Tagged: catechin
Not Every Rock Tea Survives to Its Seventh Steep
The Order's Rule says the seventh steep reveals a Wuyi rock tea's finest character. A 2020 chemistry study brewed real Dahongpao fourteen times to find out for which grade that is actually still true.
Oolong Carried the Least of a Compound Class in a Five-Tea Study
A 2026 study measured advanced glycation end-products, compounds tied to inflammation, across five tea types. Oolong came out lowest of all five.
Why one plant makes green, oolong, and black tea
Green, oolong, and black tea are the same leaf from Camellia sinensis. What separates them is processing, above all how much enzymatic oxidation the maker allows before heat arrests it.
The controlled oolong trials measured hours of fat-burning, not pounds
No systematic review of oolong and weight loss exists; the closest, green tea's, found its weight loss unlikely to be clinically relevant.
Light and Roasted Oolong Bring Different Chemistry to the Kettle
Brewing temperature moved caffeine significantly only in oolong in one 2025 study, and roasted and unroasted oolong draw on different aroma chemistry.
What Mineral-Heavy Water Does to Oolong: Less Catechin, a Cloudier Cup
A 2024 study brewed the same Tieguanyin in four different waters and measured what came out. Mineral content moved the chemistry, not just the story a taster tells about it.
Two Reactions Start When the Leaf Is Bruised, Not One
Shaking bruises the leaf once, but it starts two separate reactions on two different substrates. One reddens the edge. The other, mapped only in the last few years, manufactures the floral scent.
The 2003 Oolong Diabetes Trial Was Led From a Tea Maker
A 2003 trial found oolong tea cut blood sugar by nearly 30 percent in diabetic patients. Its lead author worked at a beverage maker's research center, a trial in healthy men found nothing, and a cohort of 4,975 Japanese workers found heavier drinkers developed diabetes at a higher rate.
The Pot Is Not Neutral: What Six Teapot Materials Do to the Same Oolong
Researchers brewed one oolong in six vessels, zisha and zhuni clay, stainless steel, ceramic, glass, and plastic, then measured what actually left the leaf.
Oolong and Health
What the published research on oolong tea actually measures. The trial and cohort evidence on the heart, blood sugar, weight, and bone, and how partial oxidation changes the chemistry those trials test.
Oolong Polyphenols
The compound family behind color and astringency. What catechins, theaflavins, and thearubigins actually are, structurally, and what partial oxidation does to each before the leaf ever reaches a cup.