Which Drink Has More Antioxidants? Black Tea Or Green Tea?

By Max Waters


The very same tea plant produces both green tea and black tea. While the colors differ, both teas are obtained from a plant known as camellia sinensis. Teas are known as one of the healthiest drinks and both black and green teas are good for health. So how are they alike and even more important which drink offers more health rewards compared to other tea?

Because tea is a liquid, we are going to compare the two from a taste perspective. Which beverage is tastier is a personal preference; nevertheless green tea possesses more of a bitter taste than black tea. Black tea provides a richer taste compared to green tea. For this reason, most first time drinkers choose black tea above green tea. Yet understanding that tea is a healthy drink, flavor is certainly not the main concern.

Even prior to tasting the drink, color separates the two teas. The colors are not the same because of the tea processing. Both teas go through almost same processing with the exception of the oxidation process. Green tea's first drying operation is a quick process of panning or steaming which reduces oxidation. On the contrary, black tea goes through a full oxidation procedure which takes up to 3 hours. This process is the main reason why flavor is richer and the color is darker. What exactly does that suggest relating to health benefits?

The leaves of camellia sinensis are naturally green similar to any other plant. When it relates to food, one that is more processed typically loses more of its natural active ingredients. The same exact logic also applies to tea leaf. Conserving the color green means it is going to have more of the natural element, catechin.

Catechins are the active element available in the tea leaves. They are source for benefits like cancer prevention, heart disease, weight loss and bad cholesterol. Scientific studies have shown that a cup of green tea contains eight times more catechins compared to black tea. In theory, you would need to take in 8 more cups of black tea than green tea to gain the same amount of benefits.

You can find results of countless experiments on the benefits connected with black tea. Some lab experiments have been successful against diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. This highlights the restorative healing power of camellia sinensis. No matter which form of process it applies, the leaves continue to be beneficial to human body. However it seems sensible to intake the tea that contains more of the active substance. So why not start adding green tea to your daily diet.




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