Finding Favorite Shops

I often feel tea drinkers go through a multitude of phases, though not everyone goes through the same phases.  In my personal experience; I have had two main stages in my tea drinking career, the first being the try every single place I can find once, and the second being I'd rather order from as few different shops as possible but have them be quality.  I have not fully merged into the second stage yet but I am getting there slowly but surely.

While I am still exploring Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean Teas, I have a few key vendors for those, but most are not set in stone yet.  Though my Japanese tea vendors are slowly but surely getting locked into place, the only question is will I be able to afford it?

What makes me say that, tonight I had a sample from the Maiko Yamashita sample pack of the Yamashita-Jirushi ( of which I also bought an entire bag which is waiting to be opened).  This being their most "budget friendly" option was really good, and gives me great hopes for the other samples.  But I would gladly make the Jirushi a staple gyokuro in my place. For matcha it is Ippodo all the way.

I guess I am not completely set on a Sencha specific place, but maybe thats because I mostly look for enjoyable easy drinking sencha that can be found at a budget price, as it is my work horse tea, i.e. it is the tea that is my staple.

So now its your turn:  If you have a favorite vendor for a specific type of tea be sure to post a comment letting us know what it is!