New To Oolong Tea? Learn The Basic Information Inside

By David Xiaottout


I think you've heard oolong tea before, through a good friend, Television show or maybe magazine, and you may somehow know that oolong tea could benefit your well-being; however, you are not that positive with it. Thus, if you're a newcomer to oolong, this article is for you.

So What Is Oolong Tea? 

Tea is getting a great deal of traction nowadays beyond China, especially in western nations. It includes 3 main different types: green tea, oolong tea, and black tea. And oolong tea is really unique, which is actually semi-fermented tea.Having said that, you might ask what is semi-fermented tea? Given that the manufacturing approach is quite sophisticated, I'd like to put in a way that you'll be able to understand very easily (I will discuss much more information later below):

You must try green tea before, which is intensely well-liked worldwide, perfect for weight loss. The green tea will never be fermented in any way, which implies right after the tea leaves are reaped, they will be roasted right away, retaining the ingredients of tea as it is.

The black tea is actually quite the contrary, totally fermented, which means that chemical changes have taken place for an extended period, then the fundamental compounds have been changed into another form, so the taste of black tea is totally different to green tea. But, the oolong tea doesn't go that far. It's always somewhere between green tea and black tea, obtaining highly distinct flavors and a few some other health benefits.

Etymology for Oolong

This Chinese tea was firstly known as Beiyuan Tea, which was a tribute tea. What was a tribute tea? This was a specific tea given to royal families or an emperor, like a tribute to them.In fact, Beiyuan is a place at the north area of Fujian province (home of oolong tea). Then the tea farmers of An-xi county, south part of Fujian, considerably improved the traditional tea making methods; therefore, the Beiyuan Tea was evolved into a whole new category. It is known that the name of first person that by accident obtained this specific tea producing skill was pronounced as "oolong", and so in order to memorize him, this later well-known tea was called "oolong tea".

In several places, oolong tea is also translated as "Wu long", the identical enunciation, having said that I have to explain here because it confuses many people. The explanation for the various spelling is because of 2 different spelling methods: the Wades Giles system gives us Oolong, and the Chinese Pinyin method gives us Wu long. But sometimes(rarely), oolong tea has some other names, such as brown tea(named after its color) and rock tea(some varieties of premium oolong tea actually grow on the rocks/cliffs).

So, when you read here, you might get the idea of oolong tea now. But I am not going to stop here. Like I said, I'll try to uncover the manufacturing process, which can be more interesting and educational, allowing you to understand this tea far more deeply. So, bear with me.

The Production Process In Detail 

This quite complex producing approach has 7 key steps.

1. The Withering Step - Leaves are unfolded, normally under the sun, with the purpose of removing dampness, softening the leaf cell wall and starting natural enzymatic fermentation.

2. The Turning Over Step - Specifically designed equipment is widely used to break down the leaves, improving oxidation and helping the chemical components, within the stems, mix with the leaves. This step contributes much towards the balance of quality in the finished product.

3. The Oxidization Step - The leaves are now given time to rest as organic fermentation process keeps going. Throughout this step, leaves will change color, usually to darker green as the cell structure further disintegrates. And now the tea is increasing an intensive flavor.

4. The Kill Green Step - This step will stop the natural fermentation process while allowing the leaves unchanged.

5. The Rolling Step - To further boost the amazing taste and give shape to the leaves, hot or cold rollers (occasionally both) are employed to disintegrate the leaves.

6. The Drying Step - Techniques including hot air, sun or pan drying are utilized at this point. The flavor and fragrance are further increased, although the step also serves the purpose of avoiding the growth of mildew and eliminating any grassy taste that remains.

7. The Firing Step - At last, to give the needed smoky taste the leaves is going to be roasted.

Locations Oolong Tea Grows 

Oolong tea grows mostly in northern Fujian Province, southern Fujian Province (the ideal place manufacturing one of the best oolong, i.e. An-xi county), Canton and Taiwan. The 4 main regions produce the most of oolong tea in China, if not in the world.

More than that, oolong tea has been found transplanted outside of China, which includes Thailand and India.

How Can You Reap The Benefits Of Having Oolong Tea? 

You may be bored with water (just like me), perhaps you are tired with green tea (like me before tired of water) or other different kinds of tea, perhaps your friend informed you that oolong tea could be very beneficial to your well-being because of the excessive poly-phenol antioxidant properties; even so you may still have concerns in mind, that's OK.

You shouldn't push yourself, just click the links in the bottom of the article, go right into the topic which making you wonder if you need to give oolong tea a shot or not. For the moment, I will just list the benefits here.

-Promote Fat Loss

-Deal with the Signs of Getting old

-Minimize Possibility of Heart Disease

-Protect against Cancer

-Control Diabetes

-Relieve Emotional tension

-Alleviate Ache

-Help reduces Cholesterol



About the Author:

So, there it is. Now, you may get the picture of what is oolong tea. And in case you want to learn more about oolong tea benefits, click the links here or visit our website of Oolong Tea Community. Have an amazing day and happy drinking!
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