Making Hookah Tobacco Yourself – How Can I Make Hookah Tobacco Myself?

DIY: Making Hookah Tobacco Yourself – How Can I Make Hookah Tobacco Myself and When is it Worthwhile to Make Hookah Tobacco Myself?

Hookah tobacco is becoming increasingly expensive. Measures such as the German 25g rule ensure that this development is accelerated even further.

This topic often leads to heated debates and the occasional vitriolic comment on our social media channels. Among these are also posts in which followers hint that one could get cheap hookah tobacco in European countries, which could then be "smuggled" across the border.

Sure, that's doable, and as long as everything stays within the tax-free allowances, it's not even tax evasion. But! And this is a big BUT. Meanwhile, most EU countries have raised their tobacco taxes so much that we in Good ol' Germany are the cheapest providers of tobacco goods within the EU.

So to be clear: The claim that tobacco is cheaper in our neighboring countries than here is simply not true.

What are the alternatives to expensive hookah tobacco?
To get cheap tobacco, you can of course vacation in countries outside the EU zone and then bring back a certain duty-free amount for personal use. However, taking a vacation just to save a few euros on tobacco is quite a bizarre idea. So if you neither have the money nor the desire to fly abroad several times a year to bring back enough cheap tobacco for your personal use, you might as well buy the taxed products in Germany. Alternatives to hookah tobacco on the German market include tobacco substitute products or the cheaper Dry Base pipe tobacco. We have also written blog articles on both topics. Here is the article on hookah tobacco alternatives:

Hookah Tobacco without Nicotine |
Are there nicotine-free tobacco substitutes? Here we have the detailed blog article on the topic.

Or, you might consider making your own hookah tobacco.
Although this is not necessarily cheaper and also requires time and effort, at least you won't pay tobacco tax on the raw or decorative tobacco.

Making hookah tobacco yourself, is it a good idea?

Until the legislative change in 2022, it was still quite simple to make tasty hookah tobacco with minimal effort on your own, since some tobacco manufacturers could offer their flavors in the form of a pre-mixed molasses tax-free.

However, by now pretty much every good molasses has disappeared from the market, as these too must be taxed. But here the bad news does not end. All ingredients intended for the production of hookah tobacco are taxed since the legislative change. This includes flavors, glycerin, and propylene glycol.

Therefore, this business is no longer profitable for producers, and thus the simplified production of one's own tobacco with industrially manufactured, pre-mixed, and flavored components has become much more expensive than it was in 2022. When looking at the plain facts, the production of hookah tobacco with simple means for home use is now as unattractive as ever.

While taxes are indeed a major nuisance, what's even worse: The General Customs Directorate explicitly states that EVERYONE manufacturing hookah tobacco needs a "license as a tax warehouse keeper."

This also applies to consumers who only make hookah tobacco for their own use. This legally pushes every consumer who wants to make hookah tobacco for personal use into illegality.

What should I consider when I want to make hookah tobacco myself?

If we briefly set aside the fact that it's illegal to produce tobacco without official permission, tobacco production is no different from other "hobbies." Depending on what you want to do yourself, you should consider that producing a product always involves costs. This includes raw materials, containers, tools and equipment, but also cleaning agents, water, gloves, and so on. These are all factors that would ultimately also add to the cost of tobacco.

Let's suppose the 25 grams tobacco law had not been passed and production on a small scale for personal use was not illegal.

Then you should still consider that the first attempts in a new field are always bumpy and the initial results of your efforts are unlikely to cause much excitement.

With a high likelihood, the opposite is even true. Expect that a certain percentage of your raw materials can be thrown away, because, for instance, part of it molds or the flavors and their combination just don't taste good to you.

If you don't know if your hookah tobacco has gone bad, you can find out in our blog article on the topic:

Can hookah tobacco expire?
If yes, how long is hookah tobacco good for?here we have the detailed blog article on the topic.

Developing a good product takes a lot of experience. It takes time to optimize processes and perfect recipes. After all your trial runs, you would probably have a hookah tobacco you could be proud of. Even though it would likely taste quite different from the high-performance flavors you're used to from the industry.

Another point you should consider in the hypothetical production of tobacco is the question of the production location. Do you have space to dry your tobacco after washing?

Also, do not ignore the smell, because when washing, particles and nicotine dissolve in the water and the resulting broth stinks terribly.

If you are not particularly sensitive to smells and have enough space as well as patience, interest, and money to delve deep into this "hobby," making hookah tobacco could actually be quite enjoyable for you.

What do I need to make hookah tobacco myself?

Hookah tobacco basically consists of de-ribbed and finely chopped raw tobacco, flavors, sweetness, and a humectant. Depending on the source, the ratio of tobacco to other ingredients varies between 35/65 and 20/80.

Equipment for tobacco production:

For processing tobacco, you can use a discarded household appliance such as a stand mixer or an old cheese grater at home.

However, you should always use a separate device since nicotine is a neurotoxin, and you wouldn't want to accidentally have it in your food.

Eating nicotine is not only disgusting but also highly unhealthy. If you want to wash tobacco, you will also need a kettle, a sieve, rubber/latex gloves, newspaper, and possibly an oven with a baking tray.

Which tobacco for hookah tobacco?

Which raw tobacco varieties you should choose for your hookah tobacco is a matter of flavor. The important thing is that it is raw tobacco. Whether you prefer a mild Virginia tobacco or rather a robust Burley is entirely up to you. The way raw tobacco is processed remains the same.

There are various approaches to processing raw tobacco into usable tobacco. It's best to buy directly naturally fermented raw tobacco, as it requires less work than completely unprocessed tobacco. The fermentation ensures that proteins in the leaf are broken down and that the tobacco doesn't taste like burned hair when you smoke it.
The fermented raw tobacco can essentially also be used directly. It doesn't need to be further processed. However, you might consider washing it and air-drying it before another processing step to reduce the nicotine content.

After boiling, you can squeeze out the tobacco in a sieve. The wash water contains a lot of nicotine and stinks terribly. Therefore, think carefully about what clothes you wear during this process and where you want to wash the tobacco.

After washing, you could, for example, hang the tobacco on a clothesline to dry, placing several layers of kitchen paper underneath to prevent the dripping liquid from ruining your floor.
You should process the tobacco within three days after washing.

Preparing tobacco – separating branches from leaves.

Nobody wants branches and stems in their tobacco, as they can't absorb molasses. Therefore, after drying, the branches are removed from the leaves. This can be done quite well with your hands. If the tobacco is dry, the leaf can be easily detached from the stem.

Crushing raw tobacco

Industrially, tobacco undergoes two cuts. First, the rough cut and then the fine cut. At home, this doesn't necessarily have to be done in the same way. A coffee grinder, a discarded mixer, or an old cheese grater can do just as well in just one step.
Again as a reminder: Please do not use the same tools for preparing food and for processing tobacco.
Once the tobacco is crushed, it's time to soak the dry tobacco flakes in molasses.

The Molasses

Molasses is a mixture of various substances. The viscous liquid gives the tobacco its flavor and the necessary moisture. It also forms with a share of at least 66% the main component of hookah tobacco.

The three main components of an industrially produced molasses are:

1. Glycerin Glycerin makes up the largest part of an industrial molasses. It serves as a humectant and is also very well suited for transporting flavors. For use in hookah tobacco, glycerin requires at least a purity of 95% therefore, make sure that the product is of pharmaceutical quality.

2. Flavors: Products for flavoring tobacco can either be made yourself (this includes dried and powdered herbs, fruit, citrus peels, and spices like ground cinnamon or vanilla bean) or you can buy food flavors (e.g., online). These food flavors are also suitable for making hookah tobacco.

3. Sweeteners: Honey (thin varieties like acacia honey), glucose, fructose, or sugarcane molasses (sweeteners)

If you want to develop a perfect molasses for yourself, we recommend starting with small quantities in various mixing ratios, numbering them, and documenting the ingredients, so you can make the mixture that you like best in larger quantities later on.

Depending on the source, there are different statements about the amounts. In most cases, about 1/3 tobacco to 2/3 molasses is used. But it can also go up to a ratio of 1/5 tobacco to 4/5 molasses. It's best to collect your own experiences with what you like best.

Give your tobacco time.

An important factor in tobacco production is time. Almost always, a longer soaking time for the tobacco also means a more intense flavor. Some flavors only develop days or weeks after soaking, which is why not a few articles and videos like to compare hookah tobacco with a good wine, which also needs its time.

We advise you to give your tobacco at least two weeks to develop its flavor. However, it can also take up to two months until the flavor of your tobacco fully unfolds.

Conclusion: Making hookah tobacco yourself?

In principle, making your own hookah tobacco is no rocket science and if the thought of effort and mess doesn't immediately turn you off, it could actually be an interesting hobby.

With a bit of care in processing, some inventive spirit, money, and above all time, you could probably even create flavors that you have always wanted to try but have never found anywhere.

If the legal situation were not as it is currently and you are willing to bear both the effort and the costs, making your own tobacco could indeed be a nice hobby.

But as things stand, we would currently advise everyone against potentially making themselves liable to prosecution.

200g hookah tobacco in the hookah shop

An alternative to doing everything completely yourself are the so-called “Dry Base” or also pipe tobacco varieties, to which you only need to add glycerin, since these are both already de-ribbed, pre-treated, and flavored.

We provide a more detailed insight into the topic in the blog article:

Hookah Tobacco 200g:
Old size despite 25g regulation? Here we explain how you can get your 200g hookah tobacco back.

Generally, mixing Dry Base tobacco is also not legal, so we always have to give the following warning when it comes to making hookah tobacco yourself:

We hope this article has helped you and shed some light on the subject. If you like, feel free to check out our other blog articles.
Until then, all the best and always good smoke!
Nils from the Moze Team