Our charcoal is handmade on our site near Arnprior, Stirling, in Scotland, using our charcoal retort. The wood we use - largely willow - has been saved from industrial chippers; what would have been wasted is transformed into useful and beautiful materials.
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Cutting and processing
We cut and process the trees largely by hand, helped by the volunteers at Green Aspirations. We remove anything that doesn't fit our sizing - too small, we dry and use for kindling; too large, we use for BBQ charcoal.
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Peeling and drying
We peel the bark from the sticks to make sure they're smooth and velvety. We do this when they're 'green', or freshly cut, and leave them to dry.
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Preparing for the kiln
To keep the sticks protected, we pack them into tins which then go into the kiln. We try to get roughly the same size sticks into each tin, as they'll transform at similar rates.
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Cooking and cooling
Betty, our charcoal retort, then does the hard work. We light a fire under the chamber and keep that going until the wood in the chamber releases flammable gases; these gases are channelled back into the fire box. We leave the kiln to cool for about 12 hours before opening it up.
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Finished charcoal
Once cooled, we check the quality of the charocoal and sort into different sizes, before packaging.