In the Japanese Heian Period (AD 800), charcoal making skills was introduced from China into Japan. Then, it was common for Japanese charcoal makers to name their charcoal using city names, like Kinanso, Shingu, Tanabe, followed by “tan”.

In the early modern period, Chado (the Way of Tea) took on greater importance, and this led to the making of an even finer variety of charcoal for the tea ceremony.

Around AD 1700, a Japanese charcoal seller in Tanabe city used an abbreviation of his name and sold charcoal under the name “Bincho-tan”. Due to its special properties and many uses, sales of Binchotan soared, and it was crowned "King of Charcoal". Since then, the term “Binchotan” has been synonymous with charcoal manufactured in the highest quality.

Binchotan is made by charring hard wood at a relatively low temperature for some time, then, near the end of the process, raising the kiln temperature to about 1200ºC to make the wood red-hot. The charcoal is then pulled out and quickly smothered with a covering of powder to cool it. The powder is a moist mixture of earth, sand and ash, and gives a whitish hue to the charcoal surface. This explains the name "white charcoal."

The rapid rise in temperature, followed by a rapid cooling, incinerates the bark and leaves a smooth, hard surface. If you strike it, you'll hear a clear, metallic sound.