All tea, white, green, oolong, and black comes from the
same plant called Camellia sinensis. What determines a
tea's "color", is the processing the leaves will undergo.
Having stated that important fact, we will explore the
differences between green and black tea.
1) Health Benefits:
This of course is the first thing that comes to play.
Whenever green tea is mentioned, it is the health aspects
that take center stage. Over the years, green tea has
received much attention on this topic, and a lot of
research that has been conducted conclude that green offers
many health benefits. But what about black tea? Does it
offer any?
In this first match up, green has black beaten, but only by
a few subtle numbers. Drinking a cup of black tea will
offer the same benefits that green tea offers...just not in
the same amounts. In other words, a cup of green contains a
little more than double the amount of antioxidants than a
cup of black.
However, unless you drink the recommended 4 to 5 cups a day
to achieve the long term benefits, these differences
between green and black are small if you only drink an
average of just one cup daily.
2) Caffeine:
Black tea has approximately half the amount of caffeine
than a regular cup of coffee, and green tea contains half
the amount of caffeine than black.
So, there are two ways to declare a winner with this one.
As an example, if you are a morning person who wishes to
ditch coffee but still needs a hot beverage with caffeine
to help wake you up than black is your choice.
If you prefer to have a hot beverage in the evening but
don't want the effects of the caffeine to keep you up all
night, than green (or white tea) is the better choice.
3) Flavor:
Green tea has a misunderstood reputation for tasting like
grass or spinach. This only remains true if you steep it
using tea bags. The result is always a bitter and fuzzy cup.
Loose leaf greens have a more sweeter, mellow, and balanced
taste. While it is true that some varieties may be more
"vegetal" than others, overall, the taste of green is
rather pleasant. Starting off with mild varieties helps
break the palate in for some of the stronger types.
Black tea steeped from tea bags suffers just the same. But
when prepared loose leaf style, like green, will produce a
more enjoyable cup. Black varieties have a more deeper and
richer flavor which can range from being malty, earthy,
citrus-like, rocky, smoky, and even chocolaty.
If one were to add sugar, honey, or milk black tea offers
even more character.
The winner here is solely determined by the personal
preference of each drinker...
4) Varieties:
Finally, we'll look at which offers the most varieties.
And to be honest, this one may never have an answer! This
is because there can be literally thousands of varieties of
each tea type produced worldwide, and it is impossible to
count them all.
What can be stated is that both green and black tea offer
enough varieties and sub varieties to discover which will
keep a tea lover happy for a very long time. Sure there are
many popular types like English Breakfasf, Earl Grey, and
Irish Breakfast for black...and "Dragonwell", "Sencha", and
Pi Lo Chun" for green.
But like flavor, this topic also depends on what each
person prefers.
So, while green tea may have black tea beaten on health
benefits, there are many other factors to consider. And
there is no "tea rule" that states you can only choose one
type! Enjoy all types of tea for whatever situation or
event you best see fit!
----------------------------------------------------
More black tea info at
http://www.the-color-of-tea.com/black-tea.html
David Carloni is the creator of The Color of Tea.com
website. An informational resource for covering many
aspects of tea.
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