| Is Wu Yi Tea Just Another Fad? |
| Articles - Lifestyle |
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I was just getting used to green tea when I realized I was drinking "last-year's tea." This year's "it" tea (if there is such a thing!) is wu yi tea. So, are we making a mistake replacing green tea with this new "better" tea? Is wu yi tea just a fad?
I was just getting used to green tea when I realized I was drinking "last-year's tea." This year's "it" tea (if there is such a thing!) is wu yi tea. So, are we making a mistake replacing green tea with this new "better" tea? Is wu yi tea just a fad? It's not a "fad" in Eastern culture. Asians have been drinking wu yi tea for thousands of years and just like green tea, wu yi tea has been used in Chinese medicine and for traditional purposes for centuries. In the West, green tea became popular when science discovered all of its amazing health benefits. It contains massive amounts of phytochemicals. These protect the plant from free radical damage and disease. When we drink green tea or wu yi tea, we reap these protective benefits. This slows the aging process and helps prevent diseases like heart disease or cancer. As well, the phytochemicals in tea are special because they also help burn more fat, boosting weight loss efforts. This is especially effective when people drink tea throughout the day and exercise regularly. The tea helps you burn fat for a longer time after exercise is complete. The problem has been convincing black tea connoisseurs to make the switch. The flavor of green tea is often deemed grassy by people who are more familiar with the taste of black tea. For this reason, wu yi tea may be the better choice. To understand this, let's talk about the various teas: white tea, green tea, oolong tea and black tea. White tea is only harvested a few times a year when the buds have yet to open on the tea plant (Camellia sinensis). Green tea is picked at a later stage, dried, rolled and steamed to prevent oxidation. Though this preserves more nutrients, it's also the reason green tea has a grassy flavor. Oolong tea is in the middle in terms of processing. It is partly oxidized, but not as much as black tea. Black tea has fewer nutrients left after processing than green tea or oolong tea. Oolong tea has more nutritional value than black tea, yet the partial oxidation gives it a flavor more akin to black tea. The best of both worlds! Wu yi tea is oolong tea. It is named wu yi because the tea grows in the Wu Yi Mountains in northeastern China. The climate is perfect for growing tea. In fact, wu yi tea was once reserved for dignitaries. Now, wu yi tea is gaining popularity in Western culture. Though it's not highly available at grocery stores, you can find a plethora on the internet. Though green tea has more nutrients, more people may enjoy the flavor of wu yi tea, which still has more nutrients than black tea. As well, some of the wu yi teas have also had wu yi tea extract added to the tea making it more powerful than regular green tea. |