>>76644446
>My go to is sencha
all right, cool- in that case go for it. IMO sencha has a relatively low ceiling and it's usually not worth it to go for the really esteemed stuff vs. upper middle-shelf. Getting a variety of slightly different nice senchas in a mix of asamushi and fukamushi (unless you already know you much prefer light- over deep-steamed or vice versa) is still fun though. Gyokuro is also really good, best as a special-occasion treat though I think.
>but I alternate with gunpowder as well
How about other mainland Chinese green teas? My local Oriental supermarket always has both gunpowder and long jing, the latter of which IMO is a lot better. Lacks some of the nutty bite some people like in gunpowder I guess, but it's almost always more delicate and pleasing.
Oh I never answered your question-
>What is good quality tea?
For Japanese teas I highly recommend O-Cha, their selection is of modest size but good variety, and I haven't bought a bad tea from them. If you want to try some weird novelties instead of focusing on green tea, or if there are more specific teas you really want to try, Yunomi is also good. The other anon recommend Yunnan Sourcing and white2tea for Chinese teas; both are very solid options, but like Yunomi can be overwhelming if you're new or don't know what exactly you want. There are lots of good specialist vendors for things like pu'er (the tea gen on see kay loves FarmerLeaf), wuyi oolong, Taiwanese oolong...
For a small and well-curated tea vendor that still offers a variety to choose from, I've got nothing but good things to say about One River Tea. I've been eyeing Quiche Teas for my next big tea order, they've been getting good buzz lately. There's also what-cha, which offers all sorts of unusual styles and regions and is very beginner friendly. Aside from tariff worries it's a pretty good time to buy Chinese (and probably Japanese aside from maybe matcha if that fad's still on) tea from the West.
