So, generally speaking, Hou De, Teaspring, Jing Tea Shop, IPOT, Seven Cups are considered good (did I miss any?), upton and specialteas are ok, adagio is more or less ok. I know there are also special shops for pu-erh. Of the shops I listed, which are best for greens? Whites? Darjeelings? Blacks? Etc.. If you can be more specific, i.e. japanese greens, dark oolongs, dan congs, great.
I realized at last that I'm much more of a fan of whites and greens - the reason being not their taste, but smoothness, body, mouthfeel. If I make a very good oolong or pu-erh, their taste can be more interesting and complex but at the same time their body is much more "watery". All good Pai Mutans and Silver Needles have the qualities I like most in teas. With greens there's much variety and I think that Dragonwell, BLC, buddha tea (IPOT has it, not sure if it's exclusive), Zhong Qing Lu Cha, Hao Xian Bi Lu (taiwan Tai-Tung) seem to have these qualities, while An Si Bai Cha, Liu An Gua Pian, Gunpowder do not - or I was just unlucky with the first two. If I'm looking at a new - to me
- green tea, how can I tell which category it will fall into?
Some Oolongs are also fairly green. Are Dancongs considered to be dark type or in the middle between dark and green? Are 'woody' oolongs separate from dark or just another way to describe dark oolongs? Is there a reference site somewhere that lists all types of green, dark, woody, etc oolongs and shows to what extent each of them is either green or dark?
How about pu-erhs, are there any that I will find close to green teas I prefer?