Original Natural Charcoal Lump Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: January 2017 Purchased From: Provided by Manufacturer Date Purchased: October, 2016 Price: $30.00 Advertised Weight: 17.6 pounds Type of Wood: Apple, cherry and oak Strange Material: None Scrap Lumber: None Smell: Stong and smokey Country of Origin: Ukraine Key Performance Indicators Chips and Dust: Lighting: Max Temperature: Burn Time: Ash Production: Quick Links Other Information: Click Here Statements From The Bag: Click Here Lighting Instructions: Click Here Safety Instructions: Click Here Unusual Or Unique Statements: 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 Here we have a new brand of charcoal which first started shipping at the end of last season. It is another charcoal coming to us from Eastern Europe, to be specific, Ukraine. A map to the right will show you where the Ukraine is located. We begin by dumping the bag out on the ground on a plastic sheet and examining the contents. We found no scrap or anything that doesn't belong in a bag of charcoal. We sorted the charcoal into large, medium and small pieces, and then chips and dust: Large 2.5 pounds 13.9% Medium 6.2 pounds 35.3% Small 7.3 pounds 41.5% Chips/Dust 1.6 pounds 9.3% Total 17.6 pounds As you can see in the table above, the size distribution is quite good. Half the bag is large and medium pieces and only about 9% is chips and dust which is low compared to other brands of charcoal. Original Natural Charcoal is insanely easy to light, taking only 1½ sheets of newspaper in our chimney starter test. This ties for the easiest to light charcoal we have ever tested. While starting the charcoal in the chimney starter there was no sparking and popping. The smell of the smoke during lighting is quite strong. In our maximum temperature test, Original Natural Charcoal burned at 1115°F which is Very High compared to other charcoals we have tested. It doesn't come as a surprise then that the fire spread extremely rapidly. Again there was no sparking and popping and the smell of the smoke while the fire was coming up to temperature was quite strong. Original Natural Charcoal also excelled in our burn time test with a time that ranks (as of this review) second all time among all the brands we have tested. And finally, the ash produced by this charcoal was Low compared to other brands tested. So, Original Natural Charcoal is insanely easy to light, burns extremely hot and very very long. The size distribution is very good, as is the ash production, so it should be pretty obvious that Original Natural Charcoal gets our Highly Recommended rating. As it has just started shipping at the end of last season, it is not in a lot of retail outlets yet. However, you can find it on their website, Amazon, the Kansas City Barbecue Store, California Backyard and a few other retailers. They have plans to start selling in other retail outlets this year. Also available in briquettes and extruded logs: In addition to their lump charcoal product, Original Natural Charcoal Company also sells all-natural briquettes and extruded logs made from the same mixture of woods as their lump charcoal. We have had a chance to play around with the briquettes and have enjoyed using them for grilling meat on a Weber Smokey Joe mini-kettle. We also have a box of the Original Natural Charcoal Company extruded logs and we hope to do some sort of review in the near future. 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 None Statements From The Bag "100% Natural", "All Natural", "Easy Starting", "Longer Burning", "ECO friendly product", "Better Burning", "Burning Hotter, Longer, Cleaner", "100% Natural Hardwood Lump Charcoal", "Environmentally Friendly", "No Chemical Additives", "Burning Hotter and Longer", "100% Pure Lump Charcoal", "No Chemical Additives or Fillers, just 100% pure hardwood charcoal.", "Making any food more flavorful and palatable.", "Product of Ukraine" "Product Advantages No other charcoal burns cleaner, hotter and longer than Original Natural Charcoal. Because it burns and (sic) hotter and longer, it sears meat quicker locking in the natural flavor with the added bonus of saving you both time and money." Lighting Instructions "Usage Instruction Original Natural Charcoal lights easily and quickly. Make adjustments in the grill vents and grill lid to control the rate of burning. For extended cooking time add charcoal as needed. Using a Charcoal Chimney Use a charcoal chimney for best wood grilled flavor. Use a small amount of newspaper as a starter instead of petroleum lighter fluids. Follow manufacturer's instructions carefully. Using a Starter or Fluid Close air vents at bottom of the grill and pour charcoal into a pile. Follow the packaging instructions on the fluid or solid lighter. Allow 10-15 minutes for the lighter to burn off and the charcoal to glow orange." Safety Instructions "Safety Instructions Ensure the barbecue is positioned on a flat surface. Never barbecue indoors or in a enclosed space. Never move lighted or hot barbecue and ensure the ashes have cooled before cleaning."" Unusual or Unique Statements None The Ruler Used In The Following Photographs We use the following ruler in the photographs which follow. The black and white segments are 1 inch long. The upper scale is in inches, while the lower scale is in centimeters. The distance between the centers of the two targets is precisely 9 inches. Photos Of Contents This photo is an overall view of the contents of the bag. Here is a closer view. Here are the larger pieces we found in the bag. Here is a closeup of some pieces of bark and twigs that were 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 bag arrived. The small bag on the left is a bag of their briquettes. Photo of UPC Code Contact Information Original Natural Charcoal Franklin Square, NY 11010 Phone: 516-279-4279 (Office)            917-257-1800: (Mobile) Email: originalnaturalcharcoal@gmail.com Web: www.originalnaturalcharcoal.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/originalnaturalcharcoal/