WuLong and Oolong…What’s the difference?
There really isn’t any difference. That’s the kicker. WuLong is Oolong and Oolong is WuLong.
How can this be?
It’s really all in what you prefer to call it.
Some people like to call WuLong tea, wu long, others prefer wu lung, while the rest will simply call it oolong.
Although this type of tea has many different spellings, most of them are correct and can be used interchangeably.
You see, “Wulong” is a Chinese word and the Chinese language does not use an alphabet. Unlike English or most other Western languages, written Chinese uses characters which represent entire syllables.
The name oolong tea came into the English language from the Chinese name (simplified Chinese: 乌龙茶; traditional Chinese: 烏龍茶; pinyin: wūlóng chá), meaning “black dragon tea”.
Oolong tea (or WuLong) is a product made from the leaves, buds, and stems of the Camellia sinensis plant. This is the same plant that is also used to make black tea and green tea (more on that in a minute).
So, where does Oolong (Wu Long) come from?
As you may or may not know, we get our Oolong Tea straight from Anxi County in the Fujian Province of China.
Why is this so important?
Anxi is known as the Tea Capital of China. They grow some of the highest quality tea in the world. What’s more, this particular place is famous for its specific variety of Oolong Tea!
For hundreds of years, the oolong tea process was kept secret by tea makers in China and even getting a glimpse into the intricate inner workings was virtually impossible for outsiders.
Therefore, the art of making oolong tea is little known outside China.
Nowadays, even though most of the steps are public knowledge, aspiring imitators still find it hard to master ALL of the skills needed to make truly GREAT oolong tea.
Oolong tea can be machine or handmade. Premium grade oolong teas (like ALL 3 of our Oolong Teas) are ALWAYS handmade.
As we said before, oolong tea (or WuLong) is a product made from the leaves, buds, and stems of the Camellia sinensis plant. This is the same plant that is also used to make black tea and green tea.
The difference is in the processing. Oolong tea is partially fermented, black tea is fully fermented, and green tea is unfermented.
Generally speaking, there are 7 major steps in processing oolong tea…
- Harvesting
- Withering
- Bruising
- Fixation
- Rolling and Shaping
- Baking
- Sorting, Cooling & Packaging
Read more about the intricacy of these steps here.
As you can see, our oolong goes through a long process to ensure the highest quality tea possible. But beware, NOT ALL OOLONG IS CREATED EQUAL!
What you may see in the grocery store labeled Oolong Tea, most likely contains other ingredients than just the oolong tea you’re wanting. Yes, the label may only reveal one ingredient, but there are many hidden ingredients you should be aware of when consuming and buying just any old tea.
What are these hidden ingredients?
#1 Hidden Ingredient: Pesticides
By far the BIGGEST danger to your health found in non-organic teas is pesticides.
Food blogger, Food Babe, points out that most tea isn’t even washed before it is packed into tea bags³.
She explains that the tea, which is regularly sprayed with carcinogenic pesticides, ends up directly in your cup.
Are you familiar with the popular tea company, Celestial Seasonings? You may be startled to know that a third-party study by Glaucus Research4 found that a whopping 91% of Celestial Seasonings tea contained pesticide residues that were over U.S. limits!
Worse yet, an independent lab tested Teavana, another popular teashop in many American malls, and 100% of their teas contained pesticides. YIKES! 62 percent of the teas tested contained traces of endosulfan, a pesticide that has been banned by the U.S., China, the E.U., and 144 other countries because it has been linked to impaired fertility and could harm unborn babies³.
I don’t know about you, but I like to know what I’m ingesting and these are things I like to stay away from!
#2 Hidden Ingredient: Castoreum
Do you enjoy raspberry-flavored sweetened teas? Well, if you are drinking a non-organic raspberry-flavored tea, there is a good chance you’re drinking castoreum.
What is castoreum?
According to Food Republic¹, it is an artificial flavoring that is extracted from the anal glands of beavers. WHAT?!?
Click here to read more about Castoreum and where it is found.
#3 Hidden Ingredient: Natural Flavors
Natural flavors, the sneaky way companies trick the consumer into thinking they are purchasing better, higher quality products. When it comes to tea, companies are covering up the inferior taste and low quality of tea by adding in “natural flavors.”
Basically, food and beverage companies can breakdown anything found in nature and as long as it tastes like the flavor they are after, they can add it to any product and call it “natural flavors” on an ingredient label. Scary!
You can read more about ingredients to stay away from here.
So, how can you be certain you are consuming pure tea that doesn’t contain any pesticides, artificial colors/flavorings, or toxins?
That is why we absolutely LOVE our tea! Our oolong tea products contain only one ingredient – 100% Premium Oolong and EACH HARVEST IS TESTED to assure the cleanest, highest quality Oolong for our customers.
You absolutely can’t get any better than our tea! Aside from being pesticide, toxin and artificial color/flavoring free, our Oolong is jam-packed full of antioxidants and metabolism boosting EGCG.
Plus, Oolong tea has been found to burn TWICE the amount of calories as green tea.
Who wouldn’t want a purely delicious, metabolism and immune boosting tea that aids in digestion, curbs cravings and helps to regulate insulin spikes and lower cholesterol? Not to mention fights against free radicals that cause aging…what more could you want?
Choose from our 3 AMAZING Oolong teas or convenient Oolong capsules.
WuLong Slimming Tea – Our original Oolong tea with a smooth, light, yet rich tea flavor.
Certified Organic SlimTea – 100% Certified Organic with a woodsy flavor and a darker cup.
Kenyan Oolong Blend – Our Highest Antioxidant tea with a lighter, floral flavor best for weight loss.
SlimTea Oolong Capsules – Concentrated Oolong Tea in an easy, convenient, On-The-Go capsule.
Our AMAZING OOLONG has changed so many lives over the years. Read all about what our customers have to say and the results they’ve seen by adding in Oolong Tea to their daily routine.
Let us know how our Oolong has changed your life!
Happy Sipping!