one hundred fifty nine

today i went on a tour at celestial seasonings in boulder, co. and i learned all about the way they make tea. i also learned that black, green and white tea are all made from the same plant, the top two leaves of the camellia sinensis plant. however there are some differences:

• black and green tea leaves are picked when the plant is mature, whereas white tea leaves are picked when they are immature.
• black tea leaves are left to oxidize and air dry, whereas green and white tea leaves are steamed before the oxidation is completed.
• tea can be de-caffinated by a process that involves putting so much pressure on CO2 that it turns from gas to liquid, which removes 99% of the caffeine in tea, then the pressure is slowly lifted to return the CO2 back to gas. and the de-caffination process is complete. but if a tea says "caffeine free" then it is not actually tea, instead some kind of herbal infusion.
• green tea contains less caffeine than black tea, but green tea contains more anti-oxidants.