What is the difference between my normal cuppa tea and green tea?

All true tea comes from the leaves of the camellia sinensis plant. The difference between each type is determined by how the leaves are processed. 

Green tea is often referred to as "unfermented" tea. The freshly picked leaves are allowed to dry, then are heat-treated to stop any fermentation (also referred to as oxidation). As Green tea undergoes minimal processing and most resembles the original leaf, it is highest in life-giving nutrients.

Black tea undergoes a full fermentation process involving four steps - withering, rolling, fermenting, and firing (or drying). First, the plucked leaves are spread out to wither. The withered leaves are then rolled, in order to release the chemicals within the leaf that are essential to its final colour and flavour. The rolled leaves are spread out once more to absorb oxygen (oxidize), causing the leaves to turn from green to coppery red. Finally, the oxidized leaves are fired in order to arrest fermentation, turning the leaf black and giving it the recognizable tea scent.

All tea is full of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and polyphenols, which make it a healthy as well as satisfying drink. Polyphenols are beneficial life-giving antioxidants that help combat free radicals in the body, and therefore help arrest signs of ageing. Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols while black tea only contains between 3 and 10 per cent.