Firefly's gorgeous leaves are a riot of color
A little while ago, I featured an interview with Nikhil Roychowdhury of The Simple Leaf, a Chicago-based tea company. along with a review of "Shanti", one of their green teas. This week I am reviewing The Simple Leaf's "Firefly", a black tea from Darjeeling.
Name: Firefly
Brand: The Simple Leaf
Type: Black tea (Darjeeling)
Form: Loose leaf
Cost: $13.95 for four ounces (sample sizes and quantity discounts available)
Review: I like Darjeelings, but regard them as fusspots. If prepared timidly, they can be remarkably ordinary. On the other hand, a ham-fisted approach can result in a bitter and disagreeable tea with enough astringency to give you a prune-like pucker for a week.
(As such, I advise careful preparation of any Darjeeling.)
Firefly is a case in point. The nose on the dry leaf (a beautiful melange of Autumn-tree colors ranging from yellow-gold to green to brown) is stunning: Even non tea-lovers sigh in delight when I give them a sniff. Fresh, intense, sweetly spicy with a hint of fruit, this is the sort of tea that you want to get infused, quickly!
The package instructions (6 ounces of water, 190F-208F steeping temperature, for 5 minutes) worked ok, but I didn't feel that the result reflected the tea's potential. So after a bit of experimentation, I came upon the following method for preparing Firefly:
- Heat 16 ounces of water to 190F
- Pour over 5 grams dry Firefly leaf
- Do NOT put a lid on the teapot or infuser: You don't want to "cook" these leaves
- Infuse for 6 minutes
- Enjoy!
The resulting brew is a gorgeous deep red-brown, with a nose of muscatel grape and a bit of very light maple sugar, both of which are present on the palate. Noticeably, but not offensively, astringent. Surprisingly robust and good for a second infusion.
Recommendation: This is a lovely tea that requires a bit of TLC to bring out its best qualities. Well-prepared, it should be enjoyed by most people, including tea newbies. Strangely tasty when served with Chinese food!
For more info: Visit The Simple Leaf online.
Comments
Hi, Lainie:
Funny, when you said on Twitter you were reviewing "Firefly," I first thought you had just watched the fairly brilliant but ill-fated TV series.
At any rate, I have a question about your process. You write, "Do NOT put a lid on the teapot or infuser: You don't want to 'cook' these leaves."
I always thought that lidding the cup or pot was to keep the essential aromas and so on locked inside the tea water, instead of allowing them to waft away in lovely-smelling clouds of steam.
I wonder if you tried steeping the leaves at a slightly lower temperature with the lid on might provide a superior result? Or do you think the tea (being a Darj., after all) has a tendency to be overpowering, so perhaps sacrificing some of the intensity of the aroma may actually improve the outcome?
Just wondering, and I'd be interested to hear more about this tea. Oh, and you should watch "Firefly," now, just to make sure you're not missing anything.
Love how you experiment w/ different brewing methods for tea to get the best flavor out. Very inspiring for a tea newbie like me.
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