Green Tea vs. Jasmine Tea – What’s The Difference?

When browsing the menu of a tea shop finding tea bags, you will often be confused between jasmine tea and green tea. So, this leads to the question, what exactly is the difference between jasmine tea and green tea? If you find yourself asking the same question, worry no more as this article has been written for you.

 As you will find later in this article, there are many key differences between the two. As you already know, green tea is full of natural flavors and has a variety of them. It is becoming more popular with people finding of its health benefits.

 New ways and tastes are discovered to incorporate green tea into their daily lives. Jasmine tea is similarly a subtype of the very famous original green tea. Jasmine tea has primarily the same ingredients like green tea, but it’s flavored with jasmine flowers.

Today in this article, you will find out about the health benefits of green tea and why you should incorporate them into your daily lives.

Green Tea

Green tea is primarily made using the plant Camellia sinensis, also called the tea plant. You will be surprised to know it is the same plant from which black tea is made. The difference between the two being so apart is how the leaves are processed.

Camellia sinensis, commonly called the tea plant, has two varieties. One which was discovered in China was widely used by the Chinese to make green and white teas. The other type was discovered in India and is now widely used to make black tea.

The process of making green tea means; first, the leaves are harvested when they are heated and later dried. Drying helps prevent fermentation and over-oxidation from occurring. Too much oxidation leads to the leaves’ color turning brown and the fresh flavor changing.

Initially, during the process, the color of the green tea varies from being light brown-yellow or green. Moreover, its taste also varies from grassy to being sweet. If green tea is brewed properly, it will have a comparatively lighter color with an acidic taste.

Black tea is gradually oxidized, which leads to its color being black and flavor being malty. When you compare caffeine in green tea to the other teas, it lies somewhere in the middle of herbal tea, with zero caffeine and black tea having the most one.

Nutritional Facts

In a serving of one cup of green tea:

• Total calories are 2.5
• 0 grams of Fat
• 0 grams of Cholesterol
• 0 grams of Sodium
• 0 grams of Carbohydrates
• 0 grams of Dietary Fiber
• 0 grams of sugar
• 5 grams of protein

Moreover, one cup of green tea has vitamins:

• Iron
• Zinc
• Potassium
• Copper

Health Benefits

Green tea has healthy bioactive compounds responsible for reducing inflammation and helping prevent cancer. A key ingredient in green tea is caffeine which helps you stay alert and boosts brain function. Studies have also shown that green tea works great at burning fat.

This is because it increases your metabolism, so folks out there who consider losing weight must try it. Green tea also has Catechins, which are responsible for oral health. Studies show that they reduce the accumulation of bacteria, thus lowering the risks of infection. There is also evidence that shows green tea reduces bad breath.

Jasmine Tea

Small white flowers obtained from the Jasmine plant are called Jasmine blossoms. These plants are usually grown because of their strong fragrance and distinct taste, floral and musky. These blossoms are used as a flavoring agent. However, traditionally jasmine blossoms are used rather than artificial flavors, making traditional jasmine tea slightly expensive.

They add a sweet and floral taste to the Jasmine tea. Jasmine blossoms are used to give jasmine tea its unique scent and are also sometimes used due to the same reason in black tea and white tea.  Sometimes actual jasmine blossoms are also not used in jasmine tea, and rather, a scent of flowers or artificial flavoring is used.

Nutritional Facts

In a serving of one cup of Jasmine tea:

• Total Calories: 0
• 0 grams of protein
• 0 grams of fat
• 0 grams of carbohydrates
• 0 grams of fiber
• 0 grams of sugar

Moreover, the vitamins included are:

• Iron
• Zinc
• Potassium
• Copper

Health Benefits

Jasmine tea is full of plant-based compounds called Polyphenols. These compounds work as anti-oxidants protecting the health of your cells. Studies also show that they help in heart-related diseases and preventing cancer. Jasmine tea also contains caffeine which helps you keep alert and boost your brain function.

Caffeine has also been shown to work as a mood enhancer as it stimulates dopamine in the brain responds to produce feel-good chemicals. It also helps prevent type 2 diabetes which is the most common form of diabetes and occurs when your body does not produce enough insulin. This leads to reduced blood sugar levels.

So, What Is the Difference Between Green Tea and Jasmine Tea?

Moving on towards the main differences between green tea and jasmine tea, which includes:

1. Green tea is comparatively less costly than Jasmine tea. It is because only high-quality jasmine leaves are used as low-quality leaves do not give the desired flavoring.
2. Jasmine tea is primarily scented with jasmine blossoms and has a floral flavor. On the other hand, green tea is vegetal and has an acidic taste that needs sweetening.
3. Tea flavor in jasmine tea is less prominent when compared to that of green tea.
4. Jasmine tea is often floral scented and has a distinct taste, which needs no sweetening; however, people often add sugar to their green tea because of its powerful taste.
5. If the base of the jasmine tea is green tea, it will boost the health benefits of the green tea.
6. Moreover, if you have a newcomer who wants to try green tea, then presenting jasmine tea will be a friendlier option as it will mask the powerful taste of green tea.

Sources

• Foodsguy
• Coffeeandteacorner
• Fullcoffeeroast