Looking for gateway Green!

[Vulture]

As title says I am looking for a decent green or two for trying out. I don't mind getting higher quality samples as long as that is what a good green tea is.


Thanks!

[olivierco]

You can try some teas from one of these japanese sellers.
www.o-cha.com
www.ippodo-tea.co.jp
www.hibiki-an.com

and of course from adagio.

[Vulture]

Meant more of a specific type but that works

[olivierco]

Meant more of a specific type but that works

OK I try to be more specific.

If you want good stuff (so better than everyday tea) for sencha, matcha and gyokuro:
Hibiki-an premium grades and above.
O-cha quite all of them with the exception of the lowest grades.
Ippodo: the three or four higher grades from each kind.

Don't forget to try houjicha, bancha and genmaicha

[Pentox]

Sencha.

Start there. If you want to start fairly baseline, start with something like the secha overture from Adagio. Or one of the less expensive senchas from o-cha.com. Personally I'm a big fan of Lupicia, but I would say that their Japanese sencha department is a bit overwhelming for a start.

[kymidwife]

I thought I just didn't like green tea until I got my first shipment from O-Cha. I've learned I don't care much for chinese greens, or flavored greens, or low-qualiity greens that turn bitter easily. But the ones I tried from O-Cha, I just loved... Fukamushi Sencha Supreme (shincha), Gyokuro Shou-en, and Yutaka Midori. All absolutely delicious. The lesser quality ones I tried were all a tremendous waste of my money, time, and patience... so I will be buying good Japanese greens or no greens at all from now on.

Looking forward to trying some matcha soon.

Sarah

[Cinnamon Kitty]

Den's Green Tea kit! It's all of $3, no shipping and the money gets reimbursed if you make another order from them. It comes with a decent sencha and some genmaicha, a tea bag of each, some paper filters to brew in, and a lot of interesting information on green tea.

[Chip]

I liked the Adagio green sampler. Nice introduction to greens.

O-Cha was my first GREAT sencha supplier. TBH, I struggled with domestic vendors for years in the Japanese tea realm. I would get a good one and reorder only to be horribly disappointed. I would recommend starting with sencha. Every journey begins with the first step. Kabusecha, Chiran Supreme are good ones to start with. I also like Yutaka Midori A LOT, my fav for 3 years. Fukamushi Supreme is also very good.

You will need a kyusu for brewing sencha, you can use something else, but a kyusu works best for sencha.

[Trioxin]

I agree with Chip. The Adagio sampler might be a good start. Don't forget though to pick up a cheap digital thermometer. Temperature is key when brewing greens.

[Ed]

+1 to Cinnamon Kitteh's Den's green tea starter kit suggestion as well as Adagio's green sampler. Those two would be a great start and won't cost you much money.

[edkrueger]

I've noticed all of the responses were for Japanese Greens. I think Chinese Greens need to be here to. I'd recommend:
http://shop.andaotea.com/products/organ ... irst-grade
http://shop.andaotea.com/products/organ ... cond-grade
http://shop.andaotea.com/products/organ ... melon-seed
And, for the more adventurous:
http://shop.andaotea.com/products/organ ... as-eyebrow [has a smoky taste]

[Wesli]

Start with LongJing aka DragonWell.

[Chip]

Start with LongJing aka DragonWell.

+1

[Pentox]

I'm not so sure I would recommend a dragonwell. Personally if I started on dragonwell I probably would have sworn off of tea. Dragonwell gives me a light headache when I drink it for some reason. I've tried numerous ones and they all have the same effect. The same goes for TKY in the land of oolongs.

[Ed]

I've noticed all of the responses were for Japanese Greens. I think Chinese Greens need to be here to.

Adagio's sampler has lots of Chinese greens.