Green Tea Vs. White Tea : What’s The Difference?

While the world of teas seems heavenly and one needn't debate the gift of flavors that comes with it, many of us still wonder about what's the difference between green teas and white teas. So what's the deal about Green Tea Vs White Tea? Let's read on!

Tea is one of the oldest and most popular hot beverages that has been there for centuries and is still equally prevalent across global communities. The most common types of tea that are loved by tea lovers across the world include green tea, black tea, Oolong tea, and white tea.

People have made a conscious shift from coffee, with very high caffeine content, to more bountiful alternatives like green and white tea, considering the plethora of factors.  

But as a lot of our customers have asked, we are here to discuss the difference between green tea and white tea?

Let’s first try to get to know about both green and white tea separately to figure out the difference between these popular tea types.

Green Teas

One of the widely consumed beverages in the world. Green Teas are made using the leaves of the tea plant - Camellia Sinensis and they offer a liquor that ranges between pale yellow to pale green in color. They have a rich vegetal taste and have wonderful herbaceous flavors with a milder caffeine content that black teas. As opposed to black teas, green teas are not oxidized and hence retain the natural green color. They straight go for a quick heat treatment in which the tea enzyme is destroyed before being processed further.

Origin

Green tea is said to have originated from China and then made its way across to various parts of Asia. The Yunnan province in China is known to produce some of the best varieties of green tea and is also home to the mother tea plant - Camellia Sinensis. Fun fact, a majority of the types of green teas are actually from Yunnan!

One has to credit the Buddhist monks who traveled and helped popularize green teas to other Asian countries like India, Japan and many European countries as well. Speaking especially of Japan, the Zen priests took the seeds of the tea plant from China. Green tea became central to the spiritual way of life, helping the monks meditate and focus for long periods. Today, China and Japan are known to be the two largest green tea producing countries in the world. The difference between Chinese and Japanese green tea variants is mostly the method by which they are harvested, grown, and processed.

Both green tea and white tea come from Camellia Sinensis, a tea plant, but the difference between green tea and white tea is the way they are processed. Both white tea and green tea differ in the age at which their tea leaves are picked and harvested. Both these teas differ vastly in their overall character which includes taste, aroma, texture etc. There is also the difference in the manner in which they are processed.

White Teas

The much ambrosial white teas are one of the least processed teas in the world of teas. One of the rarest teas in the world, white teas are harvested from fresh, tender buds that appear when the tea leaves have not even opened fully. The young tender buds are covered with white hairs which are responsible for the characteristic white color of these teas and the name as well.

Origin

With tea holding centre stage in medieval China, presenting the emperor with the newest, most unique, and rare tea from young and tender buds harvested from the best tea bushes evolved into a common practice. White teas were said to be born out of this practice. The earliest white teas were harvested in spring and steamed. After removing the outer leaves, only the tender buds were used, delicately washing and drying them. These dried buds were then ground into a fine powder, much like the popular matcha tea these days. The powdered white teas were then mixed in hot water and an ethereal cup of tea was served.

White teas eventually traveled from China to other countries. Now a majority of them are produced in Taiwan, Northern Thailand, Eastern Nepal, India, and Southern Sri Lanka. However, all these variants have quite different characteristic properties from each other.

Difference Between Green Teas & White Teas 

Harvesting

Harvesting of White tea leaves is done at an earlier stage than green tea leaves, meaning that white teas are cultivated from tender buds of the tea bushes, even before the leaves have fully opened, whereas green tea leaves are selected after the buds turn into a shoot. 

White tea is also considered to be quite rare, artisanal and exquisite because it only grows during the early spring days and makes for an expensive tea, unlike green teas.

Processing

One big difference between green tea and white tea is the way they are processed. It is the process of oxidation that makes the real difference. Oxidation is a process where the tea leaves are exposed to oxygen before further processing them. The more the exposure, the darker the leaves, and the deeper the flavor.

White tea is one of the least oxidized and processed teas. It is neither rolled nor fired, whereas green tea is usually steamed or pan-fried for a darker color and deeper flavor.

The oxidation process includes firing, roasting, steaming, rolling, shaping, and crushing the leaves. While white tea is plucked and allowed to dry in the sun, green tea is quickly harvested and heated by steaming or pan-frying. They are not dried too much to avoid the green color turning black. White teas, not being processed a lot, hence have a lot less caffeine compared to green teas and hence have a delicate, milder flavor profile.

Conclusion

We can’t precisely conclude which one among white tea and green tea is better because they are both equally bounteous and each has its unique character. When consumed in limited amounts, tea, green or white, can truly make a marked difference in our lifestyle.

Cheers!

Mayuri Ghosh

Editor-in-Chief | Vahdam India

Write to me at mayuri@vahdamteas.com