Below is a table of common woods and their characteristics relevant to making barbecue.

• Heat Content - measures the embodied energy.  Higher is better.
• Sparks Produced - self-explanatory.  "Few" indicates low pitch content.
• Heavy Smoke - measures the thickness of smoke upon heating.  "No" is best.
• Coaling Quality - measures propensity to form durable coals.  We want "Excellent."