Antioxidant Rich Teas Provided By: www.healthsenior.net   There are four different kinds of tea that come from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis. White, Green, Oolong and Black tea all come from the leaves of this plant and they all contain antioxidants. We hear a lot about Green tea being antioxidant rich but we don't hear so much about the other teas being a healthy source of antioxidants. It's all in the Processing White tea has less caffeine than all the other teas and more antioxidants although there are different kinds of antioxidants and all the teas from this plant have antioxidant value. White tea gets its name because it is picked and harvested before the leaves open when it is still covered by white hair and, as with all the other teas, there are different varieties of White tea. Although White tea does appear to be the healthiest of the four teas, as it is produced almost exclusively in China, it is somewhat rare. That may be the reason Green tea is looked upon as the "healthy" tea. Green tea undergoes very little processing. After the leaves are steamed or baked, they are then rolled and dried which allows them to keep their natural Green color; hence the name Green tea. Oolong tea is somewhere between Black tea and Green tea as it is fermented some, unlike Green tea, which isn't fermented at all and Black tea is the most fermented and processed tea. Black tea is also the most popular tea and is the one referred to when "regular" tea is mentioned. While Black tea is fermented while processing, it is rich in flavonoid antioxidants. Whereas Black tea has approximately the same amount of flavonoids as Green tea, there are different kinds of flavonoid antioxidants which perform different roles. However, many people do not realize that Black tea has healthy value. Pick a Color - any Color Oregon State University researchers deemed White tea the healthiest tea of all in April 2000 because of the limited amount of processing which disturbs less catechins, a powerful antioxidant. Green tea is next on the disease-fighting antioxidant list as only minimal processing is done. Oolong tea comes in third and Black tea, although the most popular is also the most processed. While Black tea still retains some flavonoids, it retains little or no catechins. Regardless of the amount of processing, all four teas contain caffeine unless decaffeinated although the more the tea is processed, the more caffeine it contains. Thus, the more antioxidants the tea contains, the less caffeine it contains. For those of us who do like the rich, robust taste of Black tea, we can be comforted knowing that we are still consuming antioxidants when we indulge. Who's counting anyway? IMPORTANT: If you’d like more information on Antioxidant Click Here