A wide choice of charcoal & other accessories for your incense, including burners, ash catchers, tongs & more. 100% all natural bamboo incense charcoals without saltpeter or sulfur, Kodo ceremony quality.
To reduce the heat and smoke from burning charcoals, you can bury them in a mound of ash or make a mica plate to sit over the coals.
Burners
If you have ever smelt the aroma of burning charcoal, you know that it can create a relaxing atmosphere for hours on end. This makes it ideal for use with incense resins like copal and frankincense.
Charcoal is created by heating wood and other organic materials in an oxygen-free environment, a process called carbonization. This process removes water and volatile components to leave a solid black substance that looks like ash but burns significantly more energy than wax and produces less harmful vapors.
Traditionally, charcoal was produced on a small scale in pit kilns by local villager who lived in rudimentary dwellings beside their charcoal piles. The wood used to make charcoal was typically hickory, oak, or beech that had been cut into pieces, stacked in a pit kiln and then covered with dirt. Today, charcoal is most often made using synthetic materials and high-tech supra-carbonization processes. This method allows for faster, more consistent production and higher-quality finished charcoal.
Charcoal
The ability to quickly and cleanly produce hot coals has long been valued. It’s not only used by campers and BBQ enthusiasts but also smelters who work with iron ore in blast furnaces and blacksmiths who shape and form steel. Making charcoal is a skilled craft and those who did it professionally were known as colliers. The Arthur Ransome children’s series Swallowdale, set in the Lake District of England, provides a fascinating glimpse at the techniques employed by these men.
There are two main types of charcoal: lump and briquettes. Lump charcoal is made from pure wood pieces, usually hardwoods such as hickory and oak that burn hotter. Charcoal briquettes are manufactured from sawdust and leftover wood and may have additives such as binders (starch, molasses) and other ingredients that improve burning and give the briquette its shape.
The binders in briquettes are mainly organic and can include nut shells, coconut shells, peat and paper, as well as wood offcuts. Other common additives are borax and sodium nitrate that enhance combustion.
Ash Catchers
If you use charcoal a lot, it is very helpful to have an ash catcher. They make the job of cleaning out your kamado much easier, and they’re also very easy to assemble and replace.
There are many different styles of ash catchers out there, but we’ve only included ones that have been thoroughly tested and proven to be safe and easy to use. These ash catchers fit right into the ring of your burner and will hold all the ashes until they are ready to be emptied.
Ashes are a great source of potassium, one of the three plant macronutrients. They also contain a significant, if lesser amount of calcium as lime. These two minerals can help sandy or silty soils a lot, and should increase water holding capacity, nutrient retention and probably soil life. So, it’s important to clean out your ash catcher after every cook.
Tongs
Igniting charcoal can be a delicate job that requires patience and practice. Using tongs to handle the coal is essential to avoid burning fingers and keeping your hands from becoming distracted or disconnected from being present in the moment.
Using tongs also helps you eliminate the use of lighter fluid, which can be a fire hazard and cause harmful fumes. Using tongs will also make the process of adding resin, herb or powder incense much easier and more precise.
Made from stainless steel with a triple moon carving to honor the seasons and seasonal change, these incense and charcoal tongs are the perfect addition to any healing ritual. They are specially designed to hold the charcoal tablets while they self-ignite and for handling resin incense. This makes a wonderful gift for yourself or someone else who needs to reclaim their connection to spirit through the meditative and cleansing power of incense.