Jo and Paul established Scottish charcoal as part of Green Aspirations Scotland CIC in 2013, and it is a woodland-based social enterprise with a mission to reconnect people with nature and inspire a love for the outdoors through woodlands. They do this through sustainable woodland management and teaching and demonstrating heritage crafts. The initial focus was restoring hazel coppice sites, and charcoal making became a part of their activities and, with more coppice sites being taken on, they started ramping up charcoal production which of course we applaud!

All Scottish charcoal is made from trees coppiced from local Scottish woodland and uses a variety of native hardwoods. Charcoal not only generates income for the social enterprise, it’s also a great way to demonstrate and preserve traditional skills and make best value of wood that wouldn’t be used productively for anything else. Their charcoal production is largely unmechanised; they do use a log splitter and chainsaw, but everything else is lovingly by hand; stacking, loading, emptying, grading, and bagging. We have to mention their much loved retorts, Betty, a small bespoke kiln fabricated in Hampshire, and Matilda, a fourth-hand Exeter retort which they managed to acquire thanks to some local external funding. All of their charcoal is made on a beautiful site on the Cardross Estate in Stirlingshire (although they do take Matilda out for a few trips if she behaves)!

HoC rigorously tests all of our charcoals before bringing them into our House of Charcoal family and we have tested a lot. Every now and again something special comes along and the first time we tried Scottish Charcoal we could not believe its performance. As a mixed species, hand selected, made by true artisans with oodles of love and passion, you expect it to be good but man alive! Lit quickly, took in no time but spank me sideways - this just wanted to get hot, spread and lick your food faster than a warp-drive Enterprise! You get the gist - it's some of the best charcoal we have used - brilliant for traditional open grills and superb in a Kamado. We utterly love this charcoal.

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