In the early 60's Richard Johnson sold Japanese "smokeless" charcoal along with his Japanese Kamado's.  The Japanese used this charcoal for indoor cooking and heating.  Obviously this wood (or lump) charcoal had to have a high fixed carbon content and very low volatile content or they would all be dead.  The cost of the Japanese "white" charcoal became prohibitive in cost and availability.  From the middle 60's U.S. charcoal went downhill with the rock bottom reached with the common briquette (manufacturers names mercifully withheld) with all the additives, fillers, unknown "wood" and improper carbonation.  It is no wonder gas grills became popular.  Mercifully, in the early 90's wood lump charcoal started to became available and the gigantic improvement over common briquettes became known and by 2003 widely used and a notable decline in gas grills in favor of charcoal (lump) grills.  Today's lump charcoal, while a mammoth improvement in the common briquette, must have improvement in the following areas: (a)  The harmful volatiles must be drive off in the carbonization process to produce the proper percentage of fixed carbon (the result we want from cooking charcoal. (b)  A renewable wood or fuel source and not deforestation. (c) Free of sparks, flames, smoke, high ash content. (d) A "known" hard wood or fuel source and not a mystery. (d) Improve the size, overall quality, excessive unusable fines. Kamado Lump Charcoal is guaranteed to meet all criteria in 100% in customer satisfaction, and quality..

Richard first experienced using coconut natural (shells) charcoal exclusively in his Kamado on board his yacht while sailing in the South Pacific.  It only takes one cook to hook you on the wonderful burning characteristics, smell and taste of barbequing with coconut.  This memory (coconut, not sailing) led to the introducing in 2000 the Kamado Corporation our first Coconut Charcoal in very limited amounts.  However, this was more than enough distribution to find all customers agreed that this is the finest charcoal they have ever used.  The hottest, smokeless, ash less and wonderful flavor.  Today we have our direct coconut plantation sources and this unique Kamado Coconut Natural Charcoal will be one of the four Kamado Charcoal products.  A new manufacturing process of coconut has allowed us to offer our unique Kamado Coconut Briquette and another one of the four Kamado Charcoal Products we offer. A new manufacturing process of tropical hardwood has allowed us to offer the fourth unique and excellent charcoal which we call Kamado Hardwood Briquettes as described below.