Choosing the right place of the pile is key to the quality of the charcoal. The soil under the pile should not be too airy, the room should be flat and slightly raised in the middle, with a slope of about 5% for drainage and distillates. It is important to remove all hives, roots and stones. For a medium-sized mound, the mound must have a diameter of 10 meters. The Kopišče is surrounded by a trench at the edge to drain stormwater.

The quality of charcoal depends on the type of wood, its humidity, age, health, shape and dimensions. It is important to distinguish between the charring of conifers and deciduous trees, as they have different charring temperatures. Light charcoal produces conifer wood, and from hardwoods alder, birch, elm, poplar, willow, linden, cherry, and heavy charcoal is provided by beech, sedge, cera, maple, ash, partridge, pear and Lesnike (wild apple trees). According to the locals, the best charcoal is made of beech, white hornbeam, gradno and woodworking. The wood must be dry (20-25% humidity), as excessive humidity accelerates improper charring.

Firewood is stacked around the central triangle of poles (“streženice”), which are connected to each other with rings. Firewood is placed on them, namely the stacking is dense, the thicker logs are in the middle, and the thinner ones are on the perimeter. This intermediate empty space, resembling a chimney, is called “Strežne”. The bath must be paraboloid in shape and folded into as precise a circle as possible. Most of the time, they set up piles with two stacks of firewood and form a “hewn head” on the upper fund. The surface between the two stacks is called the “joint” and the surface between the upper stack and the head is called “shoulders”. The pile is folded when the charcoal burner cuts off the scraps on the top of the head.

The pile is prepared for blackening by covering it with spruce branches, leaves or grass, which prevents the soil from being scattered between the wood (the process of overlapping is called “grassing”). Then a 10-15 cm thick layer of soil is applied, which prevents air from entering and retains gases and water vapor (the procedure is called “blackening”). The soil is often burnt and mixed with charcoal dust from the old pile. Shingles or “spires” are placed upright and transversely on the ground, which hold the finger and press it against the wood.

The bath is burned from the top by throwing some cods at the bottom and embers on top. This area in Kopa is called a hearth. When the fire burns out and white smoke begins to rise from the open scrap, the pit is lit. The task of the charcoal burner is to raise the fire from the bottom of the hearth to the top of the pile so that the charring starts in the head. The fire rises at the top of the wood, when small wood (“Budlovce”) is added. When the bath warms up and the head becomes soft, the scraper closes with a board and a finger. Carbonation or carbonization takes place at a temperature of 240 to 280 °C with limited air flow. The charcoal burner regulates the charcoal with chimneys, which he drills into the ring cover.

After finishing cooking, the bath stays for at least two days to cool down. The charcoal burners clean it immediately after charring by carefully removing the soil layer, cleaning and cooling it, and returning it to suffocate any grill. When tearing, which requires at least three coals, they first remove the finger, and then use a hoe or hook (“sturak”) to pull the charcoal out, clean it and transfer it to the edge of the pile. If necessary, they extinguish it with soil, as water lowers the quality of charcoal. After finishing the work in a certain area of the pile, the track is again covered with soil so that the rain does not damage the charcoal. At the end, they tear apart the mound around the hearth and separate the burnt, fine and low-quality charcoal (“crash”) from the rest of the charcoal. A medium-sized hedge is torn apart in one day, and the cooled charcoal is put in bags and stored in a dry place, often under a haystack.

The production of charcoal according to the traditional process is an extremely demanding and time-consuming process, but it brings a high-quality product, appreciated in various industries. Despite the effort and amount of firewood needed, this method is extremely effective, as it gives the possibility of controlling the quality of the final product. Respect for this ancient skill is deserved, as it preserves a rich heritage and knowledge that is passed down from generation to generation. Charcoal makers not only create a valuable source of energy, but also preserve an important part of cultural heritage.

• • Most charcoal burners place two coals at the bottom in the shape of a cross for good luck when cooking charcoal.
  • According to the old custom, the burning of the pile is done by a woman who climbs up to Stržen with an ember in a bucket.
  • The color of the smoke indicates the charring phase. In the beginning, it is whitish due to a lot of water vapor, then it turns gray, which indicates the beginning of the charring process, with brownish-yellow the process is in the most intense phase, bluish indicates that the charring is nearing the end, and bright or transparent smoke It is a sign of finished charring.
  • Charcoal from natural sources, such as wood or coconut, is generally of higher quality than charcoal obtained from artificial materials.
  • Charcoal holds only half the volume and one quarter of the mass of wood, but it has twice the calorific value (around 1.67 kJ).
  • Firewood in the form of rounds with a diameter of 2 to 8 cm and a length of around 1.2 m gives charcoal to better quality. This charcoal is called “cannels” charcoal.
  • Quality charcoal is hard, does not crumble, has a shimmering shine and does not have a strong foreign smell.

You can read more about the individual stages of making charcoal here.