Our Kishu Binchotan are handmade in southern Japan by a family of Japanese master burners, in the pure respect of ancestral Japanese tradition. All our models come from the Kishu region,   and they all bear the official seal of the Wakayama coal prefecture (see under "counterfeits")










All of our Binchotans are made from wild Ubamegashi holm oak wood, which grows without any fertilizers or pesticides and is sustainably managed. There is no deforestation to produce the Binchotan: the branches are only pruned and the Japanese craftsmen have the obligation to ensure a rotation of the plots, because the wood of Ubamegashi is protected. Thus, they can wait up to 15 to 25 years before exploiting a plot again, while the branches grow back.
 
Once pruned and then cut into pieces, the Ubamegashi branches are cooked for several days at low temperature: this stage forms micro-cavities in the structure of the wood. The charcoal is then cooked by cooking at a high temperature (1000°C) then activated by adding water to the oven which will free the pores of the charcoal and create its porosity.

The process is totally natural and Japanese binchotan is activated steam only. It is one of the only activated carbons in the world to be an example of any chemical product: in the wood in the wood as well as in the finished product. Indeed, outside of Japan, charcoal is mainly made from cultivated wood (and not from wild wood). If the manufacturing process of Japanese binchotan is artisanal and carried out by hand in a fortnight, it is not the same with other activated carbons, which are often from industrial production. In some countries, the use of fertilizers and pesticides is common in order to accelerate wood growth and increase yields. The carbon is also activated with chemical solvents (sulphuric acid) to allow mass production in a very short time.
 
The coal is then cooled in a mixture of sand and ash, which temporarily gives it a white color: this is how Binchotan coal is sometimes called "white coal". 
The Binchotan sticks are then cleaned one by one by hand in order to obtain the final product.
I am proud to offer you an unequaled quality of Binchotan coal. 

Our producers work "to order", that is to say that all the sticks we order are prepared "on demand". As a result, you will sometimes have to wait until the next delivery, although we take care to anticipate these stock shortages.

Being authentic products and made entirely by hand, each piece of Binchotan is a unique piece. We work with several artisans who are all located in Wakayama. According to the producers, the shape of the sticks may vary but the weight you have chosen when ordering will be respected.
 
 Authentic Binchotan is free from radioactivity, as confirmed by our independent study, which is available to you under "radioactivity".
 
The Japanese are very demanding on the quality of Binchotan. To protect their know-how and their products from Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian or Laotian counterfeits, the craftsmen of the Kishu region have set up an approval in the form of a yellow sticker, which is a sticker of authenticity also allowing the export by air.
 
Only Binchotan made in the Kishu region can benefit from it.
In fact, to be able to travel by plane, the coals must be non-flammable, which is the case for binchotans intended for water purification. Barbecue coals are prohibited on Japanese flights as they are considered combustible.
 
Coals intended for water purification must have a carbon content greater than 90%. They must also be made by hand in Wakayama, be made from Ubamegashi or more rarely other varieties of Japanese oak, be free of pesticides, fertilizers, any chemicals and radioactivity.

Of course, we only sell authentic Binchotan approved for water purification. The purity rate of our coals is  at least 95% pure carbon. 

In terms of quality, they have nothing to do with the many Chinese, Laotian, Vietnamese or Indonesian coals that can be found everywhere on the Internet. These products should not be called binchotan, as they are not made in Japan and are not produced from Ubamegashi wood.
Most come from intensive farming and contribute to deforestation. The wood grows under unfamiliar conditions, most often with the help of fertilizers and pesticides. Charcoal is also activated using chemical solvents, such as sulfuric acid (see under "counterfeits")