So not too long ago I caught sight of KURO-Bō Activated Charcoal on Facebook.  I was intrigued and made a mental note to give it a try as I am not 100% happy with my current set up.

They sent one to me to try and so before I go on, to get things clear: yes it was a gift, but if I did not genuinely like it, I wouldn’t be writing about it!

The stick of charcoal comes in a simple cardboard box with a cardboard info sleeve over it. Packaging is unavoidable here I suppose.  I do like that you are at least left with a decent plain box you could reuse for craft storage or similar at least, or recycle or compost. The stick is wrapped in a thin bag, which is made from wood pulp and 100% compostable

Firstly you need to activate the stick by boiling it in water for 10 minutes. You can then place the stick in a jug or jar of up to 2 litres of water for 6-8 hours or overnight. At first I thought that sounded like a schlep, but it is not at all!  When I wake up in the morning, I fill up two 1 litre consol jars with the purified water, refill the jar with 2 litres of water and in the evening I can repeat the process.  Obviously if I had an extra stick, I could do more at once.  But for a household of two adults, it actually works.

Once a month you need to boil the stick for 10 minutes. After 3 months you can use the stick in the fridge to absorb smells, help dehumidfy small areas, burn in your braai amongst other suggestions.

KURO-Bō is proven to remove significant levels of toxic heavy metals and chemicals like: lead, aluminium, copper, iron, chlorine, mercury and manganese, as well as E. coli (tested at 99 CFU per 100ml). Plus research also widely suggests that activated charcoal helps to remove many other impurities such as viruses, other bacteria, pesticides, cancer-related Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs), chemical run-off, pharmaceuticals and antibiotics, as well as ethylene, acetic acid vapour and hydrogen from the atmosphere. Apparently it can even absorb electromagnetic waves and radio frequencies! * taken from kuro-bo.com

I was slightly skeptical, but the water actually does taste clean and fresh; I love it!

KURO-Bō enriches water with many of the beneficial minerals that were originally stored in the living hardwood tree from which it was created. These include Magnesium and Calcium, and it neutralises pH as well. Binchotan is also known to releases Potassium and Phosphorus. * taken from kuro-bo.com

What I really love about it, is that it is such a flexible, transportable system.  If we go away, even camping, I can easily take a stick or two along with me and place it in whatever vessel I have. Likewise at home, I no longer need to have a bulky one-use only set up on my kitchen counter.

I don’t currently use those refill stores as the thought of having to go backwards and forwards, loading and unloading, and pay each time makes me feel unwell. I would literally run out of drinking water every week. Also I don’t like the storing water in plastic thing, especially if it’s hot. I also worry about how much of the minerals and goodness get removed from the water.

So unless you are super lucky and have your own sparkling borehole or built in water filtering system, then I highly recommend these.

You can buy Kuro-bo activated charcoal sticks from their website, a growing list of stores nationwide, or online from Faithful to Nature or Wellness Warehouse.  Remember when shopping online to place a note requesting minimal packaging, no plastic and no single use packaged samples!