The Harz Mountains are Germany’s rugged highlands, home to a historic charcoal tradition and a biodiversity hotspot. In recent news, Tatara tradition yields kera iron bloom as Immo Feldmer and his brother Sascha sustain Harzköhlei Stemberghaus’s charcoal burning from beech using earthen mounds.
A tatara furnace yields a 1-meter, 120-kilogram kera bloom after 24 hours of labor, containing tamahagane steel prized by swordsmiths. The result is assessed by subjective judgments of flame color and air flow. The process demands patience as the bloom cools and is sorted into grades.