Learn About Charcoal-Grandpa's General Store

What is Charcoal?

Charcoal is necessary for burning smudge/herbs/resin incense. It usually comes in a foil wrapped tube of 5 or 10 disks. The disk has a concave indentation at the top to hold the resin.

Self-Lighting Charcoal means that it will light with a single match. Regular Charcoal must be held over a flame for several minutes before it will light but Self-lighting, when touched with a match, begins to sparkle as it lights itself.

How To Use Charcoal

Remove tablet from sealed roll and place charcoal, the round side down in abalone shell, censer, or other "fire proof" dish. Light the edge of the tablet with a match or taper. Hold the match to the edge of the charcoal until it begins to sparkle. The sparkling will continue across the charcoal, otherwise use additional matches till it does. You may fan the tablet a little to get it good and hot.

Once the tablet is lit, you may take a small amount (1/4 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon) of burning herbs or resins and pour onto the lit cake of charcoal. The incense will burn/melt and smoke releasing it's scent into the air. These will burn for several minutes and then you may add more.

If the ashes start to give off an unpleasant odor, take a metal spoon or knife and scrape off any residue before adding more material. Tweasers work well for moving the tablet around INSIDE the censer.

The tablet should be left to burn out and cool in the censer. To extinguish a tablet before it has fully cooled quench in a container of cold water.

PLEASE NOTE-When the tablet is lit, do not handle it as it WILL cause a burn. Charcoal can burn at up to 1500 degrees F. and may burn up to an hour before burning out. Do not dispose of the ash remains in a waste paper bin as this may cause a fire. Do not hold the tablet in your hand when lighting or burning. This product ignites instantly.

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