Red Tea, White Tea, Green Tea – A Comparison

Part of any beauty regime for a diva should include tea. However, deciding what tea is best can be a bit of a trick. We’re going to clear up the mystery so our divas can decide whether they should buy red tea, white tea or green tea by comparing them.

It’s interesting to note that red tea isn’t actually a true tea at all. True teas such as black tea, green tea and white tea are true teas that come from the Camellia sinensis plant indigenous to China, Tibet and northern India whereas red tea or Rooibos (an African slang word for “red bush”) comes from the plant Aspalanthus linearis indigenous to South Africa.

All true teas including green tea and white differ only in the way the leaves are processed. For instance, an oxidation process is used to create black tea. This reduces the polyphenol content of the tea and its health giving properties. In making green tea, the leaves are steamed and dried thus preserving the polyphenols. White tea has the least processing time and only the buds and younger leaves are used. That is probably the reason for its amazing benefits. Preliminary studies have found white tea to have considerably more antioxidant properties than green tea.

Now let’s talk about green Rooibos (red tea). There are two forms of Rooibos green and regular. Green Rooibos tea is steam distilled and is of most value for its health benefits as compared to the fermented variety. Green Rooibos has 100 times more antioxidants and 10 times more aspalathin than regular Rooibos tea. It has less fluoride, calcium, potassium, iron, zinc and fluoride and tannins than true tea and it is caffeine-free. However, it’s considerably higher in polyphenols than green tea. Red tea is particularly good for your skin as it protects your skin’s proteins, particularly elastin and collagen.

Tea preparation

When you prepare tea to drink, never boil it. Bring water to a boil and add to teapot or cup which contains the tea. You can add cream and/or honey or sugar to make a wonderfully delicious and healthy beverage. Raw honey is best to use as it imparts its own set of benefits.

Conclusion:

Use both white tea and Rooibos tea in your daily diet. The health benefits of Rooibos range from treating acne, eczema and psoriasis to amazing anti-wrinkle properties. Both white tea and Rooibos are strong antioxidants. These two teas taste nothing alike, Rooibos has a fruity taste and white tea has a mild sweet flavor. Note: Green tea is more robust in flavor, just how robust depends on the variety you use.

Now go have fun and relax.