Our first stop on the Charleston tourist list this year was the Charleston Tea Plantation. With Mom and I being tea drinkers, it was natural for us to want to see the only working tea plantation in the United States. Tea making is an interesting process and prompts a lot of questions.
Tea is actually a bush. The leaves from the tops of the bushes are harvested every 1 ½ to two weeks to be used as tea leaves. We found it interesting that such a Small portion of the bush is used for making tea.
Once harvested, the plants go to the wilter where they rest until they loose about 20% of their moisture content. From there, the process changes based on if you are manufacturing black tea or green tea. (Yes, black tea and green tea are from the same plant.) If green tea is being made the leaves leave the wilter and are immediately crushed and made into tea. If black tea is being made, the leaves are allowed to oxidize for about an hour before they are crushed.
This is where many of our questions surfaced. We’ve all heard that green tea naturally has less caffeine and is more healthy than black tea. So if this is the case it must be the oxidation which allows for heightened caffeine and a fewer antioxidants. Right???
Well kinda. The reality is that green tea and black tea have about the same amount of caffeine. Green is slightly less but negligibly so. Now, I should note that the tea on the plantation is not processed as a decaf tea.
So what about those antioxidants and health benefits from the green tea over the black. Well, I suppose it is possible that during the oxidation process for the black tea that some of the antioxidants are lost, but the folks at the plantation indicate that there Is no documentation to suggest that green tea was healthier than black tea.
Mythbusted?!
The Admiral
11/9/09
Tea is actually a bush. The leaves from the tops of the bushes are harvested every 1 ½ to two weeks to be used as tea leaves. We found it interesting that such a Small portion of the bush is used for making tea.
Once harvested, the plants go to the wilter where they rest until they loose about 20% of their moisture content. From there, the process changes based on if you are manufacturing black tea or green tea. (Yes, black tea and green tea are from the same plant.) If green tea is being made the leaves leave the wilter and are immediately crushed and made into tea. If black tea is being made, the leaves are allowed to oxidize for about an hour before they are crushed.
This is where many of our questions surfaced. We’ve all heard that green tea naturally has less caffeine and is more healthy than black tea. So if this is the case it must be the oxidation which allows for heightened caffeine and a fewer antioxidants. Right???
Well kinda. The reality is that green tea and black tea have about the same amount of caffeine. Green is slightly less but negligibly so. Now, I should note that the tea on the plantation is not processed as a decaf tea.
So what about those antioxidants and health benefits from the green tea over the black. Well, I suppose it is possible that during the oxidation process for the black tea that some of the antioxidants are lost, but the folks at the plantation indicate that there Is no documentation to suggest that green tea was healthier than black tea.
Mythbusted?!
The Admiral
11/9/09
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