If you're straight up on this, you're gonna want to go with a heavy hitter of a kettle. I have a 3L Zojirushi that I would rather lose a leg than give to someone. It does variable temperatures for all types of tea. 140F for delicate greens. 170F for normal green and some oolongs. 195F for oolongs. 208F for black tea and pu-erh.

I generally drink Harney tea because I live local to the factory and the tea is super fresh and I get to taste everything in their tasting room. But check with local tea purveyors. If you want to go the online route, Harney has a website. For Darjeeling, I like Thunderbolt Teas. Direct from Darjeeling. If you want good pu-erh, I go with Yunnan Sourcing. Again, cakes direct from China.

You've made the steps towards tea greatness...continue the journey. Don't be afraid to try stuff. No, let me rephrase that. TRY EVERYTHING. Broaden your palate. Drink stuff from everywhere. Drink a lot. Soon you'll be able to pick out flavors. Honeysuckle sweetness of a quality Assam. Earthy, damp funk of an aged pu-erh. Stone fruit of a Darjeeling. The umami of a quality sencha. Just rev them taste buds and get in there, champ.

And don't forget crumpets. Crumpets are crunk.