Why is green tea more expensive than black tea?!
Why is green tea more expensive than black tea?
at meijer (a great lakes superstore similar to walmart), its 2.49 for 100 black tea bags but 3.19 for 48 green ones. i thought green tea was less processed (but wouldn't that make it cheaper?)...
anybody know why this is?
Answers:
Black tea is produced using the whole tea plant, and is "fermented". The leaves are crushed and enzymes are released which change the chemicals and give black tea its strong flavor. Green tea is produced using only the new buds/leaves of the tea plant and is not fermented. The green tea is more expensive because they are more selective about the part of the tea plant which is used. Only the first 5 or six leaves on the branch can be used. So green tea production is lower per tea plant. So yes Green Tea is less processed but its also "rarer" if you will.
Source(s):
Plants and Civilizations College Course
i believe the tea leaves themselves are just worth more....plus green tea is incredibly fashionable at the moment which makes prices go up anyway. that's the more logical answer.
Green tea is very good for you an antioxidant and get toxic out of you body.
Although green tea is oxidized less that doesn't mean it is handled less. Green tea takes a bit more careful handling to prevent it from rotting or accidentally oxidizing (making it an oolong or black depending on the percentage of oxidization) and it tends to go stale more quickly. You see a greater price difference with whole-leaf teas for this reason.