TEA WARS: white, black, red, green

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donyellemoniquex3
donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Which do you prefer ? Which is healthier ?
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  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    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.
  • enchantedgardener
    enchantedgardener Posts: 214 Member
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    I prefer black teas myself. I like the flavour of a strong cup of black tea, the bitterness, the tannins.

    All teas are healthy. They all contain antioxidants and polyphenols. Now, the green and white teas have more of those than do black tea. But, on their own, all teas contain these health-promoting compounds.

    That being said, when you load up tea with sugar, honey, and/or high fat dairy products: not so healthy.
    Hot water plus tea leaves, maybe add some low-fat milk or a slice of lemon if you wish: perfectly healthy.
  • happyhiker83
    happyhiker83 Posts: 19
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    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. :smile:
  • Orient_Charm
    Orient_Charm Posts: 385 Member
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    Black for sure
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    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:
  • BunBun85
    BunBun85 Posts: 246 Member
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    Tea, Earl Grey, hot. =)
  • marvybells
    marvybells Posts: 1,984 Member
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    see below.....

    (my edit failure resulted in a double post haha)
  • marvybells
    marvybells Posts: 1,984 Member
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    Black > Green > White

    My all-time favorite is a black tea, Pu-erh....but i also LOVE Matcha which is green powdered

    By red tea do you mean Rooibos? if so then i'm not a fan of the red but that is not actually a true tea. It's an herbal variety. I do like some other herbal "teas" for energy, like Tulsi, Ginkgo & Ginseng. I have also tried Yerba Mate which did give me energy but also a throbbing headache.
  • mushroomsontoast
    mushroomsontoast Posts: 118 Member
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    Black tea, has to be Yorkshire Gold, nice and strong :smile:
  • laurabini
    laurabini Posts: 257 Member
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    I like both green and black tea. I guess all of them are healthy if you don't add sugar and don't drink too much of course :)
  • Noor13
    Noor13 Posts: 964 Member
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    I love Oolong Tea
    If I have green tea, it is a green matcha
  • Noor13
    Noor13 Posts: 964 Member
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    I love Oolong Tea
    If I have green tea, it is a green matcha
  • SadFaerie
    SadFaerie Posts: 243 Member
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    I don't know which is healthiest, but I love red. I drink huge amounts of unsweetened flavoured rooibos, strawberry vanilla makes my day.
  • yumeish
    yumeish Posts: 8
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    Many tend to think of green as the healthiest one I think, or even say it helps with weightloss (which, personally, I don't believe, as much as I love green tea).

    If you find it hard not to add sugar, milk etc, invest in nice loose leaf tea (and brew it in the right temperature), they taste much nicer. They might be a bit more expensive than your average black tea in bags, but a 100g bag of tea will last you AGES and is SO much better in quality (what non-loose leaf tea bags have in them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannings#Fannings).

    You could also change sugar to honey, which is sweeter and thus you need less of it. When I changed to honey years ago, after just weeks I found that if I put sugar in the tea, it would actually taste bitter and unpleasant to me! I've since moved to having my tea without any sweeteners or milk and thoroughly enjoy both the delicious flavours and the "health benefits".
  • agressre
    agressre Posts: 24 Member
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    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.
  • agressre
    agressre Posts: 24 Member
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    Black > Green > White

    My all-time favorite is a black tea, Pu-erh....but i also LOVE Matcha which is green powdered

    By red tea do you mean Rooibos? if so then i'm not a fan of the red but that is not actually a true tea. It's an herbal variety. I do like some other herbal "teas" for energy, like Tulsi, Ginkgo & Ginseng. I have also tried Yerba Mate which did give me energy but also a throbbing headache.

    Pu Erh is my favorite as well but it is not a black tea. It has a totally different production process. There are black/cooked pu erhs and green/uncooked pu erhs. Pu Erhs are different because the fermentation process in the tea is slowed not stopped. So people buy pu erhs like they do wines knowing that the flavor is going to change over time. It is the only tea where the oxidation process is not totally stopped.

    Oolongs are another great tea that is produced differently then a black, green, or white tea. There are Oolongs that are closer to a black tea and Oolongs closer to a green tea.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    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.
  • aerochic42
    aerochic42 Posts: 820 Member
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    Just for additional interest; black green and white teas are all from the same plant, it's just a matter of how much fermentation and drying occurs.

    Personally I like balck tea, especially English breakfast
  • agressre
    agressre Posts: 24 Member
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    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).
  • obrientp
    obrientp Posts: 546 Member
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    Black tea addict. Love it hot or cold.

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