Charcoal
What it is...
Charcoal is produced when wood is burnt in a reduced oxygen environment until all of the moisture and volatiles in it are removed. This process of pyrolysis leaves only the carbon element of the timber remaining. Charcoal has been used as a fuel for thousands of years and only went out of use at scale in Britain due to the cheap availability of coal. Charcoal is used today are as fuel for barbeques, in fireworks, filters, cosmetics, laboratories and as a drawing media by artists.
Where it comes from...
Lumpwood charcoal comes directly from cut timber. The vast bulk of barbeque charcoal used in the UK is imported. This BBC article tells a story about how we as a nation source it, as does this sobering piece about the Nigerian charcoal trade by Chikezie Omeje in New Republic. Look at almost any bag of charcoal you see for sale and it will more than likely not tell you from where it originated nor what wood it is comprised of. Charcoal briquettes contain charcoal dust and a selection of other surprising ingredients. We do not need to source charcoal from the other side of the world.
The UK imports 90 million kilos of charcoal each year, yet the best stuff is made right here. British charcoal is a fantastic product, you can light it with one page of newspaper, it will take only 15 minutes to be ready for cooking, it does not smoke, and food cooked over it tastes fantastic.
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We supply...
Our charcoal is made from a mix of the timber available in the coppices we work - mainly alder, ash, oak, hazel and sycamore. We can supply single species charcoal. Our 'Woodsman' branded Lumpwood Barbeque Charcoal is supplied wholesale in 20 litre two-ply recyclable paper sacks. We also supply Restaurant Grade Charcoal in larger 60 litre bags of mixed or single species charcoal.
