My experience with oolong tea

Tea time.

This is a diet update of sorts. I'm still doing well concerning my weight and have not fallen off the wagon or anything like that. What I decided to do recently was add tea to my diet. Oolong tea, specifically.

While at the grocery store, I bought a box of Bigelow Oolong tea on a whim. At the time I knew absolutely nothing about the tea other than what it said on the box. I didn't want black tea because it gives me headaches. I didn't want green tea because I don't like the taste of it. The box said oolong tea was "smooth", so I thought okay, let's give this a try...

...and it was a good choice. This is a tea I can drink. It has a nice, even flavor and I definitely get along with it.

My reason for trying tea again is because I wanted to get off energy drinks.

My favorite energy drink is Monster Lo-Carb. I hate the fact I like this stuff for two reasons. First, it's wickedly expensive, and second, a man in his forties has absolutely no business gulping down energy drinks. None at all. Nobody over 40 should be drinking any kind of energy drink whatsoever because of the health risks involved. What health risks, you may ask? Increased risk of cardiac arrest, headaches, migraines, possible panic attacks and/or other anxiety problems, insomnia, high blood pressure and so on and so on. This is common knowledge.

So you can imagine how happy I was when I found I actually like oolong tea - but - there is a risk associated with it, and that's caffeine. Oolong tea is loaded with it. Fortunately, it's easy not to become overloaded. Only drink a maximum of 4 cups daily and no more. You drink more than that, and you're just asking for trouble.

What is oolong tea, exactly?

It's made from the Camellia sinensis plant, which is the same plant used to make green tea and black tea. The difference is how its fermented.

Black tea is fully fermented. Oolong tea is partially fermented. Green tea is not fermented. The partial fermentation of oolong suits me best both for taste and how my body reacts to it.

I still do sweeten my tea with sugar, but only 1 teaspoon per mug. With green or black, I used 2 heaping teaspoons of sugar just to make that stuff drinkable. Oolong hardly needs any sugar at all.

Is oolong tea good as an energy drink replacement?

Yes.

In all honesty, just about anything is better than an energy drink.

The only real problem with drinking oolong tea is that you're meant to drink it out of a teacup or mug in a stationary setting.

What I'm saying is that when you want an on-the-go drink, the best thing is still bottled water.

What are the "magical" benefits of oolong tea?

Supposedly - and I did not know any of this until after I started drinking this tea and not before - there are some fairly major health benefits to drinking oolong.

I'm going to list off some of these benefits and tell you if I experienced any.

Note: I don't guarantee any of this will happen to you. This is just my experience.

Stress reliever

I can say that I've been feeling calmer lately. I wasn't raging all over the place to begin with, but yeah, I can say I feel more relaxed in general.

Good for skin

A definite yes on this one. The overall tone of my skin looks better. Bear in mind I'm so white that I make sour cream look dark, so to see any even tone is great.

Good for hair

Another yes here. The color of my hair looks better, it shines more, grows faster and feels better. I especially noticed the color and shine after getting a haircut recently.

Antioxidants

This is usually touted as the thing that makes oolong so good for skin and hair. I guess I can say that yeah, it works.

I did not start drinking oolong for its antioxidants, but hey, I'm glad they're there.

Have you had oolong tea before?

You probably have and didn't even know it.

Chinese restaurants (the American kind) that serve tea will almost always be an oolong brew. If you've ever drank the tea at a Chinese place, you're most likely already familiar with this tea.

Am I a tea guy now?

Yes. Drinking energy drinks is just not smart for a guy my age (I am in my early 40s). Switching to oolong tea works for me.

Does this mean I'll be giving up coffee?

Yes and no.

I will be giving up coffee at home since I drank nothing but the cheap instant stuff anyway.

I won't be giving up the coffee I get when I'm out and about.

Every so often I will drop a couple of bucks on a medium-sized Dunkin' Donuts coffee just because I like their Arabica blend so much. If you were ever wondering which coffee costs me $2 that I mention on my thank you page, it's that one. Actually, it's more than $2 (between $2.03 and $2.15 depending on store), but whatever. It's a $2 coffee.

Yes, it is true that DD serves tea, but it's not oolong. They do have a green tea option, but as said above, I'm not a fan of green tea taste.

Oolong at home works for me and I'm sticking with it.