Dr. Blonder did a write up on this. The superior flavor is coming from combustion gases. He writes that “smoke” is a misnomer. Smoke is a combination of invisible combustion gases (the good stuff you are tasting that you can’t place) and visible gases which is actually a combination of water, soot, and creosote ( a little goes a long way). This is why people tell you to shoot for thin blue or even transparent smoke while cooking. The more invisible combustion gases you produce the better your food will taste. Wood produces the most, then charcoal, then gas, and electric produces nothing. I can attest that my food tastes better off my pellet than my charcoal but like you I’m not tasting more smoke. I believe Blonder’s write up is called “the science of smoke”.