What are black and green teas – and which is best to use?
A Both come from the same tea bush, Camellia sinesis (remember that tea is indeed a herb). Ordinary black tea of the kind commonly used in the West – such as Ceylon, Lipton’s, English Breakfast, Typhoo etc – is fermented. Green tea (Japanese or Chinese) is unfermented and has many health-giving properties. Black Tea is often referred to in Eastern literature and was used for medicinal purposes. It was only later that it became a luxury, then a household item. Black tea is fermented before drying, which darkens the leaves and results in a brown-coloured beverage. Green Tea is not fermented, instead, as soon as the leaves are picked, they are lightly steamed, during which oxidation occurs and the tannins and chlorophyll are preserved. Leaves are then rolled and dried. You can also buy semi-fermented teas such as Oolong (Formosa). In China and Japan, people are still known to eat the leaves after drinking green tea, because of their high mineral and vitamin C content. Being British we enj
