Call it the in between tea. It has a distinct flavor, which happens to be unlike the green tea or black tea flavor. So that you understand a little deeper, you need to know that green tea is not fermented at all; while black tea is completely fermented. Oolong tea is rubbed by hand to enrich the yummy fruity flavor a special certain way then put with charcoals to dry more. In China, oolong tea has been used for a very long time as a medicine. It has been known for some time that tea helps to control obesity and this is common knowledge in China. Too bad that Americans don’t take more of a step in this direction.
You know that you can start this step by researching and trying a oolong tea. A Chinese classical pharmaceutical book called the Bencao Shiyi (The Compendium of Materia Medica) states, “Drinking tea for a long time will make one live long to stay in good shape without becoming too fat and too heavy.” That is wonderful. Oolong tea is used to sharpen thinking skills and improve mental alertness. It is also used to prevent cancer, tooth decay, osteoporosis, and heart disease. Some people use oolong tea to treat obesity, diabetes, “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis), high cholesterol, and skin allergies such as eczema; and to boost the immune system.
Oolong tea contains caffeine. Caffeine works by stimulating the central nervous system (CNS), heart, and muscles. Oolong tea also contains theophylline and theobromine, which are chemicals similar to caffeine. Oolong contains about 30 mg of caffeine per average serving. This is much less than coffee (80 mg), a little more than green tea (20 mg) and a little less than black tea (40 mg). With a tea that does so much for your health, it is a mystery why more people aren’t drinking it. Some oolong teas are also scented with jasmine by mixing the jasmine flowers with the leaves and infusing the scent of the flowers into the tea. “Oolong” tea translates to “Black Dragon” tea since it was dark, long, and curly.
