Thaan Thai Style Charcoal, 5lbs

Awesome stuff!! This charcoal is similar to binchotan. It burns HOT and lasts a long time. I live in a condo building and not supposed to have a grill on the balcony but with this charcoal being odorless*, smokeless**, and producing little ash***, I've been grilling like a madman! Again, because of the condo situation I have to be a bit rogue with how I light it as it takes a bit to get going. What I do is put the logs in the oven on the top rack on a foil covered broiler plate with the broiler on high for an hour. While the charcoal heats, I prep my grill items - marinade meats, prep veg, get salad put together. After the hour is up, I remove the plate with the coals and make a b-line for the balcony. I use tongs and place in my konro (yakitori grill****) then I take a pastry torch and hit em hard until they turn a little red. Once theyre going, theyre going! The heat spreads nicely and grilling can start within 10-15 minutes. Best thing about Thaan Charcoal is it is reusable!!! The first time I used, I dunked the coals in water when I was finished but that was kinda messy so from then on I just closed the vents on the grill and covered the top with a sheet pan and it snuffed out the coals nicely. Next time I want to grill I can take the old coals and put them in the broiler with some new ones. The older ones are usually smaller and many times will come out of the broiler nice and red already. This makes it a lot easier to get the coals going using my method as I can make a nice little teepee. I bought 2 boxes (12-14 logs/box...I forget exact amount) and I've grilled about a dozen times and only a few logs into the 2nd box because of the reusable factor. If you dont have the restrictions I have, starting the logs in a chimney starter will get em going quick and hot! Highly recommend this stuff. It imparts zero charcoal/fuel flavor on the food but allows for a nice bbq experience.* The coals are odorless but if you grill items that are high in fat content (burgers, steaks, etc) there will be an odor when the fat drips onto the coals.** The coals are smokeless but if you grill items that are high in fat content (burgers, steaks, etc) there will be smoke when the fat drips onto the coals. I cooked burgers on my little grill one night and smoked out the whole balcony and then some. Lesson learned. They came out great though :)*** The coals produce ash, obviously because they are coals. However, they do not really produce the red ash sparks that could be problematic.**** In case you're interested in the yakitori grill that I use, link is here: Fire Sense Large Yakatori Charcoal Grill

I bought this looking for a longer lasting alternative to regular Kingsford charcoal briquettes. Barbecues at our house are usually an all-day affair with over 40 guests so I really wanted to reduce the time used to switch out or add charcoal to the grill. I've used this charcoal a few times so far and am loving it. It produces less ash than the regular Kingsford charcoals and lasts much longer. I use 4-8 pieces of this at a time and they last over 4 hours giving me a hot steady heat throughout. That means less work and time spent on charcoal upkeep and more time to chat with friends and getting food out! Also, I read somewhere that if you're done grilling but this charcoal isn't finished burning, you can run this charcoal under water to put it out and save it to use next time. I haven't tried this yet though, since I usually grill to the end.I see some of the reviews mentioning the difficulty in lighting them. Binchotan-type charcoal like this is usually denser than regular charcoal and thus, harder to light. You need to apply heat a bit more consistently to get them to light. This is the way I do it: I light some regular Kingsford briquettes with a chimney starter (http://www.amazon.com/Weber-7416-Rapidfire-Chimney-Starter/dp/B000WEOQV8) and when they're ready, I pour them into the grill and spread them out. Then I lay the Thaan charcoal pieces out evenly on top of the lit charcoal (sometimes stacking them which seems to be more efficient) and leave them there to light. Alternately, you can use a charcoal basket lighter (something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Charcoal-Lighter-CLB-9/dp/B000M9NJ1G/) to light it on your gas stove.Last tip: it's cheaper to buy this here from Amazon (with Prime) than direct from Pok Pok.... not to mention the faster shipping time.