White tea vs. green tea

Introduction

It has always been a hard decision for all the tea lovers howto choose between the green tea and the white tea. They are both verybeneficial for the overall health, and both have pleasant characteristics.Green tea is very popular among tea enthusiasts and health oriented peopleeverywhere around the world. White tea is also slowly growing in popularitybecause it is very good for overall health as well. Both teas are derived fromthe same plant, but they are completely different sorts of tea.

Green Tea and White Tea

Green tea is made from the leaves of the plant known by thename of camellia sinensis. Green tea is only minimally processed, and theprocessing only involves slight oxidization. Green tea has been used forcenturies by numerous cultures of the Middle East and Asia. It is in closerelation to several other types of herbal teas. The best varieties of green teainclude Junshan Yinzhen, Hu Ming and Longjing and they all originate from theprovince of China known by the name of Hunan. White tea is made from the leavesof the exact same plant, namely camellia sinensis, but the main difference hereis that the leaves are left completely uncured and unoxidized. White tea has ahigher content of caffeine and it is actually a specialty of the Chinese. Thebest Chinese varieties of white tea include Bai Mu Dan, Silver Needle and BaiHao Yinzhen. There are also certain other quality varieties of white tea suchas Ceylon White from Sri Lanka and Darjeeling White from India.

Difference between White Tea and Green Tea

Leaves used for the production of the white tea are commonlyharvested at a much younger age than those used for the production of the greentea. The green tea needs to be partly fermented which is not the case with thewhite tea. The green tea is harvested for up to two weeks during the earlyspring. White tea has a much more subtle, smooth and sweet flavor than greentea. Green tea has a characteristic grassy aftertaste which may not appeal toeveryone. White tea contains approximately 35 percent more caffeine than thegreen tea. It also contains much more antioxidant chemical compounds than thegreen tea. When it comes to health benefits, it is fair to say that both typesof tea provide equal amounts of health benefits. White tea is commonly muchmore expensive than the green tea.