 |  |  | |
| Photo Album | |||
Origin of Oolong Tea / Wulong Tea / Wu-long Tea
It is said that Oolong tea first began to be produced at Mt. Wu Yi Shan in Fujian Province at the end of the Ming Dynasty about 400 years ago. Legend has it that the first cultivator of the tea was named Wu Liang. One day, Wu Liang went home after he had picked several pounds of mountain tea and caught a river deer. In the evening, he was busy with killing the river deer, and didn't have enough time to dry the green tea. The next day, he found the tea in the basket had fermented on the way back and after having been stored in the basket the whole night. He fried the tea at once. To his surprise, he found that the tea tasted very mellow, with no bitter and astringent taste. Soon Wu Liang taught his fellow villagers how to make the tea. Almost everyone in his village liked the fermented tea and they named it Wu Liang tea. In the south Fujian dialect, liang and long are two homophonic words. As time went by the tea was called Wulong tea by later generations in China, and Oolong in foreign countries.
Processing Oolong Tea / Wulong Tea / Wu-long Tea
After Oolong Tea / Wulong Tea / Wu-long Tea leaves are picked, they are left to wither for several hours (usually 8 - 24 hours). The next stage is rolling the tea leaves. Sometimes instead of rolling, shaking is done to bruise the outer edges of the leaves. After the leaves are rolled, oils from the leaves are brought to the surface. These aromatic oils aid in the oxidation process, which last for several hours. Once the veins become clear and the edges of the leaves become reddish brown, while the center remains green, the oxidation process is stopped by firing. For oolong tea, the leaves are heated at a higher temperature (higher than 200 degrees Fahrenheit) so that they can be kept longer, due to the lower resulting water content. After that, a final drying takes place. From there, it goes off to be sorted, graded, and packaged.
Health Benefits of Oolong Tea / Wulong Tea / Wu-long Tea
Made in the semi-fermented process, oolong tea contains a wide variety of polyphenolic compounds (commonly known as tannin) and these different nutrients are probably integrated to bring great benefits to our bodies. Oolong Tea / Wulong Tea / Wu-long Tea has much greater amount of polyphenolic compounds compared to green tea and black tea.
Polyphenol in oolong tea is effective in controlling obesity. Specifically speaking, it activates the enzyme that is responsible for dissolving triglyceride. It has been confirmed that the continuous intake of oolong tea contributes to enhancing the function of fat metabolism and to controlling obesity.
Polyphenol in oolong tea is also effective in reducing triglyceride and removing free radicals. Free radicals are responsible for adult diseases, such as arteriosclerosis and diabetes, as well as dark spots and wrinkles on the skin.
According to the Department of Dentistry, Osaka University, consuming polyphenol found in oolong tea contributes to the reduction of tooth decay significantly and is effective in preventing the occurrence of such decay. The Department of Dermatology, Shiga University of Medical Science carried out research into its effect on atopic dermatitis and discovered that 64% of sufferers of atopic dermatitis reported an improvement in their skin condition. This indicates that oolong tea is very effective regarding atopic dermatitis.
Of course, Oolong Tea / Wulong Tea / Wu-long Tea also have medical benefits that comes with any Chinese tea
Caffeine Content of Oolong Tea / Wulong Tea / Wu-long Tea
In general Oolong Tea / Wulong Tea / Wu-long Tea contains less Caffeine per serving than black tea, but more than green tea. Please note that in the table below, coffee refers to brewed coffee, not instant coffee. The Caffeine strength of instant coffee is only half that of brewed coffine, i.e. slightly stronger than black tea. Decaffeinated tea is widely available in the United States.
| Caffeine Content Comparisons | |||
| The following is the approximate caffeine content of various beverages | Milligrams of Caffeine | ||
| Item | Average per serving | Range | Per ounce* |
| Coffee (5 oz. cup) | 80 | 40 - 170 | 16.00 |
| Cola (12 oz. can) | 45 | 30 - 60 | 3.75 |
| Black Tea (one tea bag) | 40 | 25 - 110 | 5.00 |
| Oolong Tea (one tea bag) | 30 | 12 - 55 | 3.75 |
| Green Tea (one tea bag) | 20 | 8 - 30 | 2.50 |
| White Tea (one tea bag) | 15 | 6 - 25 | 2.00 |
| Decaf Tea (one tea bag) | 2 | 1 - 4 | 0.50 |
| Herbal Tea (one tea bag) | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| *Assumes 8 ounces of water per tea bag | |||
Famous of Oolong Tea / Wulong Tea / Wu-long Tea
References:
Drinking Gongfu Tea
Caffeine Information on Tea
The Oolong Tea
Tea Processing
What is Oolong Tea
Advantages of Tea Drinking
Tea for more than two
Oolong