Evidence suggests that tea is a healthy drink. Tea is made from the Camellia sinensis plant through decoction of the dried leaves in hot water. This process passes many of the phytochemicals from the leaves into the water, and many of these phytochemicals are bioavailable and have health effects in humans and animals. Tea has been shown to have calmative effects and this has been attributed to the presence of the amino acid L-theanine as well as the flavonoid chemicals contained within the leaves. However, tea leaves also contain carotenoids, and these may contribute to the positive mental health effects of tea. A number of carotenoids are present in tea leaves including β-carotene, lutein, neoxanthin, and violaxanthin. These carotenoids are present in green tea, but are oxidatively degraded during black tea manufacture to several volatile and non-volatile products. Therefore drinking green tea may provide more carotenoids compared to black tea.
Green tea appears to possess a different antioxidant profile compared to black tea. Not only does it contain more catechins and carotenoids, but green tea may also contain more vitamin E than black tea. However, some of the degradation products formed in the ‘fermentation’ stage of black tea manufacture may also function as antioxidants. Therefore although the antioxidant profiles differ, both black and green tea are healthy drinks, rich in antioxidants.
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