Pictured here is 1kg of charcoal. Due to charcoal being classified as a dangerous good we can only ship this product domestically with ground services (Expedited Parcel).

Thicker pieces can continue to burn for a long time, but takes longer to ignite. However, the firepower is inferior compared to thinner pieces. These small pieces of jagged Kishu-Binchotan are great for Konro or BBQ grills.

What is Binchotan (備長炭)?

Binchotan means charcoal in Japanese. However, this Binchotan, or sometimes referred to as bincho zumi, is a particular type of charcoal that is a long-burning, clean, and natural alternative to charcoal briquettes.

While pretty much more expensive compared to your ordinary charcoals in the market, this flameless charcoal produces intensive heat, burns cleanly, gives off no odour, and can cook at a higher temperature than other types of charcoal, making the outside of food ingredient crispy without drying it out. This log-shaped charcoal is made from various oak that combines the best aspects of lump charcoal and briquettes.

The smoke it produces gives a distinct enticing flavour. The heat of Binchotan is so intense that it could actually create a hole in a pan like an infrared ray hitting the centre.

This charcoal is dried and stacked into brick ovens and taken to four different temperatures: two hundred degrees, four hundred degrees, five hundred fifty degrees, and nine hundred degrees Celsius, for 8 weeks. For the last stage, they rapidly add air so that the heat reaches one thousand two hundred degrees Celsius, which carbonizes it and permanently changes the charcoal's internal structure.

What makes Kishu-Binchotan (紀州備長炭) different?

Kishu-Binchotan is a charcoal that is a regional collective trademark of the Wakayama Prefecture Charcoal Cooperative. Only white charcoal made in the prefecture from natural oak wood, called Ubamegashi, can be sold as Kishu Bincho charcoal. The charcoal which is only made of Ubamegashi wood can be called Ubame.

The higher the quality of Kishu-Binchotan charcoal, the harder it is, and the denser the charcoal, the harder it is to ignite. On the other hand, once it ignites, it will continue to burn stably for a long time. It has a high amount of infrared rays, so the surface of food is caramelized evenly and quickly. It is used often in many elevated Japanese charcoal-grilled dishes, and continues to be a popular charcoal by chefs.