Oolong tea is a drink that’s come to be known far and wide in pop culture, from TV to movies and back again. Despite the fact that it’s commonly come to be known because of its unusual name, there is a wealth of wonderful information to learn about below the surface. Without further ado, let’s talk about oolong tea!
What is it?
Oolong tea is a type of tea that is partly oxidized. As with all types of tea, it comes from the same plant as black tea, but it is oxidized by a different amount.
The process of making oolong tea includes withering the leaves themselves under the sun before they are individually curled and twisted. The majority of different oolong blends contain tea from a basic tea tree, as well as some leaves from cultivars of that classic tea. The blend of different tea leaves results in a unique and complex flavor that’s selected for its taste.
How much caffeine does oolong tea contain?
This is a bit of a tricky one to answer since the number of different types of tea in oolong tea varies from blend to blend. With that said, though, the range can be said to be roughly between thirty-seven and fifty-five milligrams per cup of tea.
For comparison’s sake, this really isn’t very much at all. An average mug of coffee contains around a hundred milligrams of caffeine, and the average cup of black tea contains around eighty milligrams.
If you’re concerned about the amount of caffeine that you might be drinking in your tea, we would recommend trying out a few different blends and seeing how they affect you. It’s worth considering that fruit and herbal teas don’t have any caffeine in them, which may be ideal. If you’re avoiding caffeine but you’re also looking to get some tea-like notes, we would recommend rooibos. It’s a caffeine-free alternative to tea, and it tasted pleasantly herbal and tea-like.
Is oolong tea black or green tea?
Well, oolong tea isn’t really black tea or green tea. The reason for this is that all different types of tea come from the same plant – the tea tree. After being harvested, the leaves are subjected to different levels of oxidation depending upon the flavor notes that the farmer is aiming to achieve.
Black tea is the most oxidized of all types of tea, and green tea is somewhere in the middle. Oolong is typically somewhere between those two types of tea. Often, different teas are harvested, oxidated, and processed all to be added to the same pot of oolong tea. This means that any oolong tea may have more or fewer green or black tea notes in the final cup. Whatever the content, oolong tea isn’t technically black or green tea.
How many types of oolong tea are there?
That’s a big question, and there are a couple of ways to answer it. There are a number of different types of tea trees, all of which can be processed into oolong over time. However, there are only two types of oolong tea that can be produced through a manufacturing process.
The first is small, wrap-curled oolong tea. These are indicated by the fact that the tea leaves themselves are small and wrapped around in the package when you buy them. A good example of this type of tea is Tieguanyin oolong tea.
The other type is a much more widely-produced style of oolong tea, the long, strip-style curly oolongs. These are much the same in terms of taste and overall flavor, but the difference generally comes from the fact that longer leaves don’t have as much room to move around in the brewing vessel. This can impact the flavor, post-brew.
Is it good to drink oolong tea every day?
Simply put, yes! It is certainly safe to drink oolong tea every day, though drinking it in reasonable quantities is the key. The most dangerous compound in oolong tea is caffeine, which is exceptionally difficult to overdose on. With that said, though, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) defines a safe amount of caffeine to be anything up to 400mg of caffeine per day.
This is roughly equivalent to between 1.4 and 2.4 litres of tea or, in more relatable terms, six to ten cups. This is a safe amount of oolong tea to drink and, to be perfectly honest, we’d be astonished if someone was able to drink more than ten cups of tea in a day – that’s a lot of tea!
It’s also worth briefly mentioning that pregnant people are advised to have a maximum of 200mg of coffee per day. This is around three to five cups of oolong tea, which is still quite a lot of tea to get through before it becomes unsafe for either the parent or the baby.
Health benefits of oolong tea
There are a number of wonderful benefits to drinking oolong tea, which is all the more reason to drink it, on top of the delicious flavor!
First of all, there are plenty of great nutrients in oolong, from vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to beneficial tea polyphenol antioxidants. These nutrients have been shown to have a positive effect on relaxation and cognitive performance. Namely, L-theanine has those final benefits – and oolong tea is bursting with it!
Also, oolong tea contains a lot of polyphenol antioxidants. These may help to maintain someone’s normal blood sugar levels, and also decrease the overall risk of developing type two diabetes. However, further research is needed before a definitive conclusion can be drawn.
Finally, we want to quickly mention that some research has shown that oolong tea can decrease the risk of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. Again, more research is needed, but this is an exciting development!
We hope that we’ve been able to teach you at least one new thing about oolong tea during the course of this article! We really enjoy tea, and it’s always nice to have an excuse to talk about it. Make sure to try some oolong tea soon!