Published 23 June 2026 · Last updated 21 October 2026 · By Ben Austen · Affiliate disclosure
Of the bags here, I’ve cooked on two: Big K’s standard Real Lumpwood and the B&Q Restaurant Lumpwood I use most weeks. What I say about the other five comes from the makers’ own pages and from what owners say on Amazon and Trustpilot. These are the best BBQ charcoal bags I found, from £14 to £29.99, and I checked every price on 21 October 2026.
The best lumpwood charcoal, in order
Tick Compare on any two or more to see them side by side.
Best BBQ charcoal overall Tested
Big K Real Lumpwood
Buy Big K’s Real Lumpwood if you want a good everyday lumpwood that doesn’t cost much.
- Much better than the B&Q bag I use most weeks
- £14 for 10kg direct from Big K
- Ready to cook within 30 minutes, Big K says
Best to pick up in store Tested
B&Q Restaurant Lumpwood
Buy B&Q’s Restaurant Lumpwood if you’d rather pick a bag up in a shop than wait for a delivery.
- It’s what I cook on most weeks
- About £1.67 a kilo, collected in store
- Sold in B&Q stores, so there’s no delivery to wait for
Best for long cooks Researched
Big K Professional Marabu Lumpwood
Buy Big K’s Professional Marabu if you cook low and slow and want a load that lasts.
- Up to three hours a load, Big K says
- High heat with low smoke, Big K says
- From the brand I rate highest
Best charcoal for kamado owners Researched
Big Green Egg Oak & Hickory Lump
Buy Big Green Egg’s own lump if you cook on an Egg or another kamado and want a bag that goes a long way.
- Up to 24 hours of cooking from an 8kg bag, BGE says
- Ready to cook in 10 to 15 minutes, BGE says
- 4.8 from 107 reviews on BGE’s site
Best birch lumpwood Researched
Globaltic Birch Lumpwood
Buy Globaltic’s birch if you mostly grill burgers, chicken and fish in the week and want a charcoal that lights fast.
- Ready to cook in 10 to 15 minutes, Globaltic says
- Owners rate the charcoal highly
- Up to eight hours in a closed kamado, Globaltic says
Best British charcoal Researched
Oxford Charcoal Best of British
Buy Oxford Charcoal’s Best of British if you want charcoal made from British wood.
- Made from British hardwood, Oxford says
- Ready to cook in 15 minutes, Oxford says
From a charcoal specialist Researched
Green Olive Premium Gourmet
Green Olive’s Gourmet is worth a look if you want a dense hardwood lumpwood from a firewood and charcoal specialist, but recent buyers say it isn’t what it was.
- Dense hardwood, Green Olive says
- About £3 a kilo
- A buyer of three years was impressed with it at first
Charcoal I wouldn’t buy
I’ve cooked on both of these, and I wouldn’t buy either again.
Diall Lumpwood Charcoal 5kg
Diall is B&Q’s own-label lumpwood, and it’s awful. Don’t buy it. When I cooked on it in August the lumps were tiny, and 15 minutes after I lit it, it had barely caught. B&Q sells both this and the Restaurant Lumpwood I use, so check the bag.
Fuel Express Premium Restaurant Grade Charcoal 12kg
I used to cook on Fuel Express’s restaurant-grade lumpwood, and I wouldn’t really recommend it. It was worse than the B&Q bag I use now, and significantly worse than Big K.
- 4.1 from 63 ratings
Key takeaways
- Big K’s standard Real Lumpwood is the best bag here that I’ve cooked on, and much better than the B&Q bag I use most weeks. It’s £14 for 10kg direct, or £17.99 with delivery on one bag.
- For a long low-and-slow cook, Big K rates its Professional Marabu at up to three hours a load, twice its standard bag. I haven’t cooked on it, and it’s £29 for 15kg.
- B&Q’s Restaurant Lumpwood is okay, and at £20 for 12kg it’s the cheapest per kilo if you collect it. It was out of stock on B&Q’s website when I checked.
- BGE says an 8kg bag of its oak and hickory lump gives up to 24 hours of cooking. It’s £29, about £3.63 a kilo.
- Owners rate Globaltic’s birch highly, but several had delivery problems this year.
- I’ve cooked on Diall and on Fuel Express’s restaurant grade, and I wouldn’t buy either again.
At a glance: the seven bags
| Bag | Price | Size | Per kilo | Wood | Where | I’ve cooked on it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big K Real Lumpwood | £14 | 10kg | £1.40 | Not given | Big K | Yes |
| B&Q Restaurant Lumpwood | £20 | 12kg | £1.67 | Not given | B&Q | Yes |
| Big K Professional Marabu | £29 | 15kg | £1.93 | Marabu | Big K | No |
| BGE Oak & Hickory Lump | £29 | 8kg | £3.63 | Oak and hickory | Big Green Egg UK | No |
| Globaltic Birch Lumpwood | £29.50 | 10kg | £2.95 | Silver birch | Globaltic | No |
| Oxford Best of British | £24.95 | 5kg | £4.99 | Mixed British hardwood | Oxford Charcoal | No |
| Green Olive Premium Gourmet | £29.99 | 2 × 5kg | £3.00 | Hardwood | Green Olive Firewood | No |
Full prices, checked on 21 October 2026 at each seller.
Best BBQ charcoal overall: Big K Real Lumpwood, £14
Buy Big K’s Real Lumpwood if you want a good everyday lumpwood that doesn’t cost much. It’s Big K’s standard bag, and it was good, which is what I expected, and much better than the B&Q bag I use most weeks. The 10kg bag is £14 direct from Big K, or £17.99 once you add delivery on a single bag. The catch is how long it lasts. Big K says a load cooks for up to 90 minutes, and it rates its restaurant-grade Marabu at up to three hours, so for a long low-and-slow cook that’s the one to look at.
Big K says it’s natural lumpwood with no additives, and that it’s ready to cook within 30 minutes of lighting. It comes in 3kg, 5kg and 10kg bags, and there’s a 5kg bag certified by the FSC. On Amazon the 10kg bag averages 4.4 stars from 919 ratings. One owner there in January found “Decent sized lumps, not too much small stuff”, and another in August called it a great price for the weight. Not every bag is as good. In June one owner found the pieces smaller than expected and getting stuck in the air holes of their kamado, and in July another said “Half the bag it’s just crushed dust”.
Pros
- Much better than the B&Q bag I use most weeks
- £14 for 10kg direct from Big K
- Ready to cook within 30 minutes, Big K says
Cons
- Up to 90 minutes a load, against up to three hours for Big K’s Marabu
- £3.99 delivery on a single bag from Big K
- Some owners on Amazon report small pieces and dust
| PRICE | £14 for 10kg at Big K (3kg £4, 5kg £8) |
| PER KILO | £1.40, or £1.80 delivered on a single 10kg bag |
| BURN TIME | Up to 90 minutes, maker’s figure |
| LIGHTING | Ready to cook within 30 minutes, maker’s figure |
| FSC | 5kg bag certified |
| OWNERS | 4.4 from 919 ratings on Amazon UK (10kg) |
Best to pick up in store: B&Q Restaurant Lumpwood, £20
Buy B&Q’s Restaurant Lumpwood if you’d rather pick a bag up in a shop than wait for a delivery. It’s what I cook on most weeks. It’s okay, but Big K’s standard bag is much better. It’s £20 for 12kg, about £1.67 a kilo, which is less per kilo than Big K’s 10kg bag once you add delivery on a single bag. When I checked, B&Q’s website showed it as out of stock, so check your local store before you go.
Pros
- It’s what I cook on most weeks
- About £1.67 a kilo, collected in store
- Sold in B&Q stores, so there’s no delivery to wait for
Cons
- Big K’s standard bag is much better
- Out of stock on B&Q’s website when I checked
| PRICE | £20 for 12kg at B&Q |
| PER KILO | £1.67 |
| STOCK | Out of stock online on 21 October 2026; check your local store |
Best for long cooks: Big K Professional Marabu Lumpwood, £29
Buy Big K’s Professional Marabu if you cook low and slow and want a load that lasts. Big K rates it at up to three hours, twice the 90 minutes it gives its standard bag. I haven’t cooked on this one. Big K is the brand I rate highest, though, and the pitmaster who runs Easy E’s BBQ in London told me in June that “Big K charcoal is the best. Just get that.” The catch is the price. It’s £29 for 15kg direct from Big K, about £1.93 a kilo, which is more than either bag I’ve cooked on here.
Big K sells it as restaurant-grade lumpwood made from marabu, an invasive thorn tree, and says it gives a high heat with low smoke and is ready to cook within 30 minutes. Big K as a company has 4.6 stars from 152 reviews on Trustpilot.
Pros
- Up to three hours a load, Big K says
- High heat with low smoke, Big K says
- From the brand I rate highest
Cons
- I haven’t cooked on it
- About £1.93 a kilo, the dearest per kilo of the Big K and B&Q bags
- £3.99 delivery on a single bag from Big K
| PRICE | £29 for 15kg at Big K |
| PER KILO | £1.93, or £2.20 delivered on a single bag |
| WOOD | Marabu |
| BURN TIME | Up to 3 hours, maker’s figure |
| LIGHTING | Ready to cook within 30 minutes, maker’s figure |
| OWNERS | Big K: 4.6 from 152 reviews on Trustpilot (company, not this bag) |
Best charcoal for kamado owners: Big Green Egg Oak & Hickory Lump, £29
Buy Big Green Egg’s own lump if you cook on an Egg or another kamado and want a bag that goes a long way. BGE says one 8kg bag gives you up to 24 hours of cooking, and that it’s ready to cook 10 to 15 minutes after you light it. Owners on BGE’s own site rate it 4.8 from 107 reviews, and one titled theirs “good product – but not cheap”. At £29 for 8kg it’s about £3.63 a kilo, more than twice what the B&Q bag costs.
It’s made from American oak and hickory, and BGE says there are no accelerants or chemicals in it. If you join BGE’s free club, it sends you a free bag for every five charcoal orders.
Pros
- Up to 24 hours of cooking from an 8kg bag, BGE says
- Ready to cook in 10 to 15 minutes, BGE says
- 4.8 from 107 reviews on BGE’s site
Cons
- About £3.63 a kilo
- The owner reviews are on BGE’s own site
| PRICE | £29 for 8kg at Big Green Egg UK |
| PER KILO | £3.63 |
| WOOD | American oak and hickory |
| BURN TIME | Up to 24 hours per bag, maker’s figure |
| LIGHTING | Ready in 10–15 minutes, maker’s figure |
| OWNERS | 4.8 from 107 reviews on biggreenegg.co.uk |
Best birch lumpwood: Globaltic Birch Lumpwood, £29.50
Buy Globaltic’s birch if you mostly grill burgers, chicken and fish in the week and want a charcoal that lights fast. That’s what Globaltic says it’s for, and owners on Trustpilot rate the charcoal itself highly. Writing in June, one called it “Genuinely excellent charcoal but their logistics and customer support is as bad as their charcoal is good.” That’s the catch. Several owners on Trustpilot this year had an order turn up late, damaged or not at all, though some said Globaltic put it right. It’s £29.50 for 10kg, about £2.95 a kilo, and if you’re near Lancaster you can collect it.
Globaltic says it’s silver birch from Ukraine, made from FSC-certified sawmill offcuts. It says it’s ready to cook 10 to 15 minutes after you light it in a chimney, and that a load lasts three to four hours on an open grill, or up to eight in a closed kamado on a long, low cook. On Trustpilot Globaltic has 4.1 stars from 46 reviews.
Pros
- Ready to cook in 10 to 15 minutes, Globaltic says
- Owners rate the charcoal highly
- Up to eight hours in a closed kamado, Globaltic says
Cons
- Several owners reported delivery problems this year
- About £2.95 a kilo
- Free delivery only over £49.90
| PRICE | £29.50 for 10kg at Globaltic |
| PER KILO | £2.95 |
| WOOD | Silver birch, Ukraine |
| BURN TIME | 3–4 hours on an open grill, up to 8 in a closed kamado, maker’s figure |
| LIGHTING | Ready in 10–15 minutes with a chimney, maker’s figure |
| OWNERS | Globaltic: 4.1 from 46 reviews on Trustpilot (company, not this bag) |
Best British charcoal: Oxford Charcoal Best of British, £24.95
Buy Oxford Charcoal’s Best of British if you want charcoal made from British wood. Oxford says it’s a mix of British hardwoods. The catch is the price, and that there’s nobody to tell you how it cooks. At £24.95 for 5kg it’s about £4.99 a kilo, the dearest here per kilo, and it has no reviews on Oxford’s own site or on Trustpilot.
Oxford says it’s ready to cook in 15 minutes and you won’t need lighter fluid or firelighters. It says the mix of woods changes, but it blends them to keep the burn and the flavour right.
Pros
- Made from British hardwood, Oxford says
- Ready to cook in 15 minutes, Oxford says
Cons
- About £4.99 a kilo, the dearest here
- Only a 5kg bag
- No owner reviews yet
| PRICE | £24.95 for 5kg at Oxford Charcoal |
| PER KILO | £4.99 |
| WOOD | Mixed British hardwoods (the blend changes) |
| LIGHTING | Ready in 15 minutes, maker’s figure |
| OWNERS | No reviews on oxfordcharcoal.co.uk or Trustpilot |
From a charcoal specialist: Green Olive Premium Gourmet, £29.99
Green Olive’s Gourmet is worth a look if you want a dense hardwood lumpwood from a firewood and charcoal specialist, but recent buyers say it isn’t what it was. Writing in August, an owner who first bought it three years ago from a garden centre, and was impressed then, titled their review “Such a shame.” In July another said “Large lumps are now half dust”. In October a buyer said the charcoal was good, but a third of the bag had been smashed in delivery. Green Olive has 2.5 stars from 43 reviews on Trustpilot. That isn’t many, so it could be a bad batch.
At £29.99 for two bags of around 5kg it’s about £3 a kilo. Green Olive says it’s sustainably sourced dense hardwood, restaurant quality, and packed in kraft paper bags.
Pros
- Dense hardwood, Green Olive says
- About £3 a kilo
- A buyer of three years was impressed with it at first
Cons
- An owner this year says the large lumps are now half dust
- A buyer in October had a third of a bag smashed in delivery
- 2.5 from 43 reviews on Trustpilot
| PRICE | £29.99 for 2 × 5kg at Green Olive Firewood |
| PER KILO | £3.00 |
| WOOD | Hardwood (species not given) |
| OWNERS | Green Olive: 2.5 from 43 reviews on Trustpilot (company, not this bag) |
How to spot charcoal that isn’t worth buying
The Diall bag I cooked on had tiny lumps. It was mostly small pieces, and 15 minutes after I lit it, it had barely caught. Owners on Amazon and Trustpilot report the same kind of thing on other bags: one Big K owner found half a bag was “just crushed dust”, and a Green Olive buyer said the large lumps are now half dust. “Restaurant grade” on the bag won’t settle it for you either. It’s printed on the B&Q bag I think is okay, on Big K’s Marabu and on the Fuel Express bag I wouldn’t recommend.
Lumpwood charcoal or briquettes?
Lumpwood charcoal is what I cook on, on my kamado and on a kettle, and it’s what every bag here is. I don’t cook on briquettes and I don’t recommend them for the cooking this site is about. They have a place if you’re on somebody else’s barbecue, say at an Airbnb, or you want an instant-light bag and don’t want to manage a fire. If you do want briquettes, Weber’s are well rated by owners, with 4.7 stars from 14,466 ratings on Amazon UK.
The best charcoal for a kamado
Lumpwood. On my Big Green Egg I light it with one firelighter cube tucked into a fistful of lump, close the dome, and that’s it. I don’t use a chimney starter on a kamado. For a long cook, one cube is plenty.
Any of the seven bags here will work in a kamado, but small pieces can block the air holes, which is what one Big K Real Lumpwood owner found in theirs. Big Green Egg says an 8kg bag of its own lump gives up to 24 hours of cooking, Big K rates its Marabu at up to three hours a load, and Globaltic says its birch lasts up to eight hours in a closed kamado. I haven’t cooked on any of those three.
Common questions
Which is the best charcoal for a barbecue?
Of the bags I’ve cooked on, Big K’s standard Real Lumpwood is the best. It’s much better than the B&Q Restaurant Lumpwood I use most weeks, and it’s £14 for 10kg direct from Big K. For a long low-and-slow cook, Big K rates its Professional Marabu at up to three hours a load, though I haven’t cooked on it.
Charcoal briquettes vs lumpwood: which should I use?
Lumpwood. I don’t cook on briquettes. They’re handy if you just want an instant-light bag on somebody else’s barbecue.
Is B&Q’s charcoal any good?
The 12kg Restaurant Lumpwood is okay, and it’s what I cook on most weeks, but Big K’s standard bag is much better. Diall, B&Q’s own 5kg bag, is rubbish. Don’t buy it.
Sources and how I checked
My own cooks on Big K Real Lumpwood, B&Q Restaurant Lumpwood, Diall and Fuel Express. Big K: Real Lumpwood and Professional Marabu, prices, cooking times and delivery charge. B&Q: Restaurant Lumpwood 12kg, price and stock. Big Green Egg UK: Oak & Hickory Lump 8kg, price, cooking times and owner reviews. Globaltic: Birch Lumpwood 10kg, price and burn times. Oxford Charcoal: Best of British 5kg. Green Olive Firewood: Premium Gourmet 2 × 5kg. Owner reviews on Trustpilot (Big K, Globaltic, Green Olive) and Amazon UK (Big K Real Lumpwood 10kg, Fuel Express, Weber briquettes). Every price checked on 21 October 2026.
How I got this, and what I’ve spent
I bought every bag of charcoal I’ve cooked on. Nobody sent me any, and nobody at Big K, B&Q or the other makers has seen this before you have. None of the links here are affiliate links, so nothing here earns a commission. My Big Green Egg Large was a Christmas present from my sister Kate.
Final verdict
If you want a good everyday charcoal, buy Big K’s standard Real Lumpwood. It’s much better than the B&Q bag I use most weeks. For long low-and-slow cooks, look at Big K’s Marabu. And if you’re in B&Q, don’t pick up the Diall by mistake.