I finally got around to using the Thaan charcoal that I got from EarthFare on sale during Memorial Day weekend. Purchased some beef ribs at my local butcher, which made for a great opportunity to try it out. I wanted to use it with the WSM to see how well it will hold temp for 5 hours. I used 8 of the bricks to start off with. I started them in the chimney for about 15 mins as I wanted to keep temp below 250. I initially used the water bowl sans water as a heat deflector which kept the temps at 225 with all vents wide open. After about three hours, I wrapped the ribs and removed the bowl all together. That got the temp up to 245 or so with almost no fluctuation in the temp and absolutely no vent adjustments.
As for the flavor, I have to say that it was excellent with a more subtle smokey flavor than I usually get out of the KBB briquettes. My wife and in laws all agreed that the food was delicious.
After the cook, only 50% of the charcoal was used up so I shut down the vents to see how well I could use the same charcoal for the next cook. I heard that you could dunk these in water and dry them out for the next cook, will have to give that a try next time to see how well that works.
I would recommend this charcoal but would have to say that I would never purchase it at full price.
A few pics: