(California) Hot Wood Mesquite Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: November, 2005 Purchased From: Barbecues Galore Date Purchased: November, 2005 Price: $4.99 Weight: 7 pounds Burn Time: Ash Production: Type of Wood: Mesquite Strange Material?: None Scrap Lumber Pieces?: None Smell: Normal mesquite smell Country of Origin: Mexico 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 NOTE: This is an update, or re-review, to our original review which was done in July of 2002. Since that time we have started performing more testing on each brand, and since we had the opportunity to get our hands on some of this charcoal again, we decided to conduct a new review using our current standards and methods. We also have a lot more brands of charcoal for comparison now, placing many of the observations in clearer context. This charcoal used to be known as "California Hot Wood Mesquite Charcoal". They have sinced dropped the "California" from the name and now call it Hot Wood. It's an appropriate name as we shall see. The bag was lined with plastic, a good thing since it helps to keep the charcoal dust in the bag and off of you. When we sorted it we found no scrap, rocks or funny stuff. We did find one large piece of uncarbonized wood and several smaller pieces, as you can see in the photo below. As the table below shows, there was a good distribution of sizes, except for the large amount of chips and dust. Average is around 10-12%. Large 2.5 pounds 33.9% Medium 1.7 pounds 22.5% Small 1.8 pounds 24.6% Chips/Dust 1.4 pounds 19.0% Total 7.4 pounds It took 3 sheets of newspaper to get this charcoal started in our chimney starter test. This is just a tad higher than normal for mesquite charcoal. While burning in the starter there was moderate sparking but no popping. We were able to get this charcoal up to 1020 degrees, which is the hottest charcoal we have tested so far. We suspect it would have gone higher but we stopped the test not wanting to damage our thermometer. Hot Wood, indeed! The burn time on this charcoal was very low, while the ash production was high. That, coupled with almost 20% of the bag being unusable, this charcoal gets our Below Average rating. However, it is worth noting, if you want a hot fire for grilling steaks, this might be a good choice for those occasions. 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 None. Unusual or Unique Statements None. Statements From The Bag "All Natural 100% Mesquite Charcoal", "No Chemicals", "No additives", "Product of Mexico" "Hot Wood Mesquite, a hardwood shrub indigenous to the southwest United States and Mexico, sends a root system into the arid soil in search of moisture, often to depths exceeding forty feet, while its trunk and branch structure may exceed forty feet in height. The density of its wood fibers makes mesquite an extremely hard wood. This hardness causes mesquite to burn at temperatures higher than most other hardwoods, exceeding 1000 degrees, sealing in natural juices. That's why executive chefs from fine steak and seafood restaurants prefer Hot Wood Mesquite. For hundreds of years, mesquite has been used as a fuel for heating and cooking. You use less and can often reuse it by putting the closed lid over your kettle when done cooking. Hot Wood Mesquite is 100% natural charcoal, no waste or petroleum additives to spoil the flavor of your food. Lighting Instructions "Easy To Use Instructions 1) Arrange Mesquite Charcoal in a loosely stacked pyramid, as shown. 2) Starts easily and naturally with kindling, paper, electric starter, or charcoal starter fuel. Place desired starter between mesquite chunks, then ignite. 3) Allow Mesquite Charcoal to get red hot. Then rearrange charcoal evenly over the grill and begin barbequing. DO NOT POUR LIGHTER FLUID ON BURNING CHARCOAL AND NEVER USE GASOLINE!" 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 uncarbonized pieces of wood we found. Here are the contents of the bag sorted into large, medium, small, and too small/chips/dust. Other Photos None. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information California Hot Wood, Inc. 5920 E. Live Oak Road Lodi, CA   95240 www.hotwood.com