Oolong Tea Vs. Green Tea

Without a doubt, tea is the most popular beverage in the world with the exception of water. Some people like to sip it hot whereas some like it chilled and iced. Whatever your preferences, the fact remains that the tea drinkers' club is growing day by day.

Some claim that drinking tea is good for the body, although studies have proved that its over-consumption can have adverse effects too. So are you in a dilemma to choose health over one cup of pure bliss? Don't work up your gray cells because you can focus on your health with the cups of tea rolling in too.

All you have to do is to choose a healthier form of tea, which can work wonders for your body. Our recommendation is either green or oolong tea.

For instance, black tea is made from highly fermented leaves. The tea leaves have a component called polyphenols which results in the formation of antioxidants in our body.

The more the leaves are fermented, the less amount of polyphenols are present in the leaves. Therefore, fermentation of tea leaves leads to depletion of polyphenols. However, green tea is first steamed and then fermented. Hence, retains the useful polyphenols and is beneficial to the body. This tea is also considered to have many medicinal properties.

Its most known and revered quality is stimulant effect. It contains a special component called Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which is polyphenol in nature and helps repair damaged cells in the body and fights the toxins. Japanese, known as fervent drinkers of green tea, carry less risk of heart attack compared to other tea drinkers according to a study.

The Chinese oolong tea is dark and has a woody flavor. Whereas in Taiwan, the tea variety differs depending on the climatic factors. They have fruity or floral aroma and a sweet taste. It is touted as the most popular variety with the tea connoisseurs.

Oolong tea is different from green and black tea in the respect that it is partially fermented and then dried. Oolong tea, which literally translates into the word 'black dragon', contains anti-aging properties and aids in weight loss.

Here are some points jotted down to help you understand the difference between both these types of tea.

● As green tea is the unoxidized form of tea leaves, it contains more polyphenols than oolong tea and hence, has more antioxidants.

● The fermentation process in the leaves of tea destroys the polyphenols and enhances the caffeine.

Black tea has the maximum content of caffeine than oolong, whereas green tea has the minimum.

● Oolong leaves are wilted during production than quickly fired for oxidation. Thus, the components like polyphenols are not completely damaged. On the contrary, green is processed without the wilting stage and only dried. Thus retaining most of its polyphenols.

● Fermentation is an important stage in the tea production, as it adds taste to the leaves. Black tea highly fermented is tastier than other teas including oolong tea. Green tea is known to be bitter in taste and have anti- aging along with anti-obesity properties. Though, oolong tea also has the same properties, it is less effective than green tea.

● Studies have found that oolong tea can lead to more weight loss than green tea, though the results of such studies are debatable.

● ECGC, an antioxidant rich polyphenol, is more in green tea than oolong tea. It has around 50% of ECGC content of green tea.

Green tea holds the edge over oolong tea regarding the medicinal properties. Whereas oolong tea clearly wins the race in the taste department. Though green tea may not be everyone's cup of tea, it surely can help you in reaping some health benefits. Those who don't prefer to sip bitter concoctions everyday can choose to brew a hot cup of oolong tea.

"If you are cold, tea will warm you; If you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you." - Gladstone (1865) Victorian British Prime Minister.