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Oolong Tea - Refreshing and Healthy?

Tea has made a big comeback in our health conscious age. One particular tea that is enjoying a real renaissance these days is oolong tea. Here are a few facts about this tea and the health benefits many believe it contains.

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Oolong is sometimes referred to as brown tea. It serves as a compromise between green tea and black tea. All teas are derived from the same plant. Where the real difference comes in is how the tea is harvested and processed. Oolong tea comes about by allows the tea leaves to lay out and oxidize for a short period of time after the harvest. It is this process of oxidation that determines the color of the tea leaves. The longer that the leaves are allowed to oxidize, the darker the leaves will turn.

Catechin is one of the elements of tea that is impacted by the oxidation process. Essentially the longer the leaves are allowed to oxidize, the less catechins are contained in the finished product. Thus, catechin content is higher in green tea and less in black tea.

While it is true that oxidation reduces the level of carechin in oolong, it is also true that the same process actually increases the levels of theaflavins and ehearubigins in the tea. This means that oolong will actually contain a higher count of these elements than green tea. These particular antioxid
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