This is going to be a rather long review but it's necessary since Jealous Devil is calling their Onyx lump charcoal "binchotan".
You need to understand how real binchotan is made and what is made from in order to compare it to Onyx. You need to know what
real binchotan sounds, feels and looks like in order to compare it to Onyx. So let's just dive into this question of what is
binchotan and what is Onyx.
By now almost everyone is familiar with Jealous Devil lump charcoal.
We first reviewed Jealous Devil back in 2016 when you could only buy it in 35-pound bags from their website. Now it's popularity
Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco
has skyrocketed and you can find it in retail stores like Home Depot. It is made in Paraguay (see map at left) from a South American wood called
Quebracho Blanco, a wood we have run into a few times before. If you are wondering about the word
"quebracho," it is derived from quiebrahacha, or quebrar hacha, meaning "axe-breaker". You can see a photo of the
tree that quebracho blanco wood comes from at right.
So now, Jealous Devil has come out with a new version of their charcoal which they are calling "Binchotan." What us binchotan? We'll get to
that in just a second but it is very curious that they are claiming to make binchotan from quebracho blanco.
For a description of the Quebracho Blanco, we turn to Wikipedia:
"Quebracho blanco wood is uniformly yellow-ochre, without differences between hardwood and sapwood. It is quite heavy
(relative density = 0.885 g/cm³) and hard, and responds well to bending and shock. Upon drying it tends to collapse, producing deformations and cracks,
so the drying process is slow; the wood must be treated with fungicides. It is easy to work and has many uses in carpentry (carts, wheels, floors, shoes,
tool handles, furniture); it is also good for chess pieces, skis, etc. Preserved with creosote it can be used outdoors. In some places it is widely
used as coal, since it does not produce sparks or large amounts of ash, and it burns strong and slowly."
So that is Quebracho Blanco. What is binchotan? Bincho-tan, also called white charcoal or bincho-zumi, is a type of charcoal traditionally used in
Japanese cooking. Its use dates to the Edo period (1603-1867), when, during the Genroku era (1688-1704), a craftsman named Bichu-ya Chozaemon began to
produce it in Tanabe, Wakayama. (See map at left.) The typical raw material used to make bincho-tan in Japan is oak, specifically ubame oak
(Quercus phillyraeoides),
now the official tree of Wakayama Prefecture. Wakayama continues to be a major producer of high-quality charcoal, with the
town of Minabe, Wakayama, producing more binchotan than any other town in Japan. Binchotan produced in Wakayama is referred
to as Kishu bincho-tan, Kishu being the old name of Wakayama.
Binchotan is made by pyrolysing wood in a kiln at approximately 240 °C (464°F) for 120 hours, then raising the temperature
to around 1000 °C (1832°F). Once carbonised, the material is taken out and covered in a damp mixture of earth, sand and ash.
Due to its special physical structure, it takes on a whiter or even metallic appearance. The fineness and high quality of binchotan
are attributed to this steaming at high temperatures. Although it is often thought that binchotan burns hot, it actually burns at a
lower temperature than ordinary charcoal but for a longer period of time. Because it does not release smoke or other unpleasant
flavors, it is a favorite of unagi (fresh water eel) and yakitori (chicken) cooks. Binchotan or white charcoal is harder than black charcoal, and rings with
a metallic sound when struck.
Now let's take a look at some photos and compare real binchotan charcoal to Jealous Devil Onyx. The photo on the left
shows two representative photos of some real binchotan charcoal. Notice that the pieces are cylindrical. The piece on
the left shows some remnants of the ash in which the charcoal is buried when it is pulled from the kiln.
The photo on the right shows two representative pieces of Onyx. Notice that the pieces are lump shaped, like normal lump
charcoal and show no signs of any ash.
Next let's look at photos of the contents of a box of real binchotan versus the box of Onyx.
Again notice that the real binchotan charcoal is all cylindrical and bears the residue of ash that is
the result of burying the charcoal in ash when it is removed from the kiln. On the other hand, the
Onyx charcoal looks like normal lump charcoal with random broken pieces of charcoal and no ash residue.
And finally, real binchotan makes a metallic clinking noise if you tap two pieces together.
(Binchotan has been used to make wind chimes and even a xylophone.) Does Jealous Devil make that same metallic clinking noise?
Let's listen to the sound of the charcoal. First, Jealous Devil Onyx:
Not much of a metallic sound is there? Let's compare it to the sound of real binchotan charcoal:
Yes, that's the metallic clink of real binchotan charcoal.
So, is this Jealous Devil Onyx Charcoal actually binchotan? We'd have to say no for the following reasons,
Real binchotan is insanely expensive. While Onyx is expensive at $50 for 20 pounds, it is actually dirt cheap
compared to real binchotan.
Real binchotan is made in Japan. Onyx is made in Paraguay.
Real binchotan is made from Japanese Oak. Onyx is made from Quebracho Blanco.
Real binchotan makes a metallic clinking noise if you tap two pieces together. Onyx makes a dull tapping noise
just like most lump charcoal.
Real binchotan has a whitish powdery surface due to the way they smother the charcoal with ash and dirt when they
pull the pieces from the kiln. Onyx is black just like regular lump charcoal.
Although Jealous Devil says they honor "every step of centuries–old traditional production methods" the resulting product neither looks,
sounds nor feels like binchotan. At best, this might be called binchotan–style charcoal.
When compared to Jealous Devil's regular Chunx lump charcoal, it is harder and more dense. So
there is a difference.
But let's get on to testing this to see if it actually performs any differently than their regular Chunx charcoal.
Like every lump charcoal review that we do, we start out first by dumping the contents of the box out onto the ground
for sorting and inspection. We found no scrap wood, no strange objects, just charcoal. After sorting, we found the
following size distribution:
Large
7.7 pounds
36.7%
Medium
8.8 pounds
42.3%
Small
3.2 pounds
15.0%
Chips/Dust
1.2 pounds
6.0%
Total
20.9 pounds
As you can see, almost 80% of the box was comprised of medium and large pieces. And none of the large
pieces were so large they needed to be broken up. The 6.0% by weight of chips and dust was
Low () compared to all other brands.
In our ease of lighting test, we see how many sheets of newsprint it takes to get a solid fire going in
a Weber chimney starter. Jealous Devil Onyx set a new record, requiring 11 sheets of newsprint to get
a good fire going. Needless to say, this is Very High () compared to all other
brands. Of course, this was to be expected if Onyx actually shares any characteristics with real binchotan.
It was indeed virtually smokeless, as advertised. The smell of the burning fire was very very mild and
there were no sparks or popping whatsoever.
The next test we perform is our maximum temperature test in which we see how hot the charcoal burns
if left to burn in a medium Big Green Egg with the bottom vent open and the daisy wheel removed.
Onyx only burned at 863°F. Again, this is no surprise if Onyx is supposed to share characteristics
of binchotan. But 863°F is only Average () compared to all
other brands. The fire was exceptionally slow to spread and it took a very long time to reach that
maximum temperature. While the charcoal was burning, again there were no sparks or pops.
Next up is our burn time test. We burn a carefully measured weight of the charcoal in a small Big Green
Egg controlled by a temperature controller. Lighting the charcoal with a MAP/Pro torch was just about as
hard as lighting it in the Weber chimney. And once the fire was established it had to come up to the
target temperature, of course. Remember how we said the fire was slow to spread in our maximum temperature test?
Well, you won't see a better demonstration of how long it takes this charcoal to come up to temperature
than this. Remember, we were using a temperature controller
which was blowing air into the cooker and fanning the fire. It took 2 hours for the temperature
to come up to the target. Usually when we test other brands of lump charcoal,
it takes no more than 30 minutes at the most. So much for any such thing
as a quick cook. However, it did eventually come up to temperature and its burn time was
Low () compared to other charcoals. If this were
real binchotan, we would have expected Onyx to burn much longer.
Finally, the amount of ash produced was also Average ()
compared to all other brands. And again comparing this to real binchotan, we would have expected much
less ash.
Before we sum up, we thought we should compare
Jealous Devil Onyx Binchotan charcoal to Jealous Devil Chunx lump charcoal.
As we noted earlier, Onyx is indeed harder and denser than Chunx. Chunx is more brittle and
more easily busted with a hammer. Onyx charcoal has just a
hint of a clinking sound while Chunx does not. We also found the Onyx to be close to smokeless with a
very very mild smelling burn while Chunx does produce some smoke and has a moderate perfumey smell when it burns.
And what about the claim that only Onyx produces FIR (Far Infrared Radiation)?
Here is a photo of a small sample of Chunx (left) and a small sample of Onyx (right) burning side by side:
As you can see both are glowing red in areas and producing infrared radiation. While the Onyx produces
more ash than Chunx, ash seems to accumulate on the surface of Onyx charcoal more slowly and thus Onyx could indeed produce more infrared radiation,
since ash will block radiation. But frankly, this is the very first time we have ever seen reference to FIR from any
manufacturer of lump charcoal. We're not sure that it is all that important except for table-top grilling of unagi
and yakitori.
As for performance in our tests, here is a table showing how Onyx compares to Chunx on each of our tests:
Onyx
Chunx
Chips and Dust:
Lighting:
Max Temperature:
Burn Time:
Ash Production:
Totals:
13 Stars
22 Stars
Jealous Devil Chunx beats the very expensive Onyx in every category. That's a pretty dismal performance considering
Onyx costs about double what Chunx costs. To put it into perspective, only one brand of lump charcoal has ever scored
fewer than 13 stars.
So, it's time to reflect on this experience and decide on a rating for Jealous Devil Onyx Binchotan. Onyx does live up to
the claims that it is virtually smokeless. Also, it does do well in the amount of chips and dust in the box. But other than that,
It's insanely difficult to light, only burns at an average maximum temperature, burns for a below average
amount of time, and produces quite a bit of ash. As we stated above, it's one of the lowest performing
charcoals we have ever tested. And it's extremely high price is a pretty stiff price to pay just to get
a virtually smokeless charcoal. But you might decide
that this charcoal behaves enough like more expensive
genuine binchotan and thus feel it is worth the price if you are cooking unagi or yakitori. Otherwise, as a lump
charcoal for smokers we have to
give it our Below Average 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
Prices listed in our reviews are current as of the date of the review. We do not attempt to keep these prices current.
The conclusions and final rating given any charcoal are based upon the opinion of the author. We recommend that you use our rating only as a guide. You should read the entire review and decide what is important to you in making any buying decision.
Performance ratings are designated with stars, 1 star being the worst
and 5 stars being the best:
= Performance is Far Below Average
= Performance is Below Average
= Performance is Average
= Performance is Above Average
= Performance is Far Above Average
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Japanese cooking. Its use dates to the Edo period (1603-1867), when, during the Genroku era (1688-1704), a craftsman named Bichu-ya Chozaemon began to
produce it in Tanabe, Wakayama. (See map at left.) The typical raw material used to make bincho-tan in Japan is oak, specifically ubame oak
(Quercus phillyraeoides),
now the official tree of Wakayama Prefecture. Wakayama continues to be a major producer of high-quality charcoal, with the
town of Minabe, Wakayama, producing more binchotan than any other town in Japan. Binchotan produced in Wakayama is referred
to as Kishu bincho-tan, Kishu being the old name of Wakayama.
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