Is White Tea better than Green Tea?
White tea has more antioxidants and less caffeine, considered the healthier choice, while green tea is also rich in antioxidants and polyphenols. However, white tea is less processed having a higher amount of antioxidants than green tea. So let us explore the difference between white vs. green tea in brief below to determine which one is better -
Loose Leaves
Both green tea as well as white tea, are obtained from the Camellia Sinensis shrub that is cultivated in the tea-producing gardens. Both are extracted from the same tea leaves where white tea is obtained from the buds and tender leaves of the plant, while green tea is produced from the next layer of leaves.
White tea is extracted during the initial phase of the bud formation of tea leaves. However, it requires careful and proper handling while picking up from shrubs from the tea gardens during the early stage in the spring days.
On the other hand, green tea requires much fermentation and processing, similar to frying, steaming, and rolling procedures. Besides, it is considered one of the most beneficial forms of antioxidants creation with white tea.
Oxidant Level
White and green tea is treated with processing and great delicacy that keeps their purity intact. It helps in the creation of a high amount of antioxidants. As white tea goes in less processing, it retains more antioxidants than green tea. Thus, if you compare white tea vs. green tea, white tea stands out.
Due to the higher composition of antioxidants in white tea promotes better health by improving the functioning of the heart, reducing cancer risk, losing weight of the body, and lowering high cholesterol.
Amount Of Caffeine
Although many think white tea to be a low caffeine beverage drink, it is not always true. The fact is that white tea has more caffeine compared to green tea. Sometimes, white tea has even more amount of caffeine than black tea. All teas are made from the same Camellia sinensis plant, and the caffeine amount depends on many factors such as growing conditions, processing ways, brewing methods, harvesting method and time, tea varietal and cultivar.
It is not possible to say how much caffeine one cup of white tea contains. However, guessing the amount by the leaves is possible. For instance, teas that have younger leaves will contain more caffeine than those with older and bigger mature leaves. Apart, tea leaves harvested during spring and summer are likely to have more caffeine than autumn teas. If you are using tea dust or broken leaves, your cup of tea may have high caffeine content.
However, white and green tea has much less caffeine than other caffeinated drinks. Research shows that silver needle white tea may have more caffeine than most other Chinese green teas.
Which Tea Is More Expensive?
Coming straight to the point, white tea is more expensive than green tea regarding price. The price varies with the quality of white tea leaves. The most costly high-quality tea does not always need to have a high amount of catechins.
Which Tea Should You Choose?
Deciding and determining which tea to choose depends on various factors such as affordability, quality, amount of caffeine, amount of antioxidants etc. However, discussing different things discussed here, white is a better option than green tea in every term.
Choosing among all tea varieties, whether white or green, is complex. People usually forget to consider that all of these tea variants are different in texture, nature, price, taste, extraction needs, caffeine amount etc. Hence, choosing between green tea vs. white tea leaves depends on different features.