Recently green tea has seen a surge in popularity. This is in no small part due to its rich levels of antioxidants which have the potential to provide a slew of various health benefits. Now, white tea is making a comeback too which, along with lower caffeine levels, comes armed with even higher concentrations of antioxidants. So, in a white tea vs green tea grudge match, who emerges victorious?
Let’s have a look at what white and green tea actually are before comparing the two. Both the white and green varieties are actually derived from the same tea plant – Camellia sinensis. The difference between white and green tea comes from the age of the leaves and buds when they are harvested and the amount of processing (fermentation) that the tea undergoes before it is dried and packed.
White tea represents the youngest leaves and buds and is not fermented at all, green tea is matured a little longer and undergoes light fermentation (and black tea is made up of fully fermented mature leaves and buds). As well as affecting the color, these differences in production have a significant effect on the resulting qualities of the teas which we will now examine in more detail.
Antioxidants
From a health perspective, the main draw of tea is the high level of antioxidants it contains. Even black tea contains a decent volume but the fermentation process does reduce levels and this is where white tea and green tea come into their own, both containing a rich supply of antioxidants which are suggested to provide a number of health benefits including improving cardiovascular health and acting as a preventative to heart disease and some forms of cancer.
White tea contains higher concentrations of antioxidants than green tea. The fermentation process, as well as the natural oxidation of the tea leaves as they mature, reduces the levels of antioxidants in green tea, whilst almost all are preserved in the manufacture of white tea. In fact white tea retains antioxidant levels about the same as young leaves still attached to the plant. This results in a typical antioxidant concentration of about triple that found in green tea. That doesn’t mean you should write off green tea – it still has high enough levels of antioxidants to provide good health benefits.
Caffeine Levels
Caffeine has a bad name and typically those seeking out the health benefits of tea, white or green, will probably perceive caffeine as a negative element. Its worth remembering however that in moderation caffeine can provide a number of health benefits of its own including the promotion of fat oxidation and an association with lowering cancer risks.
That said caffeine can lead to symptoms including headaches and nausea in high concentrations so tea with lower levels of caffeine are generally more desirable especially if your going to be drinking lots of the stuff throughout the day. Both white tea and green tea contain caffeine, although in generally low levels.
To illustrate, whilst a typical cup of coffee might contain 100mg of caffeine, white tea could contain as low as 25mg and green tea a little higher (approx 50mg). So white tea will usually have the smallest caffeine concentrations although both white and green tea can be considered low caffeine.
Weight Loss
Drinking gallons of tea – white, green or luminous pink – is not going to make any extra pounds you are carrying magically fall away, lets get that clear before we continue. However as part of a healthy and responsible diet you may find drinking either white or green tea (or both, why not!) to be beneficial as a dietary slimming aid.
Teas have become popular in helping weight loss because they can increase your metabolic rate and assist in fat oxidation as a result of thermogenesis (your body producing heat). An advantage of this method of increasing your metabolism is that thermogenesis doesn’t increase your heart rate. Studies indicate that tea can increase your metabolic rate by up to 5%.
Typically it is green tea that is most attributed to weight loss. Many studies have been undertaken which suggest that green tea is the most effective tea to be drinking as part of a weight loss diet, although by the same token more studies have been carried out with green tea – studies on white tea are fewer and have been less conclusive. So, for now, victory in the weight loss category is awarded to the green team!
Health Benefits
We’ve already mentioned a few, but there are plenty of other potential health benefits offered by both white and green tea (and most other varieties in fact). The list of potential ailments that could be avoided by regularly pouring tea down your cakehole could fill a book, although it should be pointed out that many of these wondrous health benefits that tea can provide are still being studied and the results aren’t always conclusive.
Since some white and green tea health benefits are somewhat speculative its very difficult to say whether one or the other is the most effective overall. What we can conclude is that your likely to experience positive health effects from all varieties of tea and that due to their varying compositions no individual variety is a one cup solution – each has its strengths and weaknesses.
Price & Availability
White tea is made of young leaves and buds. This means it is only available to harvest once in a growing cycle (usually early spring), and as such supply is somewhat limited. White tea also has to be handled delicately during the production process to ensure the white/silver hairs (which give the tea its name) on the buds of the plant are not damaged. These factors result in a higher price for white tea than other varieties. Its hardly a scare resource but it is a little more difficult to source and is more expensive than its green rival.
Green tea on the other hand is now ubiquitous and can be found on the shelves of almost any supermarket or convenience store. Its production has more in common with black tea than white and as such it is quite easy and cheap to produce. You won’t having any trouble finding green tea and price-wise you’ll usually find yourself paying a slight premium over the cost of black tea, but green tea is certainly not something you could class as expensive!
tl;dr
- White tea and green tea are the same plant – white is younger than green and not fermented.
- White tea contains larger concentrations of antioxidants than green tea - although both contain very high levels.
- Both white and green tea contain caffeine – but white contains less than green.
- Green tea is the better choice for weight loss – white tea will help as well but studies are as yet inconclusive.
- White tea is expensive and not widely available – green tea is cheap and you can buy it anywhere.