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I second the Adagio site! I love the little pot that allows me to make one cup at a time, and it comes with a sampler set. If I'm considering a new tea, there are lots of rating from people more knowledgeable than me. My favorite is the Green Citron.

I have heard that for many herbal teas if you steep them in boiling water you loose some of their nutritional/healthful value. I usually let the water boil, turn it off for a bit and then pour the water in to steep the tea.

And a couple of old traditions I learned from my young days in Ireland. You should always warm your pot before adding the water and tea. We swish a bit of boiling water the pot and pour it out. And always put the tea bag in first, then add water.

Enjoy!

Start yourself off right and get whole tea--don't go for the flakes in little baggies! There is such a difference in taste. And next time you're in Paris visit the Mariage Freres place...it's the best. Williams Sonoma sells a couple of their teas here, too, but be careful--once you have it, you're hooked! Enjoy your tea!

Another site to try: teasource.com. They're a tea importer, and their teas are particularly fresh and varied. They have some samplers, too, which might be useful to you: http://tinyurl.com/2jxmha

My favorite teas:

YogiTea http://www.yogitea.com/
I've always been amazed at the quality of this stuff (herbal and otherwise) and it's pretty widely available. I'm a particular fan of their ginger tea when my stomach is feeling upset (or even when it's not).

PG TIPS http://www.pgmoment.com/
Somedays you just want a comforting cuppa with a little milk and sugar (or honey). This is my favorite English tea.

For green tea - I tend to have a pedestrian taste and buy the "sushi bar" style teabags from the asian grocery store. There's one brand I like a little better than others - but I'm sure it would horrify a true green tea connoisseur.

Tao of Tea http://www.taooftea.com/
This is where I go for fancier stuff. I like a good dragon-pearl jasmine tea, a good oolong (unsmoked).

If you happen to be in a large-ish city there's probably a fancy pantsy teahouse. I've found that I've learned a lot by talking to the people at the tea shop (when they aren't too busy). In Seattle I like Remedy Tea. http://www.remedyteas.com/

In addition to the fun of having someone who is interested in the topic tell you what they know, you can try out different families of tea that you might not have ever tried if you just had to buy it off the shelf. And many tea places sell far better tea than you'll find in a regular store.

p.s. Starbucks doesn't count as a tea shop. ;-)

This video is great, and offers a clarification on the boiling water (hint: don't do it):

http://www.chow.com/stories/11367

If you have the time, money and people willing to go, try going to a tea (as in the meal that goes with tea at 4pm in Britain). I don't particularly care for tea but went with friends for a birthday party and had tons of fun. We each got different tea/tisanes and shared around. I found that I actually quite like lavendar Earl Grey with milk, and a couple of tisanes were really nice, too. So you get to try a lot of things and, big bonus, get to sit around for hours and chat over little nibbles.

JenPDX, have you tried the Yogi Tea Chai Redbush? That's my favorite (with a bit of soymilk).

My source for tea is The Tea Emporium; they have a great selection. My very favourite tea is their Spring Blend, which they mix only for spring every year (you've timed your request well!!). It is a delicate fruity and flowery black tea -- unusual and delightful. (you can find it under "flavoured black tea" or send them an email request)

They also have a sampler you may find interesting, or they could put something together for you:

http://www.theteaemporium.com/customer/product.php?productid=1048&cat=47&page=1

Or there is their tea of the month club:

http://www.theteaemporium.com/customer/home.php?cat=63

The best tea in the world is reputed to be Mariage Frères, and so perusing their teas and placing an order from them is a real treat.

http://www.mariagefreres.com/

Here is some info on Mariage Frères, and where to find their teas in the U.S. (to order from their website, just click on the pink bar at the bottom of the screen):

http://www.lasplash.com/publish/FoodAndBeverage/cat_index_paris_food/Mariage_Fr_res_-_The_Best_Tea_in_the_World.php

Loose leaf is the way to go for a quality cup. Get small batches so you can drink it in a reasonable amount of time and keep on hand fresher tea. Store in an airtight, dark container (like a tin) to keep the aroma and flavor. There are lots of places to get good tea on the internet, but it is fun to go to a cafe and try them in person before buying.

Another place to get Mariage Frere tea is here:
http://www.culturedcup.com/

I used to work in a tea shop (not The Cultured Cup) and we carried several of their teas. I am a fan, and do think their teas are interesting and good quality. My favorites/popular teas in the shop are the Marco Polo (slightly fruity, rich black tea), Birthday Tea (vanilla/fruit with Darjeeling black tea), and Wedding Imperial (chocolate/caramel black tea).

I would also recommend starting with some lighter black teas like a Darjeeling (one of my fav black teas), and try making a couple of cups, letting them steep to various lengths of times before sipping (2-5 minutes). I find that higher quality teas can be steeped longer for a full flavor (and less bitterness), but it is a good idea to experiment to find the way to make the tea to the way you like it best.

Another word about steeping teas--don't get a "tea ball" or spoon (the kind with the basket at the end of a handle). Go for a brewing basket, or fillable tea bags, just so the tea has enough room to fully steep. Loose tea expands a ton and the balls don't have enough room for the water to circulate get a full brew.

Additions to tea are fine, but I recommend trying any flavor straight so you can taste the real flavor of the tea before adding things like sugar or milk. Some teas are naturally sweeter, and may not need sugar. Generally, people do not put milk/sugar in green or white teas because the flavors are more delicate and do not come through the milk.

For herbal tisanes, try African Rooibos (pronounced "ROY-bow-ss," also known as African Redbush). It can be blended with a myriad of flavors like peach or lemon, but it has a naturally deep, rich, slightly sweet taste. Doesn't taste "grassy" or "flowery" like some herbals can be. Also, rooibos takes well to milk and sugar, and has a lovely brick red color.

Good luck, and happy drinking!

Some quick thoughts:

- I agree w/ the comments about Adagio - they're wonderful, reasonably priced sellers with a high emphasis on customer service. Their steeper is just about the most wonderful thing I've ever owned (I've had several over the last few years), and their kettle is the best I've found for my needs as well. Additionally, you can order a sample size container of all of their teas if you just want to try things out before committing to a larger amount.
- Tao of Tea is also wonderful, and they use a "frequent leaf" system that allows you to get free stuff w/ repeat business. When my customers place bulk tea orders, they invariably prefer teas from ToT and Adagio over any other purveyors I've bought wholesale from.
- Over all, I shy away from using bagged teas, though the new pyramid design is slightly better for allowing enough water flow. Key to remember is that tea can expand to up to 5x its dry volume when steeped, which is why bags tend to produce a worse brew even when the quality of the leaves is the same as unbagged (which happens w/ higher quality purveyors, but does not happen w/ people like Lipton).
- I personally do not find that boiling water is optimal for black teas. Generally, IME, a temperature of 205F is better if you want to allow for full flavour experience. The tea gets a little too scorched for me using boiling water. For tisanes, however, I think boiling is just fine.
- If you try a tea and don't like it, play around with the water temperature and amount of leaf used. Sometimes if the balance of these things is off, it can produce a bad result in an excellent product. I've had some excellent gyokuros that were absolutely disgusting unless steeped at a very low 137F. Not a temperature you'd normally think to use, but some teas are astringent at fairly low temperatures (generally it's the greens that are finicky this way, though typically you can go up to 160-170F and still get a decent cup from most of them).
- With partially oxidized teas (oolongs, mostly, though not exclusively), you want to determine the temperature by actually looking at the tea. If it looks greener, go low in temp. If it looks very dark, a higher temperature is fine.
- Please never use a tea ball. They follow the same problems tea bags have.
- Don't waste money on decaf tea, if that's of interest to you. All the caffeine that can be removed (just like w/ decaf coffee, there's always a bit left behind) is done in the first 30 seconds of steeping. To decaffeinate your tea, steep it for 30 seconds, then pour off the water it's steeped it. Add more water and steep for the normal time. It'll be decaf at that point. It saddens me to see people pay a higher premium on something that can be done by oneself for an extra 45 seconds worth of trouble.
- Most good quality teas can be steeped 2-3 times w/o an appreciable loss of flavour. In some tea ceremonies, teas are steeped over and over until there is no flavour in the last infusion. So if you're spending money on quality tea and think you'll drink more than one cup in succession, use the same leaves again! I have been known to dry my teas after only one infusion so I could use them again as a decaf option later, or simply to save a little money.
- If you find yourself infatuated with one particular black or oolong, consider investing in an yixing teapot. They need to be used only for one type of tea, because they absorb the flavour of the tea into the clay, but they provide a unique experience in tea drinking, as well as providing a sort of ritualism to the experience, if that's your thing.

Above all, have fun w/ your tea explorations! Tea is a beautiful thing that melds perfectly into personal exploration of your tastes and interests. Enjoy!

Holy crap that was a long post. Sorry guys!

I see that a lot of people have posted their tidbits about Tea. I am also a beginner when it comes too tea consumption. I would like to add: watch Alton Brown Good Eats episode on tea. That's the show that did it for me, it helped me realize that it's not just tea bags and boiling water. Lots of tips mixed in too. I actually found the episode. YAY it's called Trew Brew, 2 parts.
Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrqBe9sWHsk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RA7aJqfnX4

I get my loose tea from Teavana (in a mall around the corner) I've heard people also buy loose tea online.

Instead of buying tea, use your spice cabinet to make your own! I have a tutorial on my blog here on how to make your own spice tea bunches.

I also have five recipes posted... for teas like "Ginger Infusion" and "Spicy Cup". And it's really helping me get to know the flavors of those spices and herbs hanging around my cabinet.

I've been having so much fun with this lately, because i thought i could only buy the stuff in a bag!! It's like cooking a little recipe every time! ENJOY!

Upton Tea Imports has a fantastic selection, offers tons of information, and even publishes a newsletter. They send brewing instructions for each tea and a beginner's booklet with your first order (and the info may also be on the website). They're lovely to deal with and know their products well!

www.uptontea.com

Oh my lord I covet that teapot! I know it's overpriced and I'm probably not being very imaginative by suggesting it, but Mariage de Freres does have some very beautiful teas...as does the Ito En (loose teas). I'm pretty cheap though so my daily tea is loose PG Tips.