Reply by WillAdams

I’ve always heard that it was dogwood that was best for charcoal for black powder—- Britain bought if from Prussia for musket use, but used locally grown willow and alder for cannon and blasting powder.

Wood should be ~10 years old, ~4 inches in diameter (~1 inch for dogwood), harvested in the spring for easy debarking, then dried to 10 percent moisture content before charring.