Olde Good Times Wood Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: December, 2007 Purchased From: Shields Hardware, New York Date Purchased: July, 2007 Price: $16.99 Weight: 20 pounds Burn Time: Ash Production: Type of Wood: Eucalyptus Strange Material?: None Scrap Lumber Pieces?: None Smell: Mild and pleasant Country of Origin: Brazil (see review) Quick Links Other Information: Click Here Unusual Or Unique Statements: Click Here Statements From The Bag: Click Here Lighting Instructions: Click Here Photos of Contents: Click Here Other Photos: Click Here Photo of UPC Code: Click Here Contact Information: Click Here Rate And Comment On This Charcoal: Click Here Commentary This latest charcoal comes to us from a reader in New York state. Olde Good Times charcoal is a eucalyptus charcoal, which we believe is manufactured in Brazil. We can tell that it was bagged in Brazil, thus our assumption on its origin. For those of you geographically challenged, we have thoughtfully provide you with a map to the right to help you gain your bearings. Upon opening the bag we found no scrap lumber and nothing strange. We did find two small rocks and 1 piece of uncarbonized wood. All in all, the contents of the bag were very clean. After sorting the contents into large, medium, small and chips and dust piles, we found a size distribution that was skewed to the smaller end of the scale. There were very few pieces you could really call "large", and only a relatively small amount of pieces you can call "medium". However, the pile of small pieces we accumulated was mostly good-sized pieces that are most usable. The chips and dust amount was average, although we have to think that if the manufacturer wanted to, they could screen more of this out. The charcoal doesn't seem to be particularly fragile and we doubt that the amount of chips and dust grew appreciably during shipping. Here's the numbers of the distribution of sizes: Large 1.5 pounds 7.3% Medium 5.5 pounds 27.2% Small 11.2 pounds 52.5% Chips/Dust 2.7 pounds 13.0% Total 20.9 pounds As you can also see from the table, the bag was almost a pound overweight, so you get your full measure. Next up is the chimney starter test where we measure the ease of starting a fire with this charcoal. It took four sheets of newspaper to establish a fire which is about average compared to other charcoals. The smell of the smoke that comes off the charcoal is mild and pleasant. While burning in the chimney starter, there was almost no sparking and no popping whatsoever from this charcoal. During the maximum temperature test, we got the charcoal up to 900 degrees as measured on the dome thermometer in our ceramic cooker, which is high compared to other charcoals. While the charcoal was furiously burning away, there was no sparking or popping. The fire spread and came up to temperature fairly quickly. Finally during our burn time testing, we start the fire with a MAPP torch. There was some moderate popping while using the MAPP torch, so like always, exercise care when using a MAPP torch to light charcoal. The burn time of a 3-pound sample was high compared to other charcoals, and the ash production was very low. So all and all, we were pretty pleased with this charcoal. It burns a long time with very little ash, has a mild smoke and burns with no sparking. We feel it deserves our Recommended rating. To the left is the rating that our readers have given this charcoal. If you have used this charcoal and would like to rate it and leave your comments, Click Here To view reader ratings of all brands, Click Here. Other Information From their website: "Olde Good Times Charcoal is a relatively new brand of charcoal born from generations of charcoal distributors. Our charcoal is 100% natural hardwood charcoal. We pride ourselves on the quality of our product and our service. Olde Good Times is a wonderful all-around charcoal...a proven choice by our customers for fast, hot grilling or for long, slow cooking. It's an excellent minimal sparking charcoal for grilling and smoking. Chefs love it for the easy lighting and long, even burn! It imparts a very mellow flavor, just enough to be noticeable, yet not enough to overpower your food. Olde Good Times Charcoal is the first choice of top chefs and home grillers!" And this: "Olde Good Times LLC was started in the spring of 2004 with three things in mind, Quality Products, Reliable Service and Competitive Pricing. We at Olde Good Times have a deep rooted knowledge of the charcoal business. The Hagmann name has been associated with charcoal since 1905 and is now a fourth generation business. In those early days the charcoal was delivered in barrels by horse and buggy. Then in 1916 came the idea of putting the charcoal in bags, which made it easier to handle and deliver. Workers would off load the raw lump charcoal by the carload and package it into 4 pound bags. Years later with the coming of the truck the bag sizes increased to 12 and 25 pound bags. In 1941 came the size bags we know today, the 10 and 20 pound bags referred to then as the club and restaurant bag. These turned out to be best selling and the most convenient sizes not only for the restaurants but for picnic barbequing as well. The average barbeque would use a 10 lb bag and the restaurants a 20 lb bag. Finding the best quality charcoal for our customers has been our primary mission. Olde Good Times Charcoal use’s only the finest eucalyptus wood for the best possible quality charcoal made. The impact on the environment is minimal through the cloning of trees and the replanting of forests." Unusual or Unique Statements None. Statements From The Bag "100% Natural Wood Charcoal", "Hotter Fire", "No Chemicals Added", "Quick Starting", "Restaurant Quality", "Life's A Picnic", "Highest Grade Wood Charcoal" Lighting Instructions None. Photos Of Contents This is the contents of the bag. Those are 1 inch squares on the measuring bar. Here is a closer view. Here are the larger pieces we found in the bag. Here are the two rocks and one uncarbonized piece we found in the bag. Here are the contents of the bag sorted into large, medium, small, and too small/chips/dust. Other Photos This is how the bags arrived. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information 1-973-380-6012 1-973-380-6138 www.oldegoodtimes.net info@oldegoodtimes.net The company's website indicates that there are distributors for this charcoal in Boston, Atlanta, Miami and New York.