I assume your are either not interested in loose tea or not there yet.

Once you reach temperature sensitive teas (like japanese greens) that are additionally sensitive to hard water it quickly becomes difficult to brew tea at work/not at home.

Personally I started to bring a 400ml thermos (about my usual cup) and on some days my 1L thermos.
Both my thermos keep a 70°C tea warm (probably 50°C) even until end of work and so temperature doesnt become an issue but instead oxidadation. Greens like to become a faint brown color and change their taste. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

not interested in loose tea or not there yet.

This strikes me as particularly funny, thank you, that is very accurate. I have dabbled in the leaf that is loose, mostly buying baggies from the bulk food store, so not particularly fresh (or high quality). But yeah I am trying to stick to the cheap stuff for now. I love how it’s so much less expensive than coffee!

Friends keep sending me these boutique tea and m samples now that I’m drinking tea haha, so I do know what I’m missing

Yeah, bagged tea is definitely more cheap compared to those more boutique teas.
But you can get it cheaper in local tea shops or on sites like yunnan sourcing. But: shipping and import

I’m not even a year into seriously being into tea, so I imagine I’ll just get more particular over time. I’m still working through a few boxes of various grocery store black and herbal teas, so maybe I’ll look around for something different when those start to run out.

I do really love a big pot of green tea while I’m working at my desk job.

My biggest advice:
Stop going to grocery stores and instead try to find a local tea store with loose teas stored in non-see-through containers.
They will usually let you smell the teas and you can determine if they may fit your taste or not.
But watch out: Smell ≠ Taste
And the taste is very dependant on your water hardness (if hard, you should get a water filter) and for how long and how hot you brew it.

Wish you best of luck :)

If you want a starter:
80-90°C water (my cups are ~400ml)
Chinese gunpowder tea (4g is my go to)
1-2 mint leaves (my choice is nana/maroccanian mint)
Brew for 1-2min
If it’s a good quality tea, you can reuse the bag and maybe add another 1-2 leaves of mint

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