Tea Seta

My girlfriend drinks a lot of tea. At present, she's pretty casual about it, in the sense that she tends to use tea packets from the market in an everyday tumbler glass, etc. She is interested in becoming more "serious" about it, in part with an eye toward potentially developing and marketing her own brand. (Her background is in design/marketing generally as opposed to, say, tea manufacturing or import/export, for whatever that's worth.) I would like to get her a "good" tea set as a gift. I'm happy to pay appropriately for good quality and aesthetics, but don't feel any need to go overboard for exotica (say, china with ground rhino penis or whatever). I'm comfortable exercising my judgment on aesthetics but would welcome opinions on what other characteristics to look for (and why) in selecting a "good" tea set (composition, place of manufacture, etc.) and perhaps what sensible price points would be. Sourcing suggestions also welcome. I'm traveling a fair bit for work these days to the UK and China, so those are potenti options if necessary. But I'm assuming I don't need to go to those lengths and can opt for the convenience of something available in the States or over the Internet. (Feel free, of course, to disabuse me of that notion.)
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Advantages of one or the other, aside from personal aesthetics?

Thanks, guys. Helpful observations. (She drinks mostly black or white teas, not green.)

Went away mostly because it became clear you worthless a-holes don't know anything useful -- like about tea, for example.

Nah, just had a lot of transition and the like over the last year or so that got me out of the habit of checking in. Which means that I missed the opportunity for a grand "and in conclusion, F*** all of you" exit. All rights reserved, of course.

(This was meant as a reply to Rambo's post, obviously. My skilz have clearly atrophied.)
Edited by lawyerdad - 1/11/13 at 11:00am