Is green tea better and healthier for you than black tea? This seems to be the advice that everyone gives and when you press them for further details, they usually give you a vague answer like "green has more antioxidants." That is true but the amount "more" is probably less than you think.The ORAC value of black tea fresh brewed with tap water is 1128. Green tea is higher but not by that much... it's 1253. That equals 11% more antioxidants in green versus black. Sure it's more, but it substantially less than what most people are lead to believe it is.Though in defense of green, we do not know what brand the USDA used for their testing. It is possible and even probable that certain variations of green have more antioxidants and health benefits. Though the same can be presumed about black tea, too.
ORAC Source
USDA Database for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods, Release 2 - Prepared by Nutrient Data Laboratory, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - May 2010