Is green tea better than black tea?
Yes. For maximum health benefits it often is. Fresh green tea leaves contain the highest polyphenol amounts. All teas – black, green and oolong are from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, and contain polyphenols. It’s the amount of processing each undergoes that determines the variety of tea and the eventual polyphenol content. Black tea is allowed to dry slowly, essentially fermenting, which oxidizes the leaves and deactivates many of the polyphenols. Green tea is steamed before it’s dried, which deactivates the enzyme that causes oxidation and locks in a high polyphenol content – 60 percent more than black tea. Oolong tea is dried (oxidized) some, but not completely, before it is steamed to stop the oxidation process.
