I recently did a side-by-side session with this tea and its electric-roasted counterpart from Old Ways Tea. Before trying either, I expected there to be a slight difference, but I figured the electric roast would be at least on par with the charcoal roast. Surprisingly, this turned out not to be the case at all. The electric roast was not bad tea, but it paled in comparison to the charcoal roasted tea.
The charcoal roast, unsurprisingly, had a much more charcoal-y and roasted aroma than the electric roast tea. In fact, the aroma was a little less interesting than that of the electric roast, with the roasting overwhelming a lot of the other notes present in the electric roast. Thus I was surprised when I took the first sip of the charcoal roast tea. It was immediately deeper tasting, with more fullness in the mouth and a much longer finish. The flavor transitioned during the sip from a roasty sweetness, with a bit of sharpness common to roasted teas, but was quickly followed by a sweet and juicy, fruity huigan which reminded me of plums or other dark/ripe stone fruits.
Really a delightful tea, and to my personal tastes, there is no reason to buy any more of the electric roast now that I’ve done a comparison between it and the charcoal roast Huang Guan Yin.
Flavors: Fruity, Roasted, Stonefruit, Sweet
