So You Want to Make Some Tea: Part 1 The Tea

Going into a shop that specializes in tea such as Teavana and David's Tea can be overwhelming especially if the sale associates at Teavana bombard you if recommending this and that and quite possibly things that you really don't need for a beginner tea enthusiast. It's best to go into these places educated about what you need and what you don't need. Most sales associates are more than happy to help you out with any questions (once they give you the runaround with their products).

Tea

First thing that needs to be realized it the price of tea. Loose leaf tea can be cheaper than the pre-bagged stuff, but there are also different qualities of tea out there as well. Don't expect to pay $8 for 2 ounces of Monkey Picked Oolong. You may even guwak at paying $8 for anything that weighs that little. To give you a little perspective. Two ounces makes about 60 cups of tea. $8 of prepackaged tea gets you 2 boxes of about 16-20 bags. So it's like paying about 13¢ per cup of loose leaf tea and 25¢ for the prepackaged tea. Loose leaf is obviously the best bargain even though it has a higher upfront cost. Besides, with the absence of all the little paper packets they come in mean less waste for the landfill. Some companies such as Upton Tea Imports and Adagio offer sample sizes that cost around $1-2. If you are just starting out, I recommend that you do this and see what you like before investing in 2 ounces of something that you really don't care for.
Where to Buy
There are many different places to get tea from. Here are a few great ones that I like.
Adagio
Upton Tea Imports
David's Tea
Wegman's
Teavana (order online instead of purchasing in store)
These are just a few places that people recognize. Of course there are other smaller shops that I encourage patronage to. They have a lot of knowledge about tea. Many of these companies offer starter kits with samples of their teas.
David's Tea offers a starter kit with five sample sizes of tea with 25 g each, a tea scoop, and 20 tea filters for $20. Adagio sells a similar starter kit including four samples and their ingenuitea. You can choose which category you select your tea from. Each of their teas also have sample size options and not to mention a frequent buyer program.
Upton Tea Imports does not have a starter kit, but you can create your own. They have sample sizes of all of their teas and offer infusers to purchase.
Teavana doesn't offer sample sizes or starter kits unless you want to pay out the wazoo for something. I bought a gift set for someone for Christmas last year and it included two of their travel infusers and 4 types of tea for about $75 on sale...They won't sell you less than 4 oz in store (I believe I may be wrong). But the advantage of buying in store is that you get to smell the tea and have an inkling of what it may taste like.
Go crazy at Wegman's. This is probably the best way to start for someone that's not sure if you'd like tea, you can scoop any amount you want. Most of the tea I pay less than a dollar for sample sizes. They also have some accessories to help you get started as well.
I will detail a little later on the differences of different teas, but, for now, go out and explore the possibiliteas. ;)