FAQs

• How much does it cost?
• Do you offer group discounts?
• Do you offer a student or military discount?
• What did Meridian get me for my birthday?
• Do you take reservations?
• How many hookahs can we get?
• How long should each hookah last?
• Why are you out of flavors?
• What kind of tobacco and charcoal do you use?
• Do you sell hookah tobacco and hookah charcoals?
• Is smoking hookah the same as smoking cigarettes?
• What’s the big deal about Meridian?
• How do you smoke hookah?
• How do you blow smoke rings?
• How do you make smoke bubbles?
• Is there hookah etiquette?
• How does the hookah work?
• What’s the history behind the hookah?

How much does it cost?
Our cover charge is $12 per person, which includes unlimited hookahs all night long. Stay as long as you like. If you’re just joining friends and don’t prefer to smoke, the cover charge is $5.
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Do you offer group discounts?
Yes. Groups of eight or more get $2 off cover per person. At least eight members of your group must be present at time of purchase to qualify for the discount. Sorry, group discount does not apply to no-smoke cover.
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Do you offer a student or military discount?
Yes. Students and military receive $1 off cover. Please remember to bring a valid and current student/military ID. Sorry, discount does not apply to no-smoke cover.
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What did Meridian get me for my birthday?
Come in on your birthday and smoke for free! Must present valid ID to show proof of birth date.
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Do you take reservations?
Yes. Groups of eight or more can reserve a full booth (sits 10-12 people) ahead of time, with a $80 non-refundable deposit. Your deposit pays the cover charges of the first eight members of your group to show up. Each person thereafter pays $10 (our group rate). Email reservations@meridianhookah.com to make a reservation.
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How many hookahs can we get?
Your cover charge includes unlimited hookahs all night long. Although we have no set limit on how many hookahs you or your group can have at once, we do suggest roughly one hookah for every 2-3 people.
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How long should each hookah last?
We take great care and pride in properly preparing your hookah. When packed correctly, your hookah can last (and still taste great) for up to 45 minutes to an hour. If you like a particular hookah flavor and the smoke is thinning out, ask your server to “second coal it,” which will resurrect your hookah for another 20-30 minutes.
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Why are you out of flavors?
First off, major apologies if you were counting on a particular flavor that’s out of stock. We make every effort to keep all flavors in stock, but from time to time our suppliers have problems with tobacco being held up by U.S. Customs. If we’re out of your flavor, we suggest trying some of our other flavors. We promise they all taste great.
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What kind of tobacco and charcoal do you use?
We use only top-quality Al Fakher brand hookah tobacco and Three Kings charcoal in our hookahs. Here’s our current list of flavors, which you can mix together to make your own creations:

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Do you sell hookah tobacco and hookah charcoals?
Yes. We sell Al Fakher tobacco ($15 per 250g box) and Three Kings coals ($3 per roll of 10).
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Is smoking hookah the same as smoking cigarettes?
Not at all. Hookah smoke is super light, almost like vapor. The smoke is actually so light that it should rarely, if ever, make you cough. Hookah smoke also smells and tastes very much like the fruity flavor of tobacco in the bowl, so you don’t have to worry about tasting or smelling like the stench of smoke. In fact, most of our customers smoke nothing but hookah.
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What’s the big deal about Meridian?
Everyone seems to love Meridian for different reasons, but our favorite reasons are that it gives people a cozy place to relax and spend quality time with friends. For many people the Meridian is their “third place,” a special place separate from home or work.
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How do you smoke hookah?
The most important thing about smoking hookah is to remember to take your time. This means inhale slowly and exhale slowly. This deep breathing not only helps you relax, but also helps you taste the hookah flavor over your tongue better. Inhale the hookah until you hear the water in the base start to bubble, and exhale with your mouth slightly open, as if to fog a glass with your breath. The smoke should be thick enough that it masks your face for a few seconds. Repeat as necessary.
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How do you blow smoke rings?
Most people think blowing smoke rings is some elaborate skill mastered only by the most experienced aficionados. Not true at all. In fact, most will pick it up within just the first few tries.

1. Get thick smoke. Make sure you have some thick smoke coming from the hookah. This is essential, especially when you’re first learning. A few long hard drags on the hookah will help thicken the smoke.
2. Wet your lips. This will help with getting a smooth ring.
3. Pucker your lips out like a fish, and make as close to the shape of an “O” as possible. You will look funny.
4. Softly cough out smoke from the back of your throat. This is the hardest part. What usually helps is to imagine softly fogging a mirror with your breath. The idea is to not to blow out the smoke from your mouth, but rather to gently cough it from the back of your throat. Quick, forceful, yet gentle bursts work best.
5. Repeat these short, gentle cough bursts, as you adjust the shape of your lips, until you see the “O’s” take shape. When you’re adjusting the shape of your lips, try to keep the “O” shape as much as possible, and focus mostly on changing the size of the “O”.

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How do you make smoke bubbles?
In those rare circumstances where there’s a dull hookah moment, use this trick to spice up the party. Everyone will be amazed. Crowds will “oooh” and “ahhh”. You will walk away the undisputed hero of the night.

1. Find an empty water bottle and poke a hole in the bottom, but close to the sides of the bottle. The hole should be about half an inch or smaller. You can use a sharp knife to make the first poke, then scrape around the edges to make a smooth and larger hole. Make sure to unscrew the water bottle cap.
2. Squeeze some liquid dish soap into the bottom of a bowl.
3. Pour water into the bowl and mix violently. You want as soapy a mix as possible.
4. Start your hookah and get it to pull thick smoke. The thicker the smoke the better the smoke bubble ball.
5. Hold the water bottle upside-down in one hand and the hookah hose in another.
6. Dip the water bottle top into the soapy mix of water in the bowl a few times.
7. Take a big hit from the hookah.
8. Put your mouth around the hole on the bottom of the bottle and gently exhale the smoke into the water bottle. Exhale until the smoke bubble at the tip of the bottle is about the size of a clenched fist. Once the bubble is the right size, proceed with the following steps quickly, but without any jerky movements. The smoke bubble balls have a very limited and fragile lifespan.
9. Slide your thumb over the hole at the bottom of the water bottle as you take your mouth off.
10. Quickly tug straight up on the water bottle with some force to free the smoke bubble ball from the tip of the water bottle. Make sure there’s nothing under where you’re blowing the bubbles. On some carpets and with the right soap, the bubble will actually sit on the carpet for a few seconds and then eventually pop.

How does this work? Basically the smoke inside the bubble is what makes the bubble so sturdy. Without the smoke inside, when the bubble makes contact with the floor, the bubble warps so much that it pops. When filled with smoke, the bubble acts as if it were solid. The smoke supports the bubble layer and makes it strong enough to withstand impact with the ground. Result: bouncing smoke bubble.

Once you get the hang of this, you can play a game with friends to see who can get the most smoke bubble balls to sit, un-popped on the floor. Consider any more than three or four smoke bubbles at one time an exceptional feat.
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Is there hookah etiquette?
There are tons of websites that outline proper hookah etiquette, but at the Meridian we think you should just do it however you want. The ritual should have more to do with your experience rather than with the hookah itself. That being said, there is one good rule to always follow: never smoke anything except hookah in a hookah lounge.
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How does the hookah work?
The hookah is actually a very simple contraption. From top to bottom: bowl, shaft, stem, water-filled base … and of course, the hose which is connected to the shaft. Tobacco goes in the bowl, a layer of foil on top with holes poked in it, and then a hot coal atop that. The elevated coal slowly heats the tobacco, but doesn’t burn it. When you inhale, hookah vapor from the bowl travels through the shaft/stem, into the water (natural filtration and cooling), and finally out the hose into your mouth. The result – a very smooth, light, flavorful smoke vapor.
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What’s the history behind the hookah?
The hookah’s been around a long time. The first hookahs were made out of coconuts and showed up in Turkey shortly after the discovery of tobacco. The hookah is also known as a “peace pipe” because of its ability to bring people together of different backgrounds and convictions.
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