TEA WARS: white, black, red, green

My guess is green tea is healthiest but that's just a guess. I just keep some of all of them and have what the mood calls for at the time. I especially have a big variety of herbal teas so I don't have to worry about caffine and can drink it instead of water since I don't add sugar or milk.

I've never met a tea I don't like! In addition to the ones you listed, I also love corn, barley, and dandelion teas.

The healthiest tea is whichever one replaces soda in a person's diet.

I've never had red tea. I like white the best - it's the mildest. I also like green tea. Black tea is a bit bitter and has more caffeine than I'd like. I'm extra sensitive to it and it gives me palpitations. I will look into the red tea. Sounds intriguing...:drinker:

see below.....

(my edit failure resulted in a double post haha)

Black tea, has to be Yorkshire Gold, nice and strong

I love Oolong Tea
If I have green tea, it is a green matcha

I don't know which is healthiest, but I love red. I drink huge amounts of unsweetened flavoured rooibos, strawberry vanilla makes my day.

I drink them all and love them all.

Rooibos (Red) has no caffeine and the most anti-oxidants. Technically, it would be the healthiest.

All the others are really very yummy and it depends on your personal taste.

Personally, I drink loose leaf teas. The prep time is not that bad (put loose leaf tea in infuser basket, place in mug, pour water) and the health benefits are so much better. Most mass produced bag teas (Lipton, Bigilow ect...) use tea rementants that are not purchased by quality tea bags (Mighty Leaf) and loose leaf sellers. That means you are getting the broken bits that are not good enough for loose leaf. Also, most tea bags do not allow the tea to open up and expand to its natural size. This means that you do not get all the tea oils and are missing out on the full flaovr and health benefits. Finally, a recent article in the NY Times pointed to the fact that many of the mass produced green teas out of China have a problem with lead being found in them. They think it is the way the tea bags are produced.

Loose leaf tea in a proper infuser (not a tea ball, no room to open up) lets you enjoy the full flavor of the tea and get all the health benefits. I shop at Tea Gschwendner and Gong Fu Tea for mine. I know a ton of people who enjoy Teavana. I prfere tea with little flavoring, so I don't spend time at Teavana but if you like infused teas, Teavana is a good source of loose leaf.

The other benefit to loose leaf tea is that it can be resteeped. I steep the same leaves three times and get good flavor out of the third steeping. If you resteeep, you should save money using a good loose leaf over a tea bag.

Finally, pay attention to the packaging. One problem with tea in the US is that most people assume you use boiling water and steep for 5 minutes for all teas. You don't. Most Japanese Greens (Bancha, Sencha, and others) require water in the 165-195 range and you only steep for a minute. Oolongs can use water from 195-208 and steep for about three minutes. Most people who put milk and sugar in their tea find that they don't need it when they steep their tea properly. The milk and sugar tend to cover up the bitter taste that comes from over steeped tea. Kind of like adding crap to spinach that has been over cooked.

ummm I like tea.

I think the differences from a health perspective are vastly overblown. None are bad for you and all have some benefits. Drink the one you like best. I drink more black than green, but enjoy both. White is too subtle for my tastes.

Yup, black, green, and white teas are all from the same plant. The differences are based on how they are processed. White teas are mininally processed, green teas are in between, and black teas are more processed. Japanese and Chinese greens are also a bit different. Japanese Green's are steamed and Chinese Greens are pan fired to stop the oxidation. So they taste very different. I prefer the Japanese Greens to the Chinese.

Red, Rooibos, is not a tea at all, it is an herbal from the rooibos plant. Technically, it falls into the herbal tea catagory since it does not come from the tea plant (scinetific name is failing me).

I love Oolong Tea
If I have green tea, it is a green matcha

same!!

Teas come from the same plant so they have the same health benefits. The amount of processing can effect the nutrients and antioxidant level but not by that much. So white teas should have more antioxadents then green and green more then black but that is about it.

I don't drink tea for the nutrients, there really are not that many in them. I drink tea because I enjoy the taste and it has 0 calories, I don't use milk or sugar in my tea. It helps with hydration and it makes me happy. It is a lot better then soda.

No tea is really going to help you with weight loss on its own. If you use it as a substitute for juice or soda or some other caloric beverage it will help only because you are cutting out those calories. I see teas advertised as weight loss teas and I chuckle. You will lose weight if you replace your soda with a cup of tea but not because of some magical property in the tea.

Drink what you like. I have been on a Pu Erh kick for the last year. I love Oolongs. I have three or four Japanese green teas. I rarely drink black tea, but I do get in the mood for a good cup of Keemun from time to time.

I only drink rooibos tea or herbal/fruit teas. Super healthy, no caffeine, also you don't have to add milk to these so technically no calories. Just so much better for you. I stopped drinking black tea about a year ago, and couldn't believe how ill it made me for about three days after I stopped drinking it, that has put me off for life. If it can make you ill for three days that's not a good thing.

There are more studies on the healthy benefits of green tea than on white tea but those on white show the same health benefits. Red is probably healthy but I haven't looked into it and black is healthy too. I usually go for white then green. Love English (Seattle) Breakfast Tea.

How can one possibly choose a favorite? I say drink them all! :drinker:

Stash Teas makes a green/white mix that I LOVE. I'm not a huge fan of green tea, but mix it with white tea and it's delicious. Great with some ginger and lemon added.

Rooibos (red) tea was my first love. Discovered it in college and it started me drinking hot tea. I buy a blend called African Autumn that I love so much I never go a day without it.

Black tea is my cup of morning joe. I prefer Earl Grey because it's so flavorful. And it kind of smells like fruit loops when you are brewing it :bigsmile: