Here we have another charcoal made in Mexico, sent to us by the good folks at Better Wood Products.
We have included a map to help you find the location of Mexico.
Better Wood Products is a third-generation family owned and operated business. In addition to their
lump charcoal, they sell briquettes, various forms of fatwood starters, cedar planks and sheets, and softwood kindling.
One interesting note about this company is that they are the originators of the "Three Tree Pledge" which promises to
plant 3 seedlings for every tree that is used.
Something that you don't see with other brands of charcoal is the inclusion of four sticks of fatwood fire starter
in every bag. What is fatwood? Well, turning to Wikipedia we find:
"Fatwood, also known as "fat lighter", "lighter wood", "rich lighter", "pine knot", "lighter knot", "heart pine" or "lighter'd" [sic],
is derived from the heartwood of pine trees. The stump (and tap root) that is left in the ground after a tree has fallen or has been cut
is the primary source of fatwood, as the resin-impregnated heartwood becomes hard and rot-resistant over time after the death of the main tree."
Wikipedia goes on further to say:
"The pitch-soaked wood produces an oily, sooty
smoke, and it is recommended that one should not cook on a fire until all the fatwood has completely burned out."
So, you may wish to think twice
about using fatwood in a ceramic cooker since it can smolder and produce undesirable smells if you aren't careful. Otherwise, just be
sure to let the fatwood completely burn up before placing your food on the fire.
But on to the lump charcoal! As we stated earlier this lump is made in Mexico. It is made from up to three different species of Mexican oak,
the mix of the different species
depending on where their current supply of wood is being harvested. The three species are Quercus carmenensis (Mexican Oak), Quercus polymorpha
(Mexican White Oak) and
Quercus oleoides (Encina or Encino).
So, like always the first thing we do is pour a bag of the charcoal out so we can examine and sort it. We found no
scrap lumber or rocks. We did find one small strip of the plastic used to make things like tarps and sacks. There
was one small piece of uncarbonized wood in the bag.
Next, we sort the contents of the bag into large, medium and small pieces, and then chips and dust. You can
see the distribution of sizes in this photo and by weight in the table below:
| Large |
3.6 pounds |
20.0% |
| Medium |
4.8 pounds |
26.8% |
| Small |
8.0 pounds |
44.6% |
| Chips/Dust |
1.5 pounds |
8.6% |
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| Total |
17.9 pounds |
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As you can see, the bag contained 0.3 pounds more charcoal than its labeled weight of 17.6 pounds. 8.6% of the
bag was chips and dust, which is low compared to other brands tested. Also, you can see that almost half
the bag was large and medium sized chunks, so the size distribution was pretty good overall.
In our lighting test, it took 4 sheets of paper to get a fire started in a chimney starter. This is average compared
to other brands tested. While the charcoal was starting, there was a small amount of sparking and no popping. The smell
of the charcoal as it starts is a moderately strong wood smoke.
Next we tested the charcoal for maximum burning temperature. The charcoal reached 1089°F which is very high compared
to other brands tested. In fact, this places it in the top 10 charcoals that we have ever tested. While the charcoal was
igniting and coming up to temperature there was a small amount of sparking and no popping. The fire spread with
moderate speed.
Next we test the burn time of a fixed weight of charcoal as well as the ash produced by this burn. The burn time was
high, compared to other brands tested, and the ash prouction was low. When starting the charcoal for the burn time test,
we use a MAP-Pro torch and the sparking was considerable. Be sure to take appropriate precautions when starting this or
any other charcoal with a torch.
Better Wood Products Lump Charcoal is a very good product. It scores well in all categories except for being average in ease
of lighting. It burns hot and long and produces a reasonably small amount of ash. We give it our
Recommended rating.
Better Wood Products Lump Charcoal can be purchased in 8.8 pound bags at Food Lion Supermarkets around the southeast, and in
17.6 pound bags nation-wide in specialty grocery stores. The suggested price at the time of this revew is $8.99 on the 8.8
pound bags and $17.98 on the 17.6 pound bags.
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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.
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