Oolong bubble tea is a milk tea with roots in Asia, specifically Taiwan. Oolong bubble tea is a delicate floral-flavored tea mixed with creamy milk. The taste it produces is one of a kind! Oolong milk tea turns into bubble tea when you add brown sugar syrup and tapioca pearls to the mix. Yum! Tapioca pearls
have a bubble-like nature and are really chewy.
Oolong tea comes in several types. Each of them has something to offer consumers. Some will have a fragrant flavor. Alternatively, others contribute a rich, earthy taste to the tea.
You can use whichever you choose. It all depends on the outcome you are looking for in your milk tea. To prepare Oolong bubble tea, you first have to prepare Oolong tea. You can serve the tea either cold or hot. Oolong bubble tea is a perfect companion for those stressful days we all hate so much.
Is Oolong Bubble Tea the Same as Black Tea?
Oolong bubble tea is neither black nor green tea. So unique, huh? Oolong bubble tea has created its own category and is doing quite well, I must say! But it is possible for an Oolong tea bag to have properties similar to those of black tea. Conversely, it is also possible for an Oolong tea bag to have more green properties.
It all depends on the method of production. If the tea leaves are properly oxidized, they will have a dark, rich color. The malty aroma you get when you consume black tea results from oxidation.
On the other hand, green tea is barely oxidized. Hence the green nature of the tea. It keeps some of its original green leaf color and freshness.
Although Oolong tea falls between black and green tea, it is also partially oxidized. However, it is always more oxidized than green tea and less oxidized than black tea; Oolong tea is always in the middle. The oxidation levels of Oolong tea can vary between 8 and 80 percent. It depends on who prepares them, hence the different flavor profiles. Some variations of Oolong tea bags lean towards a fresh green nature. Others lean toward a black tea profile.
This feature is crucial in Oolong tea production because it offers an all-inclusive nature. Oolong tea is popular among green and black tea lovers because it can lean toward any tea profile. Hence, lovers of green tea can get Oolong tea with a green tea profile, and lovers of black tea can get Oolong tea with black tea flavors.
What Does Oolong Bubble Tea Taste Like?
If you are a fan of Oolong milk tea, you will quickly notice that the tea has a unique flavor profile. However, the flavor profile varies depending on the variety you choose. Bubble teas have a floral aroma. Moreover, they have a slightly sweet and fruity taste. They also have a hint of nuttiness.
The flavor of the Oolong milk tea you get totally depends on the variety you choose. The various flavors depend on a few factors.
Some of those factors include the method of production, the way the leaves are grown, and the harvest time.
But generally, Oolong milk tea is renowned for its middle-like taste. It is not entirely green tea, but it is not black tea. It has rich vegetal hints of green tea but compliments the malty nature of black tea.
This flavor mixture creates something different. It is little wonder why people love bubble tea so much, aside from its ability to help the consumer lose weight, of course.
The flavors I listed above are the more general Oolong tea flavors. However, there is another flavor that just might catch your attention. Some Oolong teas have a roasted or caramel-like flavor. This flavor variation comes about due to the temperature used while preparing the tea. The harvest season also has something to do with the distinctive nature of the flavor.
Hence, I highly recommend you watch your production method if you are looking for a particular flavor. Each step you take while brewing your tea determines the flavor you will get at the end of the process.
Taste Varieties
Ensure you follow the recommended guidelines to the letter for each variety you are brewing. As I have mentioned before, Oolong tea comes in many flavors. Below is a quick highlight of each flavor you should expect from your tea bags:
- Fruity: This flavor is one of the most common Oolong teas on the market. The flavor is generally fruity. It has a hint of apricot, plum, or peach. You can even get hints of papaya or pineapple if you are lucky.
- Floral: This flavor is also one of the most common on the market. It comes with an aroma and taste that are so distinct that you just cannot miss them. It also comes with notes of orchids, roses, or jasmine. You can also get hints of other flowers.
- Nutty: Creamy Oolong milk tea can also have a nutty flavor with hints of hazelnut, peanut, or almond.
- Roasted: One of the most exquisite bubble tea flavors, the roasted flavor has a caramel-like flavor to it. This flavor comes as a result of the production process.
- Creamy: Some Oolong tea bags are naturally creamy, even without adding milk. It usually has a smooth texture that goes nicely with the flavor.
- Honey: This flavor of Oolong tea has a natural sweetness, almost like honey.
- Vegetal: If you are a fan of tea and a vegetarian, you will absolutely love this flavor. It comes with notes of spinach, kale, or several other green vegetables.
Health Benefits of Oolong Milk Tea
Creamy Oolong milk tea is known in the West primarily for its weight-loss benefits. Oolong milk tea can increase metabolism in your body. Hence, it helps you burn food and fat faster. Fats that would have accumulated in your body get turned into energy a lot faster, thus depleting your fat reserves.
Additionally, suppose you struggle with cravings. In that case, Oolong milk tea has appetite-suppressing properties. Hence, you can easily abstain from eating foods that have a high calorie content.
Anxiety Relief
Moreover, Oolong milk tea is a perfect choice if you want to relieve yourself of anxiety and stress. Traditional Chinese tea contains an amino acid that causes you to relax. It triggers certain hormones in your brain that improve your mood during the day. Thus, if you are experiencing one of those days, Oolong milk tea can do the trick.
Improves Heart Health
Another crucial benefit that oolong tea has is its ability to improve heart health. Oolong tea has antioxidants that are responsible for reducing cholesterol levels in your blood. Thus, if you drink bubble tea daily, you are less likely to develop a heart problem.
Anti-inflammatory Properties
Oolong tea also has anti-inflammatory properties. These are fundamental because they increase your odds against certain types of cancer. Additionally, Oolong tea improves the texture of your skin; the antioxidants present in the tea protect your skin from ultraviolet rays. Furthermore, the tea also improves your skin’s elasticity. This feature reduces wrinkles on your lovely skin.
Dentition Improvement
If you think those are a lot of health benefits, we are just getting started! Oolong tea also improves your dentition. Consuming Oolong tea can positively impact your dental health due to the presence of fluoride in the tea. Fluoride is beneficial because it has anti-plaque and anti-bacterial properties that are critical to keeping your teeth clean and healthy.
Fluoride helps you fight off bacterial growth and plaque formation on your teeth. These two are the single most dangerous threats to tooth health. They quickly accelerate tooth decay and gum disease. Consuming Oolong milk tea significantly increases your chances of having healthy teeth and gums.
Improves Digestion
As if that were not enough, Oolong milk tea also improves digestion in your body. Oolong tea does this by stimulating the production of digestive enzymes in your body. This stimulation helps you digest food faster and more efficiently. It also reduces the chances of your body storing food in its fat reserves. Oolong tea also provides relief from things like bloating and indigestion. Traditional tea does this by improving your bowel movements.
Improves Immune System
Oolong tea contains antioxidants that are essential to improving your body’s immune system. It helps protect your body against infections and illnesses that would otherwise throw you off balance. These antioxidants also reduce the number of harmful radicals in your body by neutralizing them. This neutralization reduces your risk of chronic diseases and improves your overall health.
Free radicals are notorious for causing damage to cells. Hence, increasing aging and diseases: you can reduce aging in your body by consuming Oolong tea. If you are sensitive to insulin, Oolong tea might just be what you need. Consuming Oolong tea helps reduce insulin sensitivity in the body. Additionally, it also reduces blood sugar levels in diabetic patients.
The tea contains properties that are useful in reducing blood sugar levels and is a crucial addition to your diabetes management plan.
What Is the Most Popular Oolong Tea?
Oolong tea has gained a lot of popularity over the years due to its variety. The tea is all-inclusive. And you are bound to find something within this tea category that works for you. The tea is popular among green and black tea lovers because it incorporates the benefits and tastes of both tea types into one. However, it maintains its unique taste, making it phenomenal.
If you are looking for the most popular Oolong tea flavors, relax. Read the following sections for some exciting selections:
- Milk Oolong Tea: Milk Oolong tea is perhaps the most popular variety of Oolong tea. The tea is incredibly sweet and creamy. It is a legend among Oolong tea varieties. Although adding milk has something to do with the creamy nature, it is all in the production process. Producers of milk Oolong tea use a unique production process. The result is a fresh, floral, and slightly grassy Oolong tea with a hint of sweet cream and milk. If produced right, this tea has no match in the entire category, hence its popularity.
- Dong Ding Oolong: This Oolong tea is another variety within the category. It is a very popular Taiwanese tea that is slightly oxidized. Although this tea is famous, the growing conditions must be just right. It only grows 12,000 inches above the ground. This tea has a potent, fresh taste you can easily recognize. Additionally, it has a robust, sweet aftertaste that is delectable and soothing. Oolong milk tea is healthy; the benefits are numerous, and you can enjoy it with some sweetnessr.
- Phoenix tea: Phoenix Oolong tea is one of the best Oolong tea varieties. One amazing thing with this variety of Oolong tea is you will not get a single-tasting tea. The tea is harvested from different bush plants. Each bush plant has a different flavor. The plant leaves have a curly nature that slowly unravels while you steep them.
You can get most of these Oolong tea varieties from bubble tea shops in the US. Hence, do not starve your body of this tea’s much-needed benefits.
Conclusion
Oolong milk tea is not just a delicious tea. However, it also has a lot of health benefits. You stand to enjoy all these benefits if you consume Oolong milk tea daily. Oolong tea is linked to protection from cancer, dental problems, and diabetes. Additionally, drinking a cup of Oolong tea a day can improve your bowel movements. This feature reduces symptoms like bloating and stomach aches.
Oolong tea also reduces blood sugar and cholesterol levels in the blood, hence improving your overall health.
It also reduces the presence of free radicals in your body by neutralizing them. Hence, it protects your cells from the dangers of free radicals, which are also notorious for causing aging. Thus, by reducing free radicals, you reduce the effects aging has on your body.
If you have not tried Oolong tea, I suggest you try a cup today. It does not only come in several varieties but also has different flavors you can enjoy. Additionally, you can add milk to your tea and enjoy it with some ice cubes.