most probably alter the taste of the tobacco.

A better way to keep your tobacco moistened without altering its flavor is to use hydro stones. These are quite cheap, and also very easy to find.

Simply soak the stones in a bowl of water and then place them with your tobacco. As the stones slowly dry out, they release water moisture which replaces the moisture lost by your shisha.

This is a more preferred method because it makes your tobacco too moist, and can last a very long time if stored under the right conditions.