Mya Hookah Review - Ballerina

Review of the Mya Ballerina

Introducing the Mya Saray Ballerina. Light graceful lines, quality workmanship, um, I think my dancer analogy is going to go terribly wrong but anyways, here we have the Ballerina. With many of the Mya Saray hookahs I have reviewed I’ve discussed how solid and durable they are,workhorses for the hard smoking settings, etc. The ballerina is still well made with a solid brass core and chrome plating, but it is a little more on the stylish and elegant side.

The first thing to note is that if you get it from Myahookah.com it comes with their new high impact plastic case. The case is very nice with a lockable latch, compartments to separate the pieces, and a internal padded zipper pouch to give the base added protection. I’ll be posting a review of the case itself in a separate write up. But for now the important thing is that the Ballerina comes with one and it keeps it quite safe and secure.

The base is Bohemian Glass.  Which means it is thin but strong. The top is set up for a screw in stem as opposed to a pressure grommet so you don’t have to worry when one of your friends picks the hookah up by the stem and tries to move it into the next room. The metal threaded top piece will also protect the top of the glass from accidental impacts while you are cleaning it, filling it, or putting the stem in. The shape is elegant with a mixture of a traditional base with a modern interpretation with clear sections and frosted sections and the gold painted designs provide a nice touch. The glass passes the light clearly and when there is water in it the effect is quite beautiful. The way the smoke looks when it fills the base is also rather nice to watch.

 The stem is also artistic. While the lines are simple, the ripple effect gives it a more graceful look. Don’t let this fool you however, it is still solid brass cored with a chrome finish and is quite durable. The stem is set up with 2 capped spots for additional hose ports, which means with a few hose adapters from Myahookah.com and your bare hands you can set the Ballerina up to take up to 4 hoses.  As I’ve stated before, the stem is a screw in type, so you can actually carry the whole hookah by the stem instead of having to carry it by the base. 

 

 

The downstem on the Ballerina is quite wide and long, allowing for good deep hits and a lot of leeway as to water level. The typical 1 inch guideline for water levels can really be considered a minimum with this hookah and you can add a bit more water to the base for added stability and a deeper bubble.

   

 

All in all, the Ballerina is a beautiful hookah good for both everyday use and for a more special occasion. The fine Bohemian glass base gives it a more light and elegant look when combined with the beautifully designed stem. The case means you can safely transport it when going out and want to bring something a little nicer with you than the usual smaller travel hookah. 

And of course, it smokes like a MYA.

Mya Hookah Review - Astra

Review of the Mya Astra

    

This is a quick guide and review of the Mya Saray Astra. Now, I know you are probably thinking, the WHAT?  Its not the Tank, the QT, the Ballerina, the Bambino, or any of the hookahs you usually hear about from Mya. What it IS, is a relatively new hookah made up of over five pounds of brass, chrome and glass. This thing is SOLID.

The stem looks like a QT S Class all grown up. It’s a screw on stem so when your inexperienced friends pick it up by the stem and try to move it you won’t have to make that lunging grab for the base. The stem has 2 extra port opening, sealed with removable plugs so it is a quick and easy operation to add additional hose ports. If you go as far as to replace the purge valve, something you can do with Mya Saray hookahs if you are using the Auto-Seal Hookah Hose Adapters, the Astra can easily accommodate up to 4 hoses. With the Hose Adapters you don’t have to worry about corking the other ports when you aren’t using them and they act as multi purge valves.

 

The base is a nicely designed piece of glass. As I said before it is a screw in so it has the threaded metal collar keeping the stem securely attached to the base. It's wide bottomed and quite thick and even with the weight of the stem, the Astra has an extremely low center of gravity. Add water and I don’t think anything short of a deliberate effort will be able to knock it over. 

 When I had my own lounge, before my home state made places like mine illegal, I actually used the QT for my house smoking hookahs. I liked them because they were small enough not to be in the way if you had several on a table (The place was small, not much room for the hookahs to be placed on the floor), they had a very low center of gravity so they were ALMOST impossible to knock over, and they were solidly built and durable enough to take the kind of use and abuse hookahs take in a lounge setting. If I were to open another lounge today with a little more room, this is the hookah I would use. They are inexpensive, around $100 retail from Myahookah.com , all the parts are interchangeable and easy to order, and if you have a retail section like I did, I’m willing to bet after your customers have smoked out of it, they would want one for themselves.  

Did I mention they even look nice?

So, we have a nice looking, solidly built, reasonably priced hookah than can be made to take up to 4 hoses. How does it smoke…..?

Hookah Set Up - Mya Mikro

How To Set Up A Hookah - Mya Mikro

In some ways, the Mya Mikro is like any other hookah. You want the water to be about 1 to 1 ½” up the downstem. As you can see in the picture, it’s about where my finger is on the vase. Then, you replace the stem. It’s easiest if you put the gasket on the base and then push the stem on.

Now comes the fun part, packing the bowl. Unlike your standard Mya Bowl, this one sits flat IN the top of the stem. Almost like a modified Syrian bowl. Imagine, no more having the bowl knocked off your hookah by someone hitting the hookah or bumping the table! Keeping in mind that the bowl is convex, and the screen is concave, you have to watch how you pack this bowl.  Packing the tobacco evenly across the bowl will either result in your screen not sitting properly on top or you will end up under packing the bowl. I have found that packing the tobacco higher around the edge and a bit lower in the middle works best. Essentially, you are creating a cavity in the center of the tobacco for the screen to drop into.

Make sure your hose gasket is in place and then firmly insert the hose end with a slight twist. If the hose is seated properly, you are ready to go.

It is important to keep how the bowl is packed in mind when you are putting the coals on your bowl. Since the majority of your tobacco is around the sides of the bowl, put the majority of your coals around the edge of the screen, not all piled in the middle for best results. Also remember this is a metal screen, not foil you are using so the initial heat will have to be higher to heat the screen and allow proper heat transference to the tobacco. Once the tobacco is up and smoking, however, you can actually cut back a bit on the coals as a screen also tends to maintain heat better than foil. Heat control is really a matter of practice. Each smoker will find the ideal amount of coal to produce smoke of a thickness and taste that suits their smoking preferences.

The hardest thing about this hookah is de-ashing the screen. As I’m sure you noticed, there is no tray to catch the ash, so simply using a pair of tongs to push the ash off the edge is NOT recommended. I found the simplest way to clear the old ash and coals is to take whatever container you use for your hot coals, and set it at the edge of the bowl, right under the hinges for the screen. Then you simply use a pair of tongs to pivot the screen on the hinge and dump the ash back into your coal carrier. This is actually simpler than it sounds and I can do a quick flip and pump with very little problem.

To remove the bowl, simply grab the post sticking out from the screen assembly and slowly and gently lift it up. The bowl comes out very easily for cleaning and/or repacking. And speaking of repacking, I have found that smoking Tangiers I can get about 1 ½ to 2 hours of smoking on one of these bowls. And I can refill it right there at my table for a second round. I just pull the bowl, dump the spent tobacco into a container of some sort, repack it, and flip the screen back down. No need for foil and a toothpick to get set up for the next round.

All in all the Mikro is a fine little hookah. Solid and compact with a nice smooth hit and lots of smoke. It’s easy to set up and just as easy to clean up. Plus you don’t need to carry foil and a toothpick around with you when you take it someplace. Priced around $45 it is the ideal small hookah.