Have you ever wondered why green tea costs about $2 for a packet of 25 tea bags, whereas with good old common or garden black tea, you can get about 200 bags for under $3!

Seeing as how most tea originates from the same tea plant (Camellia sinensis), is there a good reason for this, or is it just some scam dreamt up by a marketing genius in a back-room somewhere (wearing a big fat grin!).

But Green Tea is supposed to have such a wide and powerful range of health-inducing properties, and in fact is reputed to even act as a remedy for cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol and many other harmful ailments. So, how is it the black variety of tea seems to have none of these properties, and even has high caffeine content, even though the tea all stems (sic) from the same plant?

Now having been to Sri Lanka, and tasted tea almost straight from the plant at a tea plantation, I am aware that the flavour and health content of tea is directly related to the processing that takes place before it gets to your cup.

Well, the answer is in the method used to produce the tea. Black tea is fermented first before being processed, whereas Green Tea is not. It is picked and then dried, a process that is a lot shorter, that gives green tea a lighter flavour than its black counterpart. More importantly, many of the beneficial chemicals tend to remain intact, which gives green tea its amazing healthy actions.

Now, green tea is usually drank by itself, without milk or sugar, and to the uninitiated, the taste is nothing like black tea. I find that green tea on its own has a pleasant, but ‘burnt’ taste, and has to be acquired. Once again, if you have been looking for healthy replacements for ordinary tea or coffee, you may have sampled plain hot water or hot water with a slice of lemon in it as a ‘wake up’ brew. Green tea, after the first few mouthfuls the first time you try it, has a much stronger and quite pleasant taste.

With a speciality drink like green tea, the method of brewing to extract the best, and most consistent taste, needs to be a bit better controlled than with your common or garden black tea bag. You should boil the kettle, wait for a few minutes before pouring the water on the teabag (one per china cup), then let it diffuse for another three minutes.

How many cups of green tea a day will be needed to obtain all of these magical medical benefits seems to be a bit of a black art, with so-called ‘experts’ recommending anything from 2 to 20 cups of tea per day.

My advice is that if you want to change to a healthier beverage rather than ordinary tea or coffee, switch to green tea, and just drink the same number of cups as your old beverages. It won’t do you any harm, and it may well do you a power of good for your healthy wellbeing.