In the Chinese language, oolong means “black dragon”. It is actually a tea plant. When you pour hot water over oolong leaves, the “black dragon” wakes up, so to speak, and, once properly brewed, gives you oolong tea. It tastes more like green tea than like black tea, although it has a delicate flavor of its own. The most common brew has an initial strong and bitter taste, but as you finish drinking, it leaves a kind of faint, sweet taste in the end. Most Chinese restaurants serve oolong tea along with Chinese food.
There are many varieties of oolong tea, classified according to the areas where the oolong herbs are grown and come from as well as the quality of the leaves. The best oolong teas come from the Fújià n province in China as well as from some of the heights of Taiwan, where it is grown under expert supervision and care. With their distinctive aroma and taste, most highly prized oolong teas carry an exorbitant price tag. Oolong teas grown in Taiwan have a widely varying price range from the common varieties being available for a few tens of dollars per kilogram to superior varieties costing more than a few hundred dollars. The cost of the coveted and most-prized “champion tea” may not be affordable. Its price may run into some thousands of dollars. Tea connoisseurs classify oolong teas according to their aroma, initial taste and aftertaste (these generally depend, as you might guess, upon the reputation of the grower), and the superior areas from which they come as well as the type and quality of processing techniques followed.
Processing of oolong tea involves several steps, starting with sun drying or air-drying the tea leaves to get rid of some moisture. To help oxidation, the edges of the leaves are bruised, and by way of preparing for the next processing stage, they are rubbed, after which further oxidation is not allowed. The leaves are dried again, this time in a large pan over heat and stirred manually. Machinery also can be used for drying at this stage. Then follows cooling, after which the leaves are dried again to remove any excess moisture. Grading the oolong tea, as per quality, and packaging are the final stages of processing.
To brew oolong tea, take about a couple of teaspoons of leaves per cup and steep them in hot water (its temperature being about 180 degrees F to 190 degrees F) for about 3 or 4 minutes. Don’t use boiling water. Or, don’t boil the leaves in water. Otherwise, the taste of the tea will be ruined.
Oolong (also known as Wu - Long) tea possesses weight-loss properties, due to which it has become quite popular these days, besides having several medicinal properties beneficial to human health, as the belief among oolong loyalists goes. Research reports say that it promotes metabolism and inhibits the weight-increasing tendency of carbohydrates, effecting weight reduction thereby. Scientists of Tokushima School of Medicine, Japan University, have found in their study that oolong tea in comparison with green tea of the same amount burns 157% more fat. Oolong tea improves your immune system, adds a glow to your skin, strengthens teeth and makes them healthy, and promotes your mental health, as well.
For overall good health and, more importantly, for weight-loss, drink a couple of cups of oolong tea every morning and evening. You will be happily surprised with the positive results.
