I tried this both on its own and side-by-side with its charcoal-roasted counterpart from Old Ways Tea. The dry leaf smelled of honey, graham crackers, cinnamon, a light cocoa aroma and maybe some floral aroma mixed in there as well. It seems the electric roast has brought out a host of aromas without really contributing a heavily roasty note to the aroma. Once wet, a slightly toasty aroma comes through, along with a more distinct floral note and dark fruit, like prunes.
The flavor was smooth, tasting lightly of honey with a bit of a fruity finish. The finish wasn’t particularly long. Before trying the charcoal roast, I had no real problems with this, but seeing what the different roast did to the same leaves, I feel this one pales in comparison. It wins out on aroma, likely because the aroma isn’t muted/covered up by a pervasive charcoal roast smell.
That is the only reason I have this marked as “not recommended.” To me, it is worth the very tiny price increase to go for the charcoal roasted Huang Guan Yin from Old Ways. That said, I would encourage folks to pick up at least a bit of both roasts and do their own comparison.
