max() unexpected type conversion

Hello.

I'm having some trouble with an unexpected conversion performed by the max()
function.
If max() operates on a 'varchar' type column, the result appears with 'text'
type.
Should I expect this behaviour in the current and later versions ?

I mention this because I'm using ODBC in VB, and this type conversion has a
bad outcome, because 'text' columns require a specific treatment (a second
reading of the column contents returns null). Therefore, if this conversion
is beeing made as a result of a design option, I'll have to use a different
approach (something like 'select ... order by ... desc limit 1').

A small sample follows, giving a 'text' type result:

create table test
(
testcol varchar(4) not null
);

insert into test (testcol) values ('A');
insert into test (testcol) values ('A');
insert into test (testcol) values ('B');
insert into test (testcol) values ('B');
insert into test (testcol) values ('C');
insert into test (testcol) values ('C');

select max(testcol) from test;

Thank you

Hélder M. Vieira