This page is the specification layer of our Products pillar: the numbers behind each grade name, the process that produces the difference, and what each figure changes in a lounge or on a retail shelf. Shape and size are chosen separately — a grade applies to any shape we press.
Every figure below is contractual — the band an order is written and accepted against, not a measured result. The measured values for your specific batch arrive on the certificate of analysis that ships with the container. Test a grade before you commit
For reference, the independent laboratory reports we currently hold measured ash 1.38–1.62%, fixed carbon 83.35–86.78%, moisture 3.9–4.1% and volatile matter 7.94–10.93% across 2 reports: Beckjorindo S69863 (2026-06-20) and Carsurin 125856 (2026-07-12). Neither report states which grade was sampled, so those figures cannot be attributed to any single grade below.
Grades at a glance
A shisha charcoal grade is a screening tier: the same coconut shell charcoal run through more passes to remove more fines, producing lower ash. It is not a different raw material and not a different shape.
- Grades
- 3 — Premium, Super Premium, Platinum
- Ash range
- 1.6-2.0% – 2.5-2.8%
- Shared across all grades
- Moisture ≤ 6%, drop test 3+, no chemical accelerant
- Per-batch proof
- Certificate of analysis with every container
The three grades, side by side
Contractual bands, not measured results or guarantees. The certificate of analysis reports what your batch actually measured.
| Specification | Premium | Super Premium | Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ash content | 2.5-2.8% | 2.0-2.5% | 1.6-2.0% |
| Moisture | ≤ 6% | ≤ 6% | ≤ 6% |
| Fixed carbon | ≥ 75% | ≥ 80% | ≥ 82% |
| Burn time | 2+ hours | 2+ hours | 2.5+ hours |
| Burn temperature | 600 °C | 650 °C | 680 °C |
| Calorific value | ≥ 7000 kcal/kg | ≥ 7300 kcal/kg | ≥ 7500 kcal/kg |
| Drop test | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ |
Grade
Premium
- Ash content
- 2.5-2.8%
- Moisture
- ≤ 6%
- Fixed carbon
- ≥ 75%
- Burn time
- 2+ hours
- Burn temperature
- 600 °C
- Calorific value
- ≥ 7000 kcal/kg
- Drop test
- 3+
Grade
Super Premium
- Ash content
- 2.0-2.5%
- Moisture
- ≤ 6%
- Fixed carbon
- ≥ 80%
- Burn time
- 2+ hours
- Burn temperature
- 650 °C
- Calorific value
- ≥ 7300 kcal/kg
- Drop test
- 3+
Grade
Platinum
- Ash content
- 1.6-2.0%
- Moisture
- ≤ 6%
- Fixed carbon
- ≥ 82%
- Burn time
- 2.5+ hours
- Burn temperature
- 680 °C
- Calorific value
- ≥ 7500 kcal/kg
- Drop test
- 3+
Published specification targets by grade. Measured values per batch are reported on the certificate of analysis.
Why the grades differ
Higher grades are screened harder — three to five screening passes instead of one. That removes more fines and loses more raw material, and returns a cleaner briquette. The difference between grades is a yield difference, not a different raw material.
This matters when you compare quotes. A supplier who explains grades by sourcing is describing something you cannot audit; a yield difference shows up in the ash number on the certificate of analysis, which you can. It is also why the price gap between grades is stable rather than negotiable — the lost material is the cost.
-
Carbonized coconut shell charcoal
-
Screening against grade specification More passes remove more fines
-
Briquetting
-
- Platinum
- Super Premium
- Premium
Screened harder · more fines removed · lower yield Screened less · fewer fines removed · higher yield
No price appears on this page. The indicative FOB range has one home: How grade moves the price per ton.
What each number changes for you
The same specification reads differently depending on whether the coal ends up in a lounge or in a retail box.
Ash content
Ash is the mineral residue left after the briquette burns out, as a percentage of starting mass. It is the most visible number to an end customer, because it is the white debris on the tray.
- Impact on the smoking experience
- In a lounge, ash is labour. A point of ash is one more wipe-down between sessions across every table, every night.
- Impact on your business
- On a shelf, ash is the complaint that drives a return. A value SKU can carry higher ash; a private-label SKU sold on quality cannot.
Fixed carbon
Fixed carbon is the share of the briquette that is combustible carbon rather than moisture, volatiles or ash. It is the number that predicts how much usable heat is in the coal.
- Impact on the smoking experience
- Higher fixed carbon means fewer coal changes in a long session, which is the labour cost a busy venue actually feels.
- Impact on your business
- It is the figure a technically literate buyer checks first, and the one worth printing on the box.
Burn time
Burn time is how long one briquette holds a usable working temperature under a standard test, not how long it takes to turn to ash.
- Impact on the smoking experience
- It sets how many coals a session consumes, which is the single biggest line in a lounge's charcoal cost per session.
- Impact on your business
- It is what a customer means by "these last longer", and the easiest claim for them to verify at home.
Burn temperature
Peak working temperature at the coal surface. Higher is not automatically better — it is better only when the coal holds it without burning out faster.
- Impact on the smoking experience
- A hotter, denser coal pushes more heat into the bowl without a faster changeover.
- Impact on your business
- Matters most to customers using heat-management devices, where a cool coal simply does not perform.
Calorific value
The total energy content per kilogram, measured in a bomb calorimeter. It is the laboratory backstop behind the burn-time and temperature claims.
- Impact on the smoking experience
- Rarely quoted to a venue, but it is the figure that explains why two coals with the same size behave differently.
- Impact on your business
- Useful in a spec sheet for buyers who benchmark suppliers on paper before requesting a sample.
Each figure has a defined test method and basis — how we test and to which standard. Ash and the proximate analysis run to ASTM D1762-84(2021); calorific value to ISO 18125:2017. Batch testing is carried out by an independent laboratory — Carsurin — and a certificate of analysis accompanies each shipment.
For what counts as a good ash figure in the abstract, rather than how our three grades compare, see ash content on the specifications page.
Sizes and pieces per kilogram
Grade and size are independent choices: any grade can be pressed in any of the sizes below. Pieces per kilogram is the number that converts a container tonnage into the units your customer counts, so it is the figure to plan packaging and shelf pricing against.
| Shape | Size | Approx. pcs/kg |
|---|---|---|
| Cube | 22×22 mm | 120 |
| Cube | 25×25 mm | 96 |
| Cube | 26×26 mm | 85 |
| Cube | 27×27 mm | 78 |
| Cube | 28×28 mm | 70 |
| Finger | 18×35 mm | 80 |
| Finger | 18×50 mm | 60 |
| Finger | 20×35 mm | 65 |
| Finger | 20×50 mm | 50 |
| Hexagonal | 18×35 mm | 80 |
| Hexagonal | 18×50 mm | 60 |
| Hexagonal | 20×35 mm | 65 |
| Hexagonal | 20×50 mm | 62 |
| Hexagonal | 24×50 mm | 58 |
| Dome | 25 mm | 80 |
| Dome | 30 mm | 65 |
| Flat | 25×25×15 mm | 108 or 126 |
| Flat | 25×25×17 mm | 86 |
| Flat | 30×30×17 mm | 55 |
| Lotus | 3-piece set | 30 |
| Lotus | 4-piece set | 25 |
The sizes listed are our standard range, not a closed list. We also press to client specification, at the same 18 tons (one 20ft container) minimum and the same production lead time as a standard size. Custom sizes and shapes
Which shape seats in which device is covered on the format pages: cubes, hexagonals, finger, flat, dome and lotus.
How to sample a specific grade and size
Name the combination, not just the grade. A sample request that says "Platinum, 25 mm cube" gets you the exact coal that would ship; one that says "your best grade" gets you our guess at what you meant. The coals are free and you pay only the courier.
- Pick the shape and size from the table above.
- Pick the grade from the specification table — most first containers are Super Premium.
- Send both in one message, with your destination country so we can quote the courier.