Bamboo is the truly most versatile material. You can:

  • wear it (bamboo fibres and cloths)
  • walk on it (bamboo flooring)
  • cook with it (bamboo kitchenware)
  • chop on it (bamboo chopping boards)

It’s so versatile, we almost forget you can eat it too. Usually we just eat the shoots.

But trust the Japanese to come up with something wacky. They have turned bamboo charcoal into a fine powder, and used the ashes with anything from bread to tea!

It reminds me of the Chinese medium who burns paper amulets, mixes the ashes into a cup of tea, and gets the patient to gulp it down as a cure for his ailment.

A short video is available at this web site, but it doesn’t seem very reliable. So I’ve helpfully copied some screen shots for you. Enough said, I’ll let the pictures do the talking for me.

(Jacq, this one is for you!) :)

bamboo charcoal powder

1. Fine bamboo charcoal powder

bamboo charcoal powder in lovely boxes

2. It actually looks edible in these nice boxes.

bamboo charcoal salesman

More yummy charcoal goodies

bamboo charcoal salesman

bamboo charcoal salesman

3. Salesman explaining how it works above.

bamboo charcoal bread

4. Bamboo charcoal bread! Looks like chocolate. Perhaps they should rename it “bamboo chocolate powder” instead (remember, you heard it here first).

bamboo charcoal tea

5. Let’s end this with a nice cuppa bamboo charcoal tea!

Digg it if you like it!