What are the best types of green tea to drink? 🤔
That all depends on what you are looking for! In this article, we are going to be exploring each type of green tea, sorted by flavor, health benefits, price and more!
We’ll help you find the best type of green tea to drink for taste, the best type of green tea for health benefits, the best type of green tea for weight loss and the best type of green tea to buy for the price.
Let’s get brewing! 🏆
Different types of green tea
There are hundreds or even thousands of different types of green tea, and we won’t have time to cover them all here.
The different types of green teas are typically determined by where they are grown, how they are grown, how they are heated after harvest and how they are rolled.
In this article, we are going to simply examine a few different types of green teas to find the ones that are best for taste, weight loss, health benefits and more.
Complete Video: Best Type of Green Tea for Weight Loss, Taste, Benefits and More!
Best type of green tea for health
If you’re looking for the best type of green tea for health benefits, there are 3 clear winners. These 3 types of green tea are all healthy, but depending on your lifestyle and caffeine sensitivity, you may prefer one over the other.
Matcha - The healthiest type of green tea
If you’re looking for the best type of green tea for health, matcha powder is a great option.
What makes this tea unique is that rather than being infused into water, it is ground into a fine powder and mixed directly into water.
When you drink this matcha, you are consuming the entire tea leaf, along with all of its caffeine, theanine, antioxidants and more.
Gyokuro - Healthiest Loose Leaf type of green tea
If you’re looking for the best type of green tea for health benefits, but you prefer loose leaf tea this is the one for you!
Gyokuro undergoes the same 3 week shading process as matcha, in order to develop the trademark, sweet and savory flavor.
The tea is very high in caffeine and theanine, making it perfect for a healthy lifestyle.
Instead of the jitters and crash you might get from coffee, gyokuro drinkers report having a longer lasting, “calm alert” energy that lasts throughout the day.
Bancha - The healthiest type of green tea Low in Caffeine
If you are sensitive to caffeine, bancha is the healthiest type of green tea.
This tea is made from the older leaves of the tea plant. These older leaves are lower in caffeine but higher in minerals.
For this reason, bancha is often enjoyed after a meal, to help soothe the stomach and help with digestion.
The tea has a mild, slightly earthy and citrusy flavor that pairs well with snacks.
Best type of green tea to drink for Taste
If you’re looking for the best type of green tea to drink, that is where things get a little bit subjective. Taste tends to be a matter of preference, but what we can do is highlight a few different teas that have an extraordinary flavor to them.
You can then select which one you think would be most appealing! If you want to learn more about the tastes of green tea, you may find this guide helpful 👉 What does green tea taste like?
Fukamushi Sencha - best type of green tea to drink cold
Of all the types of green tea, fukamushi sencha perhaps has the most powerful flavor.
The tea leaves are steamed for a longer time and during this longer steaming process, the leaves are broken down.
This allows more of the leaf to flow into the cup, creating a vibrant green color and a strong, but balanced vegetal flavor.
This tea also works incredibly well as a cold brew. In the case of the Yamaga no Sato, the cold water brings out more of the fruity lychee berry notes, and less of the bitterness.
Genmaicha - Best type of green tea to drink if you’re a newbie
If you’re new to green tea, genmaicha is probably the best type of green tea to start with.
This tea is made by combining tea leaves with toasted rice. The rice imparts a soothing, warm cereal and nutty flavor onto the tea, which everyone seems to enjoy their first time drinking it.
The tea is also quite affordable, and it can be bought at a mere fraction of the price compared to some of the other teas on the list.
This was selected as one of our top teas for beginners and if you want to see the rest you can find it here 👉 Best tea for beginners Selected by Experts
Karigane - Best type of green tea for drinkability
If you are looking for a type of green tea that you can drink all day, Karigane is a great option.
This tea is made from the leaves of the gyokuro plant, but they are combined with the stems to create a more balanced flavor.
The karigane sakamoto has smooth and sweet flavors of cantaloupe melon and cucumber, and it works very well as a cold brew.
Once you taste this tea, you’ll want to drink it all day!
What type of green tea is best for weight loss
So what type of green tea is best for weight loss? If you’re looking for the best type of green tea for weight loss, you want to choose one that is high in catechins. Here are two teas that can help you reach your weight loss goals!
Matcha
As we mentioned before, because matcha comes in a powder form, it is higher in just about everything, including catechins.
Catechins have been shown to improve fat oxidation and metabolism when combined with moderate exercise.
Because of the high content of catechins and caffeine, matcha is the best type of green tea for weight loss.
If you want to learn more about how green tea can help you lose weight, you may want to read this guide 👉 Your Ultimate Green Tea Weight Loss Guide
Sencha
What type of green tea is best for weight loss when it comes to loose leaf tea? Sencha tea has a moderate caffeine content and a high concentration of polyphenols and catechins, making it a wonderful choice!
If you really want to extract a lot of catechins and make this the best type of green tea for weight loss, you can brew it with hotter water. This will make the tea more bitter, but it will also extract more of the health benefits.
If you want to learn more about the benefits of sencha tea, we put together the perfect guide for you 👉 What is Sencha Tea Good For?
Best type of green tea to buy on a budget
What if you’re looking for the best type of green tea to buy, but you can’t afford to get some of the top-tier teas out there? Here are a few inexpensive alternatives that are the best types of green tea for the price.
Latte Grade Matcha
If you’re interested in getting the health benefits of matcha tea, but you don’t want to pay for premium ceremonial matcha, you can go for the matcha latte powder instead.
This matcha powder is made from later harvests, and while it is a bit more bitter, it works perfectly in matcha smoothies.
This is a great way to take advantage of the healthiest type of green tea without breaking the bank.
Kukicha
The stems also contain a higher mineral content, making this another tea to enjoy with a meal or after a meal.
Hojicha
Hojicha is the best type of green tea to buy if you are a fan of these warmer roasted flavors.
This tea is made from roasted tea leaves. During the roasting process, the tea leaves change from green tea brown, and the tea takes on more of these coffee, caramel and chocolate flavor profiles.
This tea is typically made from the older leaves and stems of the tea plant, so while it is full of flavor, it tends to be very inexpensive.
This tea is great for digestion. Some studies even suggest that certain components of this green tea may have a protective effect against kidney stones.
