Why Should You Drink Oolong Tea?

Oolong tea is an ancient form of Chinese tea that is produced through a very unique process that involves withering the tea leaves under the rays of the sun, oxidation, curling and twisting it. This process is applicable for Oolong tea leaves and for some selected variants in it. The range of oxidation of this tea varies from 8% to 85%. But again it depends on different varieties and categories. The flavor is slightly darker and richer as the leaves undergo a partial process of photosynthesis.

Usually this Oolong tea would resemble like a small ball of green color that unfurls during infusing with hot water. These leaves were grown in the Wu Yi Mountains of China and also Tie Guan province of Southern Fiji. Taiwan also is a leading producer of Oolong tea especially the most fragrant dong ding and Pouchong varieties. These are very expensive types of this tea that are very popular among tea lovers. India, Vietnam and Darjeeling are also known for its Oolong tea leaves.

There are also various grades of Oolong tea that differs according to the extent to which it is being packed, stored and dried. Some varieties are kept for sale immediately soon after packing and drying it, while some type of Oolong tea is left aside to age to derive more complex flavors and are offered at great prices. There are also some leaves that are roasted after undergoing air dry process. They are packed after passing through another type of drying process to offer a lot of Oolong tea benefits. Most of the oolong the lovers love to experiment all the varieties of this tea as they are enchanted by the flavor of the tea.

When it comes to other types of Oolong tea there are many forms that the Oolong tea extract undergoes such as diet Oolong tea and Oolong tea capsules. The capsules are derived after drying it in a secure process and making it into a powder form which then gets stuffed into capsules which is also loaded with high benefits and medicinal properties. This is also available for sale over the counter or even through online shopping sites. These capsules are in high demand as there is no process of brewing or seeping as in tea and the benefit is achieved in a single capsule form that is easy for administration.

Oolong tea offers a wide range of benefits such as anti ageing and cancer fighting properties as it is fully packed with antioxidants such as theaflavin, thearubigin and catechins. It also has the goodness to reduce, wrinkles, fine lines and dark spots make skin free from all marks. A lot of attention is gained by pokka Oolong tea as it promotes in weight loss as it induces metabolism, burns fat cells and also cuts the accumulation of fat in the body. It is also rich in heart healing properties that reduce the risk of various diseases that are cardiovascular in nature.

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Honeybush tea : a Health Drink

 
Author: Will Bailey

During 17th century, some forest inhabitants found a plant which is having variety of health benefits and can act as medicine and natural herb. From that day onwards, people have started consuming that plant's flavour as part of their daily life. These flavours are widely called as honeybush tea and have some pleasant smell, taste and produced in many flavours.

Cyclopia Species
These plants are generally called as Cyclopia species and widely seen across South Africa. And hence South Africa remains the largest producer of Organic Honeybush teas till date. Due to increase in the consumption of honeybush teas, there are lot of interest with people to grow the plants. Japan, Switzerland and Germany are the large importer countries to buy honeybush tea, since they give importance to health drinks and sought after them.

Flavours of Honeybush
To know more about how they manufacture different flavours, we need to get the info about its processing. Growing of honeybush plants involves Harvesting, Cutting when they ripe enough to, Oxidation and then drying them. During fermentation (Oxidation), the chopped plant is processed, sweetened such that it can develop an unique flavour, colour and taste. When 2 or more species are blended together, more consistent and tasteful flavours can be produced.

For Green tea, the honeybush plant is skipped of the fermentation process and hence they achieve light green and don't have any sweet taste. It is too good for health conscious people, since highly antioxidant. There are many flavours in honeybush such as Vanilla honeybush, chocolate honeybush, green honeybush etc and many of these can be bought from markets of many developed countries.

Health benefits of honeybush
Pinitol present in the honeybush plants help the consumers as anti diabetic and expectorant. With regular and long time use, there is wide range of benefits that lies with the Honeybush tea consumption. It is researched and proven that it avoids breast and Uterus cancer, regulate menstruate cycles, lower cholesterol level in the body, reduce the fat etc. The honeybush tea acts as anti oxidant, anti spasmodic, anti fungus, antivirus etc. The consumption will reduce stress, depression, body odours and many others. Other honeybush benefits include yeast and microbial control for certain time period. With regular intake, we can control the bacteria and limit the growth of yeast. With green and black tea, the liver can be protected from many diseases.
Regular intake

So, with all these great health benefits and as opposed to other hazardous chemical teas, we can make the habit of consuming Honeybush teas every day. In my opinion, it is the most beneficial and yet underrated tea in the market. It is not only produced from leaves but also from stems and flowers of the shrub. So, this can be very delicious when prepared and at the same time extremely healthy. With less tannins and no caffeine, it equals the benefit of Rooibos tea and comes in different flavour including iced tea.

If you can't take the raw green tea, you can pick some mint or any other flavour of your choice. But what important is the daily and regular consumption as it is a natural treatment for insomnia .

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