First of all, "wu long," while accurate, is not the preferred term. Coming from the Chinese "wu"--"black"--and "lung"--dragon--the tea is more commonly termed "oolong" in the West--in fact, is considered the standard.

The production of oolong requires that the leaves be processed directly after picking. First the leaves are wilted in the sun for a short period of time. They are placed into baskets and shaken, which bruises the leaves. The juices in the leaves are now exposed to the air, which begins the process of oxidation. The leaves are then spread out to dry. After a period of time--less than 2 hours for Chinese oolongs, longer for Taiwanese oolongs, the tea is fired, which stops the fermentation process.

Oolongs are traditionally fired into hot woks and cooked very quickly. After that is done, the leaves may be further fermented, and then fired again. Ultimately we have crisp, dry leaves.

Oolong tea is often scented with jasmine flowers. Jasmine flowers are picked, and the tea leaves are steamed in order to hold scent well. (Often, green tea leaves are used for this process, but the process of scenting partially oxidizes the leaves, causing them to be considered oolong.) Jasmine flowers bloom at night; they are picked early in the day and mixed in with the tea at night, when they open and release their scent. The scent is infused into the leaves, and the process is repeated over a couple of nights. So. Now that we've gotten that cleared up, let's take a look at the infamous Wu Long Tea Diet. The pitch, if you're going on any of several sketchy sites online, is that here is a rare tea imported directly from a special mountain in China that will make you lose so many pounds in so many days. It'll burn fat and trim your waistline. Only this tea will do, so act now!

On a sidenote, my personal theory for why the term "wu long" is used instead of the more standardized "oolong" is to increase the exotic aura and prolong the sense of rareness. Adagio and most other companies have an "oolong" section, but they don't have one labeled "wu long." The tea isn't rare. I can tell you that for a fact, and I can prove it to you by taking a walk a few hundred feet away and picking up as much of it as I can carry.

Results May Vary :

I made this point clear very often, but this is one that can never be repeated too often: all tea is made from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Whether you get green, white, oolong, or black tea depends on how you process it. There will be different amounts of antioxidants and other chemicals in different varieties--but for the most part, the difference is negligible. If you're drinking tea for health benefits, you don't need to drink a specific kind--just pick a kind that you like. On that score alone, the "wu long tea helps you lose weight" is inaccurate--you'd be able to get the same benefits from drinking any tea.

But what exactly are these benefits, as far as weight is concerned? Like any fad diet, the results look much better on paper than they do in real life. I'll say this quite frankly: you are not going to lose a significant amount of weight from drinking tea. Tea does speed up the metabolism. The number that I usually see is around 4%. That translates to roughly 8 pounds a year. Which is, of course, nice--but it's nowhere near the miraculous results that are usually bandied about. Drinking tea will be a nice (and delicious!) supplement to a healthy and sane diet and exercise plan, and it certainly can help you avoid those periods where you stay at a certain weight, but on its own it won't do that much. Anyone who tells you differently is selling you an inferior product at about twice what you ought to be paying for it.

Wuyi Ensemble Tea

Ti Kuan Yin is a grassy-tasting oolong which is named after the Chinese Goddess of Mercy. A story, which I rather like, tells of a poor farmer who tended a run-down temple dedicated to her. After many months of cleaning and sweeping and lighting incense, the goddess appeared to him and, in gratitude for his service, gave him a gift: a tea plant. The farmer cultivated the plant and such is this tea's origin.

But my personal favorite oolong is Oolong #40, which is a very dark and rich oolong. Oolong #40 is a Taiwanese Oolong. In the tea world, these are known as "Formosa" teas, coming from the Dutch word for "beautiful." Dutch explorers and sailors, upon discovering the island, apparently liked what they saw, and their adjective stuck.