I don't have any studies to quote for you but if you didn't leech and your ash comes white and not black then you must not be fertilizing very heavily. If you are going light on the nutes then a slow dry may be enough get the job done. All this stuff is about removing the nutes and sugars from the plant. Also removing chlorophyll from the plant too though some people like that green taste. All of it is optional and a matter of taste. Probably the biggest eye opener for me was quitting smoking (cigs). There were so many things with food that I thought didn't make any difference the flavors were close and people couldn't REALLY tell. Boy was I wrong. About a year after quitting smoking you can taste and smell things you wouldn't have believed possible.
