Help needed from UK members RE: sources and where to start.

[m12 shakes]

Of course this thread is for everyone and not just people from the UK (but wanted to slightly focus on UK sites), but I didn't have enough space in the subject box

So, where do you guys get your green tea from?

All the ones recommended on this site are either Japanese or American based . Do we have any good green tea sites based in the UK?

Also I'm new to the green tea world and would like to start with Japanese green tea...being a uni student I'm on a tight budget of around £7-£12 for 100g.

Is that a decent enough budget to get a half decent sencha? If so, which would you guys recommend?

Regards,

[puerhking]

Im not from the UK but I know some people on here like Jing but I have not tried it. Its worth a look

http://jingtea.com/

[Proinsias]

Not that I know of. Nada Cha is about the only UK site I can think of I'd recommend but that's just pu'erh and a little oolong.

[Herb_Master]

I can recommend Wan Ling's Tie Guan Yin - or the pricier ones that I have tried.

Jiu Jiu Jiu Guan Yin
and
Hong Xin Te Chun Guan Yin Wang

http://www.wanlingteahouse.co.uk/uk_tea ... -yin.shtml

[Jack_teachat]

Of course this thread is for everyone and not just people from the UK (but wanted to slightly focus on UK sites), but I didn't have enough space in the subject box

So, where do you guys get your green tea from?

All the ones recommended on this site are either Japanese or American based . Do we have any good green tea sites based in the UK?

Also I'm new to the green tea world and would like to start with Japanese green tea...being a uni student I'm on a tight budget of around £7-£12 for 100g.

Is that a decent enough budget to get a half decent sencha? If so, which would you guys recommend?

Regards,

Hi!

Welcome to the wonderful world of trying to find half decent Japanese green tea within the UK!

Firstly I would say, and I'm sure a lot of people on here would agree with me, that to get the freshest and best tasting Japanese tea it is best to order from the source (Japan!). A personal recommendation would be for O-cha, and for that sort of price the Daily Sencha is probably a good one to get started with, although saving your pennies for a "first flush" tea really is worth doing, particularly with Shincha season just around the corner! Shipping is also really quite reasonable!

I would second Jing tea (UK)... very good for Chinese teas, plus I have it on good authority that they will be adding some new senchas to the lineup shortly. However, probably not the best place to be shopping if on a lowish budget!

http://www.jingtea.com

Perhaps a good option for you would be Japan Centre, as they sell a range of teas which although not the highest quality seem excellent value for the money. I've had the Uji no Tsuyu Green Tea Gold (Sencha Kin) which @ £5.08 per 100g was quite alright. Well packaged, not difficult to brew, definitely a good tea to work on your brewing skills with (also makes good iced tea!)

http://www.japancentre.com/?cmd=cat&cid=177

Other than that I can't really recommend anyone else (outside of Japan), as from my quite extensive internet searching it appears that the UK lacks any really good sencha suppliers

BTW what Uni you at? I'm currently a post-grad at Leicester.

Jack

[GoTea]

Hi welcome to Teachat. I am also relatively new to the tea world. I am based in the London. I can second the Japan centre. Although slightly expensive expensive it seems the tea is good quality. The only problem I find is that sometimes it can be difficult reading the labels as not all are translated to english.

As for Jing, first ive heard of it, off to check out the site

thx Michael

[Oni]

I live in europe and I had no problem ordering from japan, only the shipping was the extra cost, but consider that in no european country will you find that quality sencha that can be bought in japan, so searching for a japanese tea provider outside of japan is a nonsense, it is not worth it. I say order directly from japan, and find a trustworthy chinese teastore that ships directly from china, and you will have great tea experiences.

[Proinsias]

Hi welcome to Teachat. I am also relatively new to the tea world. I am based in the London. I can second the Japan centre. Although slightly expensive expensive it seems the tea is good quality. The only problem I find is that sometimes it can be difficult reading the labels as not all are translated to english.

As for Jing, first ive heard of it, off to check out the site

thx Michael

If you're in London you should drop by TeaSmith. I didn't get around to trying their Japanese teas but they had some very nice teaware and the oolong's and pu'erh's I tried were good quality.

[GoTea]

Is Teasmith expensive?

[Proinsias]

Well it ain't cheap but I've never seen a decent tea shop that was.

I'll leave it to Hobbes to elaborate. Down the bottom of this post and here.