Coffee and a pipe. How to make a selection at a shisha bar
Boom with hookahs
The world of hookah has advanced a lot in recent years, from the great boom in therange of tobaccos, to charging styles, to the pipes and accessories themselves.
The biggest attraction of a hookah is not its ornate design. It's the pleasant flavor you get from the blend of tobacco, molasses, honey, fruit pulp and other flavors like coconut or mint.
Why are pipes so trendy these days?
"The Czech Republic is one of the most growing pipe-making communities in the world. I think historically, Czechs have also been close to pipes and teahouses. Today's shisha bars have just adapted to the current times, where customers like to sip drinks other than tea in addition to the relaxation of a pipe (which people seek in today's hectic times, which I think is the answer to the question)." says the owner of the Frýdek-Místek Shisha Relax Bar, Láďa Fabík.
Hookahs are very popular especially among young people and students. Studies show that between22% and 40% of college students are hookah users. As many as38% of 18-24 year olds enjoy a choice coffee every day.
The target group of pipe shops and coffee shops with selective coffee is quite similar. Pipe drinkers also frequent coffee shops. So linking the two industries could be a double win.
The origin and evolution of sisha
Shisha as we know it has been around for about five hundred years. The origins of shisha originated in northwest India from the regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, which are close to the Pakistani border.
Although hookahs were initially banned in Arab countries, they have evolved over the years into a cultural value. They signified abalanced way of life, hospitality and sociability.
As the Persian name nargile suggests, the pipe was originally partly made fromcoconuts. These hookahs were simple, primitive, of sturdy construction, and were primarily intended for smoking opium and hashish.
Shisha and coffee
Shisha has always been smoked in Arab countries, often in coffee shops. This can be considered the first meeting of coffee with the pipe.
Pipe smoking was seen as a social event that brought family and friends together. And to make these events even more special, coffee or tea was drunk and accompanied by sweets and pastries.
We interviewed Lada for several reasons, not only is he a good friend and a great shisha bar owner, but he is also a certified barista and coffee lover.
What is it like to be a shisha bar owner and a barista at the same time?
"You always need to know at least the basics to the things that are prepared in the establishment. Honestly I probably wouldn't call myself a barista, it's not currently in my power to follow coffee trends and add to my knowledge of the coffee world. It's one thing to prepare good coffee in a bar, it's another to be a barista," replies Láďa.
The current coffee offer in pipe bars
At Lada's shisha bar, they are not currently faithful to one brand of coffee, but try out whatever catches their eye. And they have already tried our coffee.
"The Spa Coffee we had was, in my opinion, better suited for espressos than cappuccinos and lattes. In our bar, espresso sales are minimal, I believe it's also because the pipe is smoked for over 1.5 hours and people will drink an espresso in a minute. I have addressed this with my brother and next time we will get a different bean from you and it will be ok ???? ."
Linking coffee and pipe. Why?
According to Lada, linking a pipe to coffee would make sense. The only problem he sees is time, for how long to drink coffee and how long to smoke a pipe. Because of this, a shisha bar can't even have half the coffee sales of a coffee shop.
"Personally, I've been toying with the idea of introducing filter coffee for a while now, I think that may be a way of combining pipe and coffee," adds Lada.
How to do it?
If we want to incorporate selections into shisha bars, a better option would be to choose cappuccino, latte or even filter coffee, given the longer time spent with the pipe.
I would recommend choosing more conservative coffee flavor profiles. Our roaster can help you choose the right coffee, and can recommend the right coffee for you, your tastes, and your target audience.
An automatic dripper, which means quality filtered coffee, can also be the right choice for a shisha bar for those longer sips. The advantage is that the operator just grinds the coffee and adds water. Then just pour the coffee into the cup. And he can turn his full attention to the guests and the pipes.
On summer days, the regular Cold Brew or Nitro Cold Brew works similarly, where you just need to get the tap running and you have coffee without much effort.