Does oolong tea have caffeine? It is a traditional Chinese tea that is their most popular drink.
Tea farmers use a plant called Camellia sinensis to make the drink. Green, black and white teas are also made from this plant.
Oolong tea is also known as Wu-Long tea. “Wu” means black and a “long” dragon. History of oolong name is unfamiliar and it’s unknown how this tea got his name.
The drink has many health benefits and comes in many flavors. You can drink the tea that has a sweet or fruity, wooden or thick taste.
It is semi-fermented and yes, it has caffeine. If you want to try oolong tea but you are sensitive to the stimulant; you can decrease its levels. Read on to know-how.
Wulong tea 101
It is about 500 years now that we know other teas except green tea when China invented a method of making Wulong teas. Because of a lot of manual labor we can say that this tea is literally hand-made.
Production
This is because the leaves are rolled after harvest by hand several times. They dry the leaves, heat them up again and roll.
Large, partially or fully spherical twisted leaves are characteristic of this type of tea. It has a clear, light-yellow to golden or brownish color.
Top oolong teas have “personalities”, which develop the whole universe of flavorings in hot water. They are already partially oxidized (semi-fermented) teas.
This is the tea that tends to be green or black tea regarding the type but they are always somewhere in between.
The color and taste
Their antioxidant effects indicate the color; the greener they are the more green tea healing powers they have. The best ones have the smell of fresh grass and have no bitter taste.
Formosa oolong tea
Former Formosa people (today’s Taiwan) make this drink perfectly with their technique of making oolong tea that is the hardest of all.
Local Wulong teas are the most valued and meet the highest prices because of people’s hard work.
The drink is still named “Formosa oolong.” The second best-known areas of these teas are Fujian province and Guangdong in Southeast China.
2 ways of preparation
Oolong teas can be prepared similarly to the black tea. Put a teaspoon of leaves in the cup and pour it with hot water. Allow it to stand for 4-5 minutes and then strain.
Another preparation technique is characterized only for oolong teas. Put two teaspoons or more leaves in the cup and pour hot water over the leaves. Allow it to stand for a minute and strain.
Repeat the process several times, always with freshly boiled water. In each process, you should extend the preparation time for a minute.
No matter how you prepare your drink; you should drink it pure without additives.
Positive impact on the health
This drink has a positive impact on health. It contains a number of antioxidants that actively influence your well-being.
There are catechins, polyphenols, vitamin C and E, selenium, amino acids and other medicinal substances in this tea.
With its regular drinking, you consume important substances. In addition, a cup of tea can make us enjoy and relax immensely. Wulong is perfect for enjoyment and taking care of our health at the same time.
Oolong for weight loss
It improves the body’s ability to burn fat by 12%. Scientists at the University of Tokushima found that people who drink Wu-Long improved the body’s ability to burn fat by 12% and increase daily calorie consumption by 3.4%.
More effective than green tea
It is 250% more effective in stimulating metabolism than green tea. Researchers at The Tokushima School of Medicine found that oolong increases energy levels by 10%, while ordinary green tea increases only by 4%.
Wu Long prevents obesity even when eating foods high in fat. Researchers at Ehime School of Medicine found that people who drink this tea reduces the absorption of lipids and increases the body’s ability to burn fat.
Helps with stress
It helps with stress too. Researchers at the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Fujian province have found that 4 cups of Wulong a day for a week significantly reduced stress levels – lower levels of cortisol (stress hormone) and increase alertness.
The fragrant aroma of the drink stimulates relaxation. Researchers at Yamaguchi University found that the smell of oolong stimulates GABA receptors in the brain.
GABA receptors emit substances that reduce muscle tension and anxiety.
Does oolong have caffeine?
Caffeine is one of the most important features of real tea. Each real tea has a different quantity of stimulant. The simple rule is: caffeine level increases with the fermentation process.
As I mentioned before, oolong tea is semi-fermented. Because it ferments longer than green tea and shorter than black tea, its caffeine levels are in between.
Caffeine levels
Do you still wonder how much caffeine is in this type of tea? Its caffeine levels vary in different types of tea and of the way they process it.
It has 35 – 45mg of the substance meanwhile black tea contains 50 – 75mg of caffeine and green tea between 15 – 20mg of caffeine.
How much caffeine is in one cup of oolong?
Many factors affect the amount of the invigorating substance in a cup of oolong and real teas in general.
Growing factor
Firstly, there are growth conditions which include the growing region, age of the plant, the leaves age, length of growing season, soil nutrient status and rainfall.
Preparation factor
As I mentioned before, further processing of tea also affects the amount of caffeine in the drink. Its amount also depends on the preparation method.
The water temperature and time of soaking leaves are critical here. However, it is either not insignificant if we use tea filters, strainers or if we soak loose leaves in the water.
The basic rule is that a larger quantity of tea, higher water temperature, and longer soaking the leaves increase its levels.
How to reduce the amount of caffeine in oolong?
I have a solution for all you tea lovers who are sensitive to caffeine intake. I recommend that you use fewer leaves, prepare it with warm water and soak the leaves for less time.
80% of caffeine is excreted in the first 30 seconds of soaking leaves, so if you follow the instructions you can avoid it completely.
Leave the tea in the hot water to stand for 45 seconds. Then pour away the fluid. Pour water on the leaves again and let it stand for one minute more and then drink it.
You can repeat this process several times to reduce caffeine intake even more.
However, if you want to avoid it completely, then you could choose one of the herbal teas. Stay away from real teas and mate which also contains caffeine.
Stay young with wu-long!
I have one reason more to show you that oolong tea is worth drinking. We live stressfully these days and the result is aging more rapidly.
Who doesn’t want to be more relaxed and look younger? I think we all want it. Free radicals in the body are the main cause of aging, including wrinkles, moles, and even cancer.
Wu-long significantly reduces the formation of free radicals in the body and slows the signs of aging.
A study that was made by Dr. Kenichi Yanagimoto from the University of California, Davis in 2004 showed that people who were drinking this tea daily had the reduction of free radicals by a staggering 50% – and it happened in just 15 days of regular tea consumption.
So, if you want to be healthy, and take care of your looks, you should try oolong (if you still didn’t) and see how it will change your life.
