Tea

Black and Green Tea: How do they differ?

Introduction

Tea is a drink that is enjoyed by people across the globe. Black tea represents approximately 72% of total consumed tea in the world, whereas green tea accounts for approximately 26%.

Both green tea and black tea come from the leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis, however the processing that the leaves undergo to make the final tea is different. The leaves for black tea are fully oxidised while those for green teas are lightly steamed before being dried. Figure 1 outlines the processing of green and black tea in more detail.

Green and Black Tea Processing

Black teas mostly come from plantations in Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia while green teas come from countries in the Far East such as China and Japan. Flavonoid content of black and green teas Black and green teas both contain similar amount of flavonoids,