Has your self-confidence taken a beating over repeated failed attempts to lose weight? Want to lose weight but can’t give up on food? Don’t worry; we will not ask you to do that. What The Country House suggests is that you add a cup of Oolong tea to your diet. Weight loss is virtually guaranteed with this ancient beverage. Some studied have found that even people on a high-fat diet can lose weight if they consume Oolong tea regularly.

Oolong tea possesses properties that can lower lipid and fight obesity. Oolong tea acts by accelerating metabolism, improving fat mobilization, preventing fat cell proliferation, and helping to maintain weight loss. It also helps to build immunity as it is loaded with more antioxidants than the green tea.

Read on to know why Oolong tea is best for weight loss, when to consume it, methods to prepare, and much more.

Why Oolong Tea For Weight Loss?

Oolong tea and green tea are both obtained from Camellia sinensis. But the difference between the two lies in the fact that oolong tea after being plucked is dried under the strong Sun is partially oxidized before being curled or twisted. Because of partial oxidation, unlike green tea, Oolong tea restores most of its antioxidant and lipid-lowering properties.The antioxidants help to scavenge the harmful free oxygen radicals. Free oxygen radicals can lead to weight gain by disrupting normal cell function and metabolism.

We also found some interesting scientific studies that were conducted to confirm the weight loss effects of Oolong tea. Japanese scientists put lab rats on a high-fat diet for 10 days and then administered Oolong tea. It was found that the caffeine in Oolong tea induced fat mobilization and increased pancreatic lipase (fat breakdown) activity. This led the scientists to believe that Oolong tea can be used as a drug for treating obesity and fatty liver (1). Another study by Chinese scientists on human subjects confirmed that Oolong tea helped fat metabolism and prevented obesity. In the next section, we discuss how oolong tea and weight loss are related.

How Oolong Tea Promotes Weight Loss?

• The polyphenols present in Oolong tea helps to induce weight loss and has anti-inflammatory effects.
• It boosts the metabolism by 10% and helps to burn tummy and upper arm fat. Oolong tea contains caffeine and Epigallo Catechins (EGCG) and both of these work together to accelerate fat oxidation. Oolong tea also regulates blood sugar levels, increases satiety, and blocks the absorption of carbohydrates and fats.
• Oolong tea helps to lower bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) in the body as compared to green or black tea by upregulating LDL receptors in the liver (5).
• Regular consumption of Oolong tea can also prevent diabetes by inhibiting alpha-glucosidase, the enzyme responsible for glucose absorption in the small intestine.
• Weight loss is all about expending the energy that you consume in the form of various foods. Oolong tea has been found to increase body’s energy expenditure further promoting weight loss.
• Oolong tea helps to increase the pH levels of the digestive tract, thereby promoting better digestion and preventing stomach ulcers, bacterial infection, and acid reflux. Besides, it is also a known fact that a healthy digestive system aids weight loss.
• Last but not the least, Oolong tea is a calorie-free beverage and has different flavors. Therefore, you can drink it without having to think of consuming calories.

The bottom line is that Oolong tea successfully nullifies all the weight gain inducing causes and all you have to do is consume it! So, let’s find out how to prepare Oolong tea to lose weight.

How To Prepare Oolong Tea For Weight Loss?

Simply put, it’s easy to make Oolong tea. You just have to buy a good quality Oolong tea. Here are few best methods of preparing it for weight loss.

1. Method 1 – Oolong Tea Leaves

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Oolong tea leaves
• 1 cup water

How To Prepare

1. Bring a cup of water to a boil.
2. Remove from the flame as soon as it boils.
3. Add Oolong tea leaves and put a lid on.
4. Let it steep for 5 minutes.
5. Strain the tea into a cup before drinking.

2. Method 2 – Oolong Tea And Lemon Juice

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Oolong tea leaves
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

How To Prepare

1. Add Oolong tea leaves into a cup of hot water.
2. Let it steep for 5-7 minutes.
3. Strain the tea and add lemon juice.
4. Stir well before drinking.

3. Method 3 – Oolong Tea & Green Tea

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Oolong tea leaves
• 1 teaspoon green tea leaves
• 1 cup water

How To Prepare

1. Bring a cup of water to a boil and remove from the flame immediately.
2. Add Oolong tea and green tea.
3. Let it steep for 3 and 1/2 minutes.
4. Strain before drinking.

4. Method 4 – Oolong Tea & Cinnamon

Ingredients

• 1 Oolong tea leaves
• 2 inch Ceylon cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water

How To Prepare

1. Soak the cinnamon stick in a cup of water overnight.
2. In the morning, boil the water with the cinnamon stick.
3. Wait till the water level drops to its half.
4. Remove from the flame and add the Oolong tea leaves using a strainer.
5. Let it steep for 2-3 minutes.
6. Remove the cinnamon stick and the tea leaves in strainer before drinking.

These quick methods of preparing Oolong tea are the best ways to consume it for weight loss. But now the obvious question is when to drink Oolong tea for best results? Here is your answer.

When To Consume Oolong Tea For Weight Loss?

• Consume Oolong tea in the morning with breakfast.
• Oolong tea can also be consumed 30 minutes before lunch or dinner.
• You can consume Oolong tea with your evening snack.

Tea is generally good for your health and green tea in particular (antioxidants, other minerals). Consuming tea can result in healthier living provided it replaces any sugary drinks/soda in your diet. This will result in a reduction in the amount of sugar and calories in your daily intake which will result in a healthier body-mass index in the long term (depending on your age, build, health condition, etc.).

Green tea has been shown to activate your metabolism and increase your metabolic rate which results in faster burning of fat/calories per day. See this article for more: Green Tea Boosts Metabolism, Protects Against Diseases[WebMD].

Another article on green tea and how it helps “natural” weight loss vs. going to the gym, etc. which are activities that help you live better: How Green Tea Can Help You Lose Weight Naturally [Authority Nutrition]

PROs are:

• Plenty of antioxidants which has health benefits (metabolism, etc.)
• Nutritional and “hydrating” beverage with zero calories and fat/sugar

CONs can be summarized into 2 general points:

• “Too much of any good thing is a bad thing” i.e. don’t over-consume (15+ cups per day)
• Green tea can suppress hunger and irregular drinking can change your eating pattern/schedule which can have unintended/negative consequences

If you’re looking for a high quality green tea to consume regularly, I highly recommend this Darjeeling loose leaf variety: The Jade of Bengal | Single-Estate Darjeeling Green Tea

Note: This recommendation is for green tea which is unsweetened and without the addition of any other materials. I highly recommend using only high-quality loose leaf tea to brew the tea in order to get the nutritional/mineral benefits.

Surprisingly a question we get fairly often: 

Is it safe to use tea bags?

Yes, it is safe to use tea bags.

It may not be safe to consume tea from dubious sources i.e. if the seller is an unknown, you could be buying expired or contaminated tea that should be disposed of but is being sold unscrupulously. This is certainly more common in teabags as it would be difficult to know if the tea inside the teabags is bad (unless there is a distinct, foul smell, etc.).

If you want to be sure, purchase tea from brands and preferably of the loose-leaf variety. Strainers are easily available and you will get more value and better taste from loose leaf teas.

Anyone who drinks tea will tell you that there is a HUGE difference between teabags and loose leaf tea. That is because teabags are usually filled with low grades of tea – usually tea dust, brokens or fannings (these refer to tea where the leaves have been crushed to dust or ‘broken’ to be very small and ‘minced’ which destroys a lot of the flavour but makes it possible to package the tea in a teabag).

Looseleaf tea is far superior to teabag tea and most high-quality, premium teas are only sold in this form (because the leaves are too big to fit inside teabags, even some of the large ‘pyramid’ tea bags available nowadays).

If you’re looking for some really high-quality green tea, check out one of our favourites: The Jade of Bengal | Single-Estate Darjeeling Green Tea

In one word: chai tea

The most common and our favourite type of tea with milk is what we call a “masala chai”. This is usually a black tea from India with spices that results in a spiced latte like drink which is delicious to the palate. For some great teas to have with milk, check out the following:

The Ambassador | Exquisite Calcutta Masala Chai:

The Delhi Sultanate | Royal Masala Chai: