I have been into tea since the pandemic and I'm already aware of tea quality and loose tea. However, the people who know me, directly or indirectly know that I like tea, so whenever they get a hold of some they would give them to me, it's just that they usually bring teabags.

I had tasted lots of bagged tea, in between some of my "fancier tea" when I was only a highschool student who didn't have their own money, and there can still be a huge difference of quality depending on the brand. Some bagged green tea brands f.e. are very astringent and some are savoury with minimal bitterness. Yes, I have used non-boiling water on them, it comes from my experience with (loose) steamed tea like sencha and gyokuro, but some teas just cannot be saved, that's how I know what lowest quality is. There is still a spectrum of quality.

Anyway, speaking of loose tea... Nope, they're not safe from being bland. That's why I was asking for some specific recommendations if you have any experience with that taste. For example, my first shou puerh tea, though not "bad", was just bland. It tastes what you'd expect from puerh but doesn't have any outstanding quality.