The world of tea is big and colorful – there’s always something new to try. Whether you're a seasoned tea enthusiast or a curious newcomer, white and green teas are delightful staples you should know about.
They come from the same plant, both have caffeine, both are refreshing, light, and tasty. So, white tea vs green tea – what exactly is the difference? Read on to find out!
The Many Shades of Tea
In many shades, from black, red, and green to white, a single plant, camellia sinensis, becomes countless types of tea to try out.
Perfected over time, there are many ways to grow, harvest, and process the same plant into different beverages.
The methods are not only different between countries and regions, they’re even different between farms and harvest years. So we get an entire rainbow of teas, differing in taste and properties, from the tea plant.
Types of Green and White Tea
There are over a thousand types of green tea worldwide, and about 20 of those come from Japan.
From the world-famous matcha and sencha to lesser-known kinds like the Japanese hojicha or the Chinese Cui Jian tea, green tea is considered the world’s healthiest drink (though I’d argue it’s not a single drink at all). We get vastly different types of green tea using various parts of the plant, harvesting times, growing methods, and processing types. The fact that the tea plant can be used in various stages to make some kind of green tea is responsible for the sheer number of varieties out there.
White tea is not as common – there are about 10-ish distinctive kinds out there.
Some of the major kinds include the premium-quality Silver Needle white tea (Baihao Yinzhen) from Fujian, White Peony (Bai Mu Dan), Tribute Eyebrow (Gong Mei), Moonlight White Tea, and a few more varieties.
This delicate beverage is only made from the youngest leaves that first sprout in the spring, so the picking is more labor-intensive and the yield lower than many green teas – making the price of white tea a bit steeper too. Throughout history, this rare tea was only accessible to the Chinese aristocracy, but thanks to trade and modern technologies, everyone can enjoy white tea these days.
White vs Green Tea – Differences at a Glance
| White Tea | Green Tea | |
| Place of Origin | China. Also grown in Sri Lanka, India, Taiwan, the Himalayas, and Malawi | China. Also grown in Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Russia |
| Processing | Air-dried | Oxidation stopped by steaming or pan-frying |
| Kinds | 5 major kinds from China and a few from other countries | Over 1500 kinds worldwide |
| Color | Transparent to light yellow | From golden to dark green |
| Brewing | 75° - 80°C for 1-3 minutes | 60° - 85°C for 1-4 minutes |
| Flavor | Light, floral, subtle | Grassy, oceanic, or nutty |
| Caffeine Content | Slightly lower than green tea | Medium, lower than black tea but higher than white tea |
| Medium | Always loose-leaf tea | Usually loose-leaf, but sometimes in tea bags or powdered |
Place of Origin: Where do green and white teas come from?
Japan alone makes about 20 kinds of green tea – and many, many more are cultivated and grown in other countries, like China, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Kenya, Turkey, and others.
White tea is mainly grown in China, especially the Fujian province, but it’s also found in countries like India, Sri Lanka, the Himalayas, and Malawi.
Both of these types of tea are enjoyed around the world, but in most places, green tea is more readily available and you can even get decent quality in supermarkets.
Flavor Profiles: White Tea and Green Tea
The light, flowery taste of white tea is nothing like the green tea types that I’ve tried. It’s simply hard to believe the two teas come from the same plant.
Green tea has many varieties, and naturally, many different flavors. But with all of them, there’s this herbal, full-bodied, and slightly bitter flavor that’s easy to recognize. Steamed green teas often come with grassy or seaweed-y flavors, while roasted green teas often come with lighter, nutty or hay-like notes.
On the other hand, the less processed white tea usually has a mellower, softer flavor. It’s easy to recognize its subtle flowery and sweet notes with a hint of hay or grass. It’s a bit similar to jasmine tea but more subtle.
Visual Differences
It’s easy to tell white from green tea, even at a glance.
White tea is usually elongated, as it’s made up of whole young leaves. The leaves are usually covered with fine silver hairs (not exactly as soft and fluffy as lamb’s ear leaves, but not too far either!) which give it a light color. When brewed, white tea ranges from transparent to light yellow.
Green tea is, well, green. Green teas come in various shapes, from fine powder to big, rolled chunks, but the color is usually green. That can range from the bright, spring-grass green of matcha, over the darker shades of sencha, to the dull, almost-grey dark green of Chinese green teas. Some are even brown, like the roasted hojicha. All green teas brew into some shade of yellow or green.
Growing and Processing: White Tea vs Green Tea
All teas come from the tea plant, so what exactly is the difference between green and white tea?
It’s all in the way leaves are picked and processed.
White tea is made of the young growth that sprouts in spring. Only two or three of the youngest leaves, still light green in color, are picked from any one branch.
Varieties of green tea, however, can be made of any part of the tea plant and the plants may be harvested up to 3 times in a year. For example, the cheaper kukicha is made of stems and twigs, and the highest quality teas like gyokuro are often made of the first harvest in a year, while cheaper bancha gets made of the second or third harvest leaves.
Once the leaves are picked, the manufacturers want to minimize oxidation. White tea is minimally processed – usually just air-dried (withered outdoors), unlike green tea which goes through heat processing to stop oxidation (in most cases – steaming for Japanese teas, and pan-frying for Chinese teas).
Since it’s made of young leaves that still didn’t get to unfurl, white tea comes in an elongated shape. Japanese green teas are often rolled – to lock in their flavor. You’ll notice Japanese green teas unfurling in your tea pot, which doesn’t really happen with white tea – it just expands a little as it soaks up water.
How to Brew White and Green Tea
Both green and white tea can be hot or cold brewed.
Never pour boiling-hot water over either of these teas. Ideally, boil the water and then let it cool down. Use filtered, soft water for best results!
Hot-brew White Tea
White tea always comes as loose-leaf tea, it’s never packed in tea bags. That’s because the large, young buds need space to unfurl to release their gentle flavor.
Use 2 teaspoons of white tea leaves per 200 ml of water. Let your water cool down to between 75° and 80° C (approximately 165° – 180° F). Pour water over leaves and let it steep for between 1 and 5 minutes, depending on how strong you like it.
Unlike green and black, white tea is not a good base to add milk to. The flavor is already too subtle, so don’t expect a great white tea latte.
Hot-brew Green Tea
Thanks to its many varieties, there are many ways to make green tea too. As a rule of thumb, you should never use boiling-hot water (unless you like astringent tea), but roasted green teas (usually Chinese) often handle the heat better than Japanese, steamed green teas.
For most regular, loose-leaf tea, it’s recommended to use 1 gram of tea per 50 ml of water, and cool your water to approximately 80°C (176°F). For best results, always check the directions on the box!
If you’re making matcha, the process is entirely different. Learn how to make matcha here.
Caffeine Content in White and Green Tea
It’s often said that white tea is low in caffeine, but that’s really up for debate. In fact, the caffeine content in most tea types varies greatly, depending on the harvest, processing, and how you brew it.
For the sake of comparison, we could say that black tea has half the caffeine of a cup of coffee, green tea has half the caffeine of black tea, and white tea has half the caffeine of green tea. Of course, this is veeeery simplified, as even different varieties of green tea can have vastly different caffeine contents.
Simply said, even though Google mostly says it’s low-caf, don’t drink your white tea before bed (herbal teas, ideally chamomile tea, would be perfect instead). Though often lower than green and black, white tea is still quite high in caffeine, especially if you steep it for longer than a minute.
White vs Green – Up to Taste
As you can see, both white and green teas are delightful, revered types of tea that everyone can enjoy. It’s really up to taste! If you enjoy lighter, flowery teas, white might be the best choice for you, and if you’re into stronger and grassy flavors, green tea is the way to go.
My personal recommendation? Get both (and don’t stop there)!
Some days call for flowery, while other days are best matched with deeper flavors – and that’s the beauty of life, isn’t it?
Learn More
Choosing the Best Tea Sets - A Japanese Tea Lover's Guide
The Best Japanese Tea Cups - Make the Perfect Choice
The positive effect of drinking matcha (besides nutrition)
Different Types of Tea (coming soon)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dunja Djuragic Dugandzic
Dunja believes simple, straightforward, a little cheeky, and very informative writing can change the world. From teenage years, her fascination with the Japanese way of life continues to grow - and so does her research. Since 2015, she writes content about Japan, travel, world cultures and heritage, crafts and art, printing technologies, and a variety of digital products.