The high, consistent quality of Heat Beads® Original BBQ Briquettes is due to the unique raw materials base used – a blend of natural hardwood charcoal and clean burning mineral carbon.

The mineral carbon is known as char, a material that has been through a process at high temperatures to remove the volatile matter, leaving a high purity carbon. This material provides the long burn time that Heat Beads® briquettes are known for.

The charcoal used are fines from the production of high quality hardwood lump charcoal, and would otherwise be waste.

Heat Beads® Original BBQ Briquettes also contain a binder, an oxidising agent and a secret* ingredient. Each of these materials is naturally occurring, and has a very specific purpose.

• A binder is used to hold the briquettes together in the traditional pillow shape. The binder used is food grade starch – a high quality material that is responsible for ensuring the briquettes are hard and don’t crumble.
• An oxidising agent is used to make the briquettes easier to light. This material is a salt, often used as a food preservative. Without it, the briquettes would take a long time to light and require more firelighters.
• A final, secret* ingredient is added to our BBQ Briquettes to provide a thermal mass to hold the heat generated by the carbon burning, helping ensure Heat Beads® BBQ Briquettes stay hotter for longer.
• * This secret and magical ingredient is also known as ‘sand’.

Australian Char then blends and presses (briquettes) the char, charcoal and starch, salt and sand into a superior barbecue fuel, tailored to the specific needs of the barbecuing public. Safe, non-toxic, odourless, and made in Victoria, Australia for over 40 years.