Kamado Europe does not currently import charcoal into Europe. This information below is provided in order to give you a better understanding on the different types of charcoal available and to re-inforce the fact that we recommend using „lump“ charcoal and do not recommend using „briquettes“ if at all possible.
INTRODUCTION
To complement our Kamado, „the Best Barbeque in the World“ , we are introducing four types of Kamado Charcoal. The guaranteed quality and satisfaction will allow us to rightfully claim our Kamado Charcoal is the „Best Charcoal in the World“. We will contract with only those charcoal producers whom we have personally inspected and apply strict standards as to the percentage of fixed carbon above 75%, volatile content of less than 15% maximum, ash content of less than 2% and moisture content of less than 5 %. We never allow additives, fillers, petroleum or any other impurities. In addition, each will have a Government Product Analysis by SUCOFINDO (superintending Company of Indonesia) see link for sample or similar countries analysis. None of Kamado Charcoal will contain any deforestation woods and all harvesting procedures are from renewable forests . Our most unique and soon to be most popular is Coconut Charcoal which, of course, is a byproduct of copra (coconut meat). Similar to many products, one type of charcoal does not always serve the cooks requirements. For example, high temperature and fast cooks would find the Kamado Coconut Lump exceptional. Low and slow, Kamado Extruded Coconut or Kamado Extruded Lump would be ideal and for all round cooking our Kamado Lump would be the best. For KamadoGas, a supply of Kamado Extruded Lump is perfect for its exceptionally long lasting and consequentially harder to start (which is never a problem with KamadoGas). Since all Kamado Charcoal is properly „carbonized“ they are all mild and not harsh and as a result they are excellent in baking bread, pizza and meat, fowl and vegetables where a radiated ceramic „brick oven“ taste is desired. For those wishing a mild to strong „smoked“ flavor they simply add a small chunk of one of many kinds of their favorite smoking wood.
SOME HISTORY
In the early 60’s Richard Johnson sold Japanese „smokeless“ charcoal along with his Japanese Kamados. The Japanese used this charcoal for indoor cooking and heating. Obviously this wood (or lump) charcoal had to have a high fixed carbon content and very low volatile content or they would all be dead. The cost of the Japanese „white“ charcoal became prohibitive in cost and availability. From the middle 60’s U.S. charcoal went downhill with the rock bottom reached with the common briquette (manufacturers names mercifully withheld) with all the additives, fillers, unknown „wood“ and improper carbonation. It is no wonder gas grills became popular. Mercifully, in the early 90’s wood lump charcoal started to became available and the gigantic improvement over common briquettes became known and by 2003 widely used and a notable decline in gas grills in favor of charcoal (lump) grills. Today’s lump charcoal, while a mammoth improvement in the common briquette, must have improvement in the following areas: (a) The harmful volatiles must be drive off in the carbonization process to produce the proper percentage of fixed carbon (the result we want from cooking charcoal. (b) A renewable wood or fuel source and not deforestation. (c) Free of sparks, flames, smoke, high ash content. (d) A „known“ hard wood or fuel source and not a mystery. (d) Improve the size, overall quality, excessive unusable fines. Kamado Lump Charcoal is guaranteed to meet all criteria in 100% in customer satisfaction, and quality..
Richard first experienced using coconut natural (shells) charcoal exclusively in his Kamado on board his yacht while sailing in the South Pacific. It only takes one cook to hook you on the wonderful burning characteristics, smell and taste of barbequing with coconut. This memory (coconut, not sailing) led to the introducing in 2000 the Kamado Corporation our first Coconut Charcoal in very limited amounts. However, this was more than enough distribution to find all customers agreed that this is the finest charcoal they have ever used. The hottest, smokeless, ashless and wonderful flavor. Today we have our direct coconut plantation sources and this unique Kamado Coconut Natural Charcoal will be one of the four Kamado Charcoal products. A new manufacturing process of coconut has allowed us to offer our unique Kamado Coconut Briquette and another one of the four Kamado Charcoal Products we offer. A new manufacturing process of tropical hardwood has allowed us to offer the fourth unique and excellent charcoal which we call Kamado Hardwood Briquettes as described below.
FOUR TYPES OF KAMADO CHARCOAL:
KAMADO LUMP CHARCOAL
General Information: Kamado Charcoal is similar to many lump charcoal’s on the market with a big difference in that it is a hardwood lump charcoal from Indonesia and is made from the finest of special hardwoods. These mostly consist of the uniquely special „Tamarind“ wood . It is called „smokeless ash-less“ charcoal because of the superior and experienced manufacturing process and the hardwoods used. There is no petroleum fuel smell or taste found in most charcoal being sold in the Unites States. Kamado Charcoal has what might be described as a „mild“ taste rather than a „harsh“ taste that is found in Mesquite, for example. In addition, you will find that our charcoal will burn much hotter and last longer. Special hardwood used in making the Kamado Charcoal is strong enough to prevent crushing which results in unusable „fines“ that are present in other lump charcoal. All Kamado charcoal is sold in strong corrugated boxes, rather than sacks, to further prevent crushing charcoal in to fines. We feel that our Kamado Charcoal is the „Best Charcoal in the World“ and is fitting that it be used in the „Best Barbecue in the World.“ The manufacture and sale of charcoal is highly regulated for quality and ecology. Each box holds 10 pounds of Kamado Lump charcoal. Consider value of the price paid by its quality, no unusable fines and thus 20% more usable charcoal, burns approximately 20% longer and 15% hotter.
Recommended Use: General all round use for all charcoal barbecue grills. Fast starting, virtually smokeless and ashless, mild, hot, and long lasting. Moderately priced considering its longer and hotter burning with very few fines.
KAMADO EXTRUDED LUMP.
General Information: Kamado Extruded Lump is made by compressing very special tropical hard woods under extreme pressure that allows the briquette to be formed or extruded without any binders or additives. They are then expertly kiln fired to form an exceptional and unique long lasting perfectly carbonized briquette. Made from the much the same hardwood as the Kamado Lump charcoal, Kamado Extruded Lump Charcoal has the same mild wonderful smell and taste since there are NO additives. The great advantage in Kamado Hardwood Briquettes is that they produce very hot fire and are last 75% longer than ordinary lump charcoal. These briquettes are very strong, dense, hard, have no fines and leave very little ash. As a result of the density and high fixed carbon these briquettes they are harder to light. This follows the general rule in quality charcoal that the harder the charcoal the longer it burns and harder it is to start. As a result we designed this charcoal especially for KamadoGas which lights all charcoal types easily effortlessly and for those who do long overnight or 24 hour cooks. Kamado Extruded Lump have the same diameter and interior combustion hole size and by selecting the length of the extruded briquettes it is easy to determine the length of time and desired heat.
Recommended Use: Ideal for long and slow cooks. A absolute must for use with KamadoGas to „scrub“ gas impurities and always give a „charcoal“ flavor to gas cooks. Perfect extender where other fast burning charcoal is short lived or has insufficient heat. Just a few briquettes will give hours of additional heat. Used extensively in Asian restaurants indoor open grills.
KAMADO COCONUT LUMP CHARCOAL.
General Information: For those of us who desire to know exactly what our charcoal is made of, this is the charcoal to use. There can be no mistake in Kamado Coconut Lump Charcoal as one can visually see the natural coconut shells. Obviously there are no additives or binders, just beautifully carbonized coconut shells. We compete in obtaining this coconut charcoal with worldwide companies who process this pure coconut shell into pure coconut activated charcoal for water filters, gas masks and other fine products. For our purposes we want this very special product to be used in our Kamados as one of the finest heat sources for cooking that is available. Some of the most important characteristics are it fast starting, extreme heat, flameless, smokeless, spark-less, mild, natural flavor, and ash less. Natural coconut charcoal is clean and easy to handle. You will be amazed with the many features of this charcoal, especially the mild smell and taste. Be prepared to accept complements on your barbeque gracefully and with humility.
Recommended Use: Very fast starting by all methods and extremely hot for broiling. Exceptional and unique mild flavor and taste. Extreme heat can occur from this natural coconut charcoal and it is necessary to control the temperature by adjusting the Kamado Damper and Draft Door to reduce, control or set the desired temperature. Again, it is not how much charcoal we put in the Kamado, but how much air we allow to the charcoal. This charcoal is not recommended for „open“ or uncontrollable grills. Kamado Extruded Coconut Charcoal is an excellent complement to Coconut Lump Charcoal to extend burning time. Our Coconut Extruded Charcoal are 100% pure natural Coconut Lump with the only difference that they are compressed into extruded briquettes.
KAMADO EXTRUDED COCONUT CHARCOAL:
General Information: Kamado Extruded Coconut might well be considered as the ultimate charcoal for smoking, baking and broiling all kinds of food. It has a mild distinctive flavor and smell the same as the „Natural“ coconut. Also, for those of us who are very much concerned about our deforestation and poor wood harvesting, you can be assured that our Kamado Coconut Charcoal has nothing other than the coconut shells remaining after the removal of the coconut meat or copra. A true by-product of coconuts and while this wonderful fact does not make our barbeque food „taste“ any better, it sure makes us „feel“ better. Our Coconut Briquettes are 100% pure natural coconut with the only difference that they are compressed into extruded briquettes. There are absolutely no fillers or additives. They are carbonized with modern highly controlled kilns to the highest standards in the world. This charcoal is easy to light, has the highest BTU or heat rating of any charcoal, burns longer, cleaner, and has less ashes than any charcoal. The unique smell and taste is exactly the same as the Kamado Natural Coconut Charcoal. Better described as wonderful! It is seeming more expensive than most charcoal until one considers that it has approximately two time the BTU’s, burns two times as long, has no fines, virtually no ashes or waste fillers. Of course, money can’t buy a better, higher quality charcoal to put in your Kamado to accent and complement your cooking skills and at the same time dazzle your friends.
Recommended Use: Highly recommend as an excellent source of fuel to be used in all cookers including open grills. Excessive high heats can be obtain quickly and easily. With your Damper and Draft Door you can accurately control your Kamado for high heat broiling. Long and even baking temperatures for your turkey, fowl, roasts etc. are easily maintained. Mild smokeless temperatures for pizzas, bread etc. gives perfect unique ceramic „brick oven“ taste and look. For „low’s and slows“ Kamado Coconut Briquettes (and equally Kamado Hardwood Briquettes) are simply unequalled for steady temperatures, length of time per load, smell and taste. Your choice of just a few chips of smoking woods, if any, for the particular food cooked will add to your perfection.
Kamado Extruded Coconut Shell Charcoal
The charcoal that grows on trees.
The best cooking charcoal in the world.
Guaranteed.
How Charcoal is Made, and How Kamado Charcoal is Made Better
Charcoal is carbon residue from material burned with limited access to oxygen, which facilitates the process of carbonization. While (in theory) almost anything with carbon content could be made into charcoal, in practice charcoal is most often made from wood, coconut shell, or other materials that start out with a high percentage of carbon, are readily accessible, relatively inexpensive, and burn easily.
The process can be as simple as burying a small amount of burning wood and letting it smolder, or as complex as the highly industrialized production of commercial charcoal briquettes. No matter how it’s done, the process consists of heating the material to first drive off the water. Once that’s done, as the temperature rises the material breaks down and releases tars and gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. As carbonization occurs, the available oxygen is used up, which encourages further carbonization.
How far that process is carried determines the quality and yield of the resulting charcoal. Great charcoal consists of as much carbon and as little „other stuff“ as possible. Needless to say, as with almost all things in the real world, there is a tradeoff. Low quality gives high yield; high quality results in lower yield, as increasing amounts of the volatile tars and gases are driven off. Making good charcoal is like burning money!
At 300 degrees centigrade, the resulting charcoal is approximately 68% fixed charcoal and 32% volatile materials (numbers rounded). The tars that linger are acidic and thus corrosive (and unlike cigarettes, there are no „filtered“ charcoal briquettes!). These residual substances cause the charcoal to burn with a lot of smoke, and the tars are nasty and hazardous to your cooking and perhaps your health. They add off tastes, and create unpredictable cooking conditions, as well as causing sparking and unwanted flames.
At 700 degrees centigrade, about 93% of the resulting product is really charcoal, with only 7% volatile material. At the 300 degree temperature, more than 40% of the dried material you put in comes out as charcoal; at the 700 degree temperature, that drops to around 30%.
So, if you want to make the most profit, you make the worst charcoal. If you want to make Kamado coconut shell charcoal-the best in the world-you take the extra time, and accept the lower yield.
But why coconut shell charcoal?
Why Coconut Shell Charcoal?
Wood is by far the most common starting point for making charcoal. That’s why we decided to do better, and create a very UNcommon charcoal. Kamado coconut shell charcoal.
We make charcoal that grows on trees, instead of making charcoal from trees. There are several reasons for our choice.
Coconut shell is a byproduct of commercial coconut meat production. Our charcoal production does not result in any destruction of trees or other tropical forest resources. It makes use of what would otherwise be wasted.
Properly processed, coconut shell yields an extremely high quality charcoal that has long been used for medical and filtration purposes.
Coconut shell is widely available in places in dire need of trade and employment that is not environmentally destructive, and that is sustainable.
The resulting charcoal burns hot, long, and smokeless.
In short, coconut shell charcoal is green, clean, and great.
And we keep it that way. Unlike many commercial charcoals, the only thing in our charcoal is. . .well, charcoal. And unlike wood, the coconut shells that are used to make our charcoal didn’t have a prior life as crates, building materials, or other uses that could have added a few more unknown substances to what you will be using to cook your food.
Of Briquettes, Binders, Fillers, Wheelers and Dealers
You can’t tell a briquette by its color.
That’s unfortunate, because all briquettes are not created equal, and we feel that none are the equal of what we offer.
Oddly enough, that’s because our charcoal contains less than other people’s charcoal. Most commercial briquettes are fashioned by grinding up low-grade wood charcoal into powder, and adding (at the very least) some kind of binder material or materials to hold the dust together. It’s then formed it into the nice little cubes you purchase in a bag (you didn’t think they grew on trees like that, did you? Only our charcoal grows on trees!).
Sometimes some other things get tossed in, either to compensate for the fact that the charcoal isn’t such hot stuff to start with, or just because. . .well, there’s a reason it’s called „filler.“ If you can make a fraction of a cent more on each briquette, and you sell a zillion briquettes each year, before you know it, you’re talking about a lot of money.
Kamado charcoal’s contents list consists of one word. Charcoal.
We use a special process to take the carbonized coconut shells and extrude them under extremely high pressure to form our unique, hexagonal briquettes, with the hole in the middle. We add nothing, because nothing we could add could make this charcoal any better.
Sometimes you need to know when it’s time to leave well enough alone. That way you wind up with nothing but advantages.
Kamado Charcoal Advantages
We invite you to compare Kamado coconut shell charcoal to any charcoal you have used, are using, or might dream of using.
Our advantages, compared to typical store-bought briquettes or even gourmet lump charcoals, include:
Burns twice as long.
Burns twice as hot.
Burns virtually smokeless and completely odorless.
Imparts no taste or flavor of its own, so when you add smoke woods, the only taste you will get is what you choose to add. For the first time, you will be in full control of how your food tastes.
100% usable. No „fines,“ or tiny pieces and dust that generate mess but not heat.
Easy handling. Comes as 105 hexagonal briquettes in a sturdy, plastic-lined corrugated box that stores and stacks easily. At an average of 16.5 pounds per box, the boxes are easily lifted and carried by anyone. No more straining your back, or dragging the bag.
Does not spark or flame.
Contains no additives, binders, fillers, or other foreign substances.
The unique hexagonal shape, with a hole in the middle, lets you put more heat-making capability in less space. Briquettes pack tightly and uniformly in the grill, creating an even firebed.
Burns consistently, evenly, and predictably, time after time.
Clean handling. You can pick up a piece of Kamado coconut shell charcoal in your hand and put it in your grill and there will be almost no trace on your hand.
Almost no ash residue. You will have to clean out your grill much less frequently, and won’t have fires go out due to plugged combustion air holes.
Ordering
Due to a shortage of coconut trees in Sacramento, California, we create Kamado coconut shell charcoal in more tropical climes, then bring it here for your use.
Because we simply will not compromise on quality, and because demand for the best cooking charcoal in the world is high, there may be a delay in shipping your order. We endeavor to keep charcoal in stock at all times, but both demand and supply are somewhat unpredictable. We will advise you, at the time your order is received, of the anticipated shipping date.
Kamado coconut shell charcoal is shipped to you by truck, since that is the most economical way. To make a very complicated subject simple, your best bet is to order a lot at one time, rather than a little several times. Based on our contract with the trucking company, there are „breakpoints“ where the per-pound rate drops sharply. The chart below gives approximate shipping costs for various weights to sample locations throughout the country.
The price of Kamado coconut shell charcoal is [$ price will go here] per box. Each box weighs approximately 16.5 pounds, and contains 105 briquettes. Boxes are [give dimensions], and stack easily.
Our Guarantee
No expense has been spared, no corner has been cut. We’ve done everything to make Kamado coconut shell charcoal the best cooking charcoal in the world.
We guarantee you’ll agree, or we’ll take back whatever you haven’t used for a full refund (you pay return shipping).
Try Kamado coconut shell charcoal today. Kamado-the charcoal that grows on trees.