If you’ve ever held a piece of charcoal in your hand, you’ve held something that looks deceptively simple a black, brittle lump that burns hot and clean. But behind that piece of charcoal is a surprisingly involved Charcoal manufacturing process, one that has evolved from primitive earthen pits dug in the forest floor to fully … Read more
Walk into any serious BBQ supply store, and you’ll find two types of charcoal on the shelf: briquettes and lump. The briquettes are uniform, pillow-shaped, and cheap. The lump charcoal is irregular, jagged, and costs noticeably more. If you ask the person behind the counter why, they’ll probably say something like “it’s more natural” or … Read more
There is a reason charcoal briquettes dominate the shelves of every supermarket, hardware store, and mass-market retailer that sells BBQ supplies. They are cheap to produce, consistent in shape and burn time, easy to package, and simple for casual cooks to use. Pick them up, stack them in a pyramid, light the bottom, wait twenty … Read more
Most people who buy bamboo charcoal in a deodorizer pouch, a face wash, a water filter, or a bag of premium hookah coals have no idea how different it is from the wood charcoal they might use on a grill. They know it’s black, they know it’s supposed to be good for something, and they … Read more
Hookah charcoal is one of the most specific and demanding products in the entire charcoal industry. It needs to do something that no other charcoal product is asked to do: burn at a precise, steady temperature for 45 to 90 minutes, produce absolutely no smell or flavor of its own, generate minimal ash, never spark, … Read more
