Black, White, and Green Tea Comparison

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Alrighty, so today we are going to be taking a look at 3 of the most popular types of tea. Black, green, and white tea are some of the most common kinds of tea enjoyed all around the world. Believe it or not all three kinds come from the same tea plant native to Asia. The differences arise when the leaves are picked and processed.

Lets first look at the most popular, black tea. Black tea leaves are oxidized during the drying process which turns them a dark brown color and really develops the flavor. It is a dark earthy full-bodied beverage. Subsequently, this is tea also carries the most caffeine of the three with up to 50mg of caffeine per cup. For reference a cup of black coffee has about 80. Black tea is the base for many of the popular kinds of tea, especially in traditional British tea culture. English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Irish Breakfast and many more are all blends based on black tea. Many people prefer to add either cream or sugar or both to their black tea. Cream especially adds a nice creaminess to the strong earthy flavors and is an ideal complement.

Next up, green tea. Green tea leaves are picked and heat dried to halt oxidation and maintain their green color. This also preserves the somewhat grassy flavor and limits the amount of caffeine in the tea to around 30mg per cup. This might make green tea seem weaker than its black tea counterpart, and it is true that the caffeine content is lower. However green tea also contains a nootropic compound called L-theanine. L-theanine causes the caffeine in the tea to bind more effectively with receptors in the brain making the caffeine last longer without a hard crash. It also helps to prevent anxiety and mood swings. For this reason, many people prefer an energy boost from green tea over that of black. Due to the lighter grassy flavor cream and sugar are rarely added to green tea.

Finally, we come to white tea and no this is not when you add cream to black tea. White tea is made from small undeveloped tea leaves. It is picked and processed very similarly to green tea with heat being used to halt oxidation. The newly formed leaves create a soft subtle beverage with a light yellow tint. The lighter notes form a much more complex melody of flavors. While highly prized in the east, white tea is often overlooked and harder to find than its cousins in the west. White tea also stands in contrast to green and black in the area of caffeine content. White tea has virtually no caffeine what so ever. This does make it great for evenings.