Sunday, March 1, 2009

Is Wu Long or Wu Yi Tea YOUR Fountain of Youth?

By Caitlin Ryan

Finally catching on in the Western world, wu yi and wu long tea have been drunk for centuries in China and other Asian regions. Your answer to beautiful skin may be in this wonderfully flavored, relaxing tea. Tea has the ability to fight premature aging and improve overall health.

Wu long and wu yi tea varietals have become all the rage in both the weight loss and age-fighting arenas. Both teas are highly beneficial in improving overall health, but is one better than the other? To answer this question, let us look at the origin of tea.

Tea is born from Camellia sinensis, but then processed in different ways after harvest. Green tea, white tea, oolong tea and black tea are the main types of tea.

White tea and green tea are unfermented and considered highly nutritious, yet they have a bit of a bitter, grassy flavor. White tealeaves are picked prior to the opening of the bud making it a bit milder. Black tea is fermented for a long time and thus, it is not as nutritious as green tea; however, the flavor is more agreeable to our Western palates.

Oolong tea, on the other hand, is both pleasant tasting and highly nutritious. This is because they are fermented for a short time. There are two main varietals of oolong tea: wu long and wu yi. The wu long tealeaves are picked during the first growth cycle of the tea plant, which is then allowed to go through several more growth cycles.

For this reason, many tea connoisseurs believe that wu long tea is superior. The tea is higher in price (usually) then wu yi tea, but wu yi tea has the same age-fighting, health-boosting capabilities than wu long tea has, and the flavor differences are so subtle that most people would not really notice. I say, save a few dollars!

In a way, this is the same situation as purchasing a decent bottle of wine. Should you spend $50 on a bottle of Shiraz when you can spend $20 on a relatively equal quality wine? Maybe I would not spend just $5, but the $20 bottle is still lovely. The same goes for supermarket tea. You will not find wu yi tea amidst the bulk packs of black tea.

Both wu yi and wu long teas contain the highly effective antioxidants capable of helping you maintain youthful skin! This is because of their ability to fight free radicals and the damage they incur on your skin and overall health. In regard to your skin, these antioxidants can stave off wrinkles and improve the tone of your skin because they fight the free radicals that cause wrinkled, sagging, fragile skin.

Wu yi tea is also important for the regeneration of skin cells. Enjoying a mug of wu yi tea can calm your body. - 15252

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