What is Oolong Tea?

There are six main categories of Chinese teas all made of the similar plant – Camilla Sinesis. Oolong represents a group of teas that are semi-fermented. (Green teas are unfermented and black teas are fully fermented.) Unlike green teas, most Oolong teas are made of mature tea leaves instead of young tip leaves. Teas in this category are manufactured quite differently with quite different end results, both in their appearance and taste. They are less sensitive to high water temperature during preparation compared to green teas. They also tend to have a fuller and richer body and could be used repeatedly a couple of times more (by adding hot water to it) after the first infusion.

There are many teas in this class, with the most famous two, both ranked in the top ten of Chinese teas, sold on our site: Tie Guan Yin (Iron Buddha) and Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe).

Some sites make exaggerated claims re this tea’s slimming abilities (ie “fat burning”). We understand Oolong teas to be similar to green & white teas with respect to the powerful antioxidants they posses. These reduce body mass by increasing body energy expenditure. There is a study with very small number claiming that it increases metabolism rate slightly more than green tea. The number of people being in the study was however so small (11 women), we believer it is dangerous to generalize the results until further study is done.

Please check our information pages for further info re this aspect and our recommendations on weight control:

Tea and weight