Kamado Lump Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: October, 2002 Purchased From: Kamado Date Purchased: October, 2002 Price: $7.50 Weight: 12.5 Burn Time: Ash Production: Type of Wood: Tamarind, sono, and klampis Strange Material?: None Scrap Lumber Pieces?: None Smell: See commentary. Country of Origin: Indonesia 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 Update: To our knowledge, this charcoal is no longer available. If you have any information, feel free to contact us using this link: Email The Whiz As you can see from the photos below, Fedex did their best to make powder out of the charcoal. But even so, it arrived in great shape, having travelled all the way across the US. From the standpoint of the amount of dust and the overall distribution of sizes, this is about the best charcoal we have reviewed. When we put all the lump back in the bag, there was very little left on the ground to throw away. There were no monster logs and few small chips. We are big fans of packing lump charcoal in boxes. Kamado says that their lump has a very "mild taste". Actually, it has a very mild smell. The smell of the lump is mild and almost has a slight perfume to it. No, we don't mean that it smells like the fat old church lady who bathes in cheap cologne. But it has a very nice mild smell. Since this is our first experience with tropical lump charcoal, we went the extra distance and cleaned out our cooker, loaded it up with just Kamado lump, and cooked a spatchcock chicken. We didn't put any rub on the bird so we could judge the flavor added by the lump. They are right, the bird had a very mild taste of smoke. We don't think that any of the folks who say they don't like smoke flavor would object. Kamado also says that their lump burns "much hotter". We fired it up and let it go like we were preparing to sear steaks. We had no trouble getting the fire up to 750 degrees, but we have had other lumps burn hotter and get there faster. If you are a high-temp freak, you might find lump that burns hotter, but we think most people agree that 750 degrees is plenty hot for searing steaks. So, all in all, we are very pleased with the new Kamado lump. If you are looking for a lump that adds very little flavor to the food, this is indeed very good lump. We give it our Highly Recommended rating. UPDATE: Subsequent to our publishing this review in October, 2002, Kamado published their fourth newsletter which was totally devoted to information about their charcoal. You can read it at this link. You will need Adobe Reader to view this newsletter, which you can get by clicking here. The following information about this charcoal is taken from that newsletter: "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)." Also note the following information from the newsletter regarding the source of their charcoal: "None of Kamado Charcoal will contain any deforestation woods and all harvesting procedures are from renewable forests ." Like we said in our review of their Extruded Coconut Charcoal, kudos to Kamado for the amount of information they have made available to customers. To the left is the rating that our readers have given this charcoal. Now that you have read our review, 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 This information about Tamarind was found on the web. We haven't been able to find any references to Klampis or Sono. "Evergreen tree (Tamarindus indica) of the pea family (see legume), native to tropical Africa and cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental and for its edible fruit. The tree grows about 80 ft (24 m) tall and has featherlike leaves. It bears small clusters of yellow flowers and plump pods that do not split open. The soft, brownish edible pulp contains 1-12 large, flat seeds that are used in Oriental foods, beverages, and medicines. The sapwood of the tamarind tree is pale-yellow. The heartwood is rather small, dark purplish-brown, very hard, heavy, strong, durable and insect-resistant. It bends well and takes a good polish and, while hard to work, it is highly prized for furniture, panelling, wheels, axles, gears for mills, ploughs, planking for sides of boats, wells, mallets, knife and tool handles, rice pounders, mortars and pestles. It has at times been sold as "Madeira mahogany". Wide boards are rare, despite the trunk dimensions of old trees, since they tend to become hollow-centered. The wood is valued for fuel, especially for brick kilns, for it gives off an intense heat, and it also yields a charcoal for the manufacture of gun-powder. In Malaysia, even though the trees are seldom felled, they are frequently topped to obtain firewood. The wood ashes are employed in tanning and in de-hairing goatskins. Young stems and also slender roots of the tamarind tree are fashioned into walking-sticks." Unusual or Unique Statements None. Statements From The Bag "Lump Charcoal", "Product Of Indonesia" 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. Even natural woods can have the moonrock appearance. Other Photos Fedex did their best to pummel the box. Even so, the lump arrived in good shape. This is how the lump is packaged inside, in a black plastic bag which is open at the top. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information Main Office: 2375 Paseo De Las Americas #3310 San Diego, CA 92154 Phone: 1-877-257-6871 or 619-819-5120 Fax: 270-518-2962 East Coast Office: (804) 915-7411 or (877) 627-2549 Web and Email Addresses: www.kamado.com sales@kamado.com service@kamado.com