In 1995, what started out as a Manhattan small business walk in, SerendipiTea has grown into one of the most successful importers and artisans of high quality teas in the world. 

Serendipitea

SerendipiTea maintains close relations with their suppliers and growers from what Linda Villano calls the “big five”—India, China, Sri Lanka, Japan and Taiwan. Linda also imports good-quality tea from unusual origins such as Guatemala, the Azores, Rwanda and Tanzania. The tea comes to them as a finished leaf that has gone through the drying process. From there, all tea and tisanes are hand-blended with oils, spices, herbs and other ingredients. 

“Even though we blend, the tea itself is always front and center,” states Villano. “We pair a certain type of flavoring or blend with a tea where you want to enhance certain notes that are naturally occurring in that tea to bring it out.”

There are five categories of tea — black, green, oolong, white and pu’erh, which comes from a specific region in China and has been significantly aged like a fine wine. Tisanes are not made from tea leaves; instead, they are a blend of fruits, florals, botanicals, herbs and spices. Sixty percent of SerendipiTea’s offerings are tea, and 40 percent are tisanes.

There are many benefits to drinking tea, whether it’s green, black, white tea or any other variety, all teas are high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Eighty percent of the teas and tisanes at SerendipiTea are also certified organic.

OPTIONS

• tisanes

• green & black teas

• yellow tea

• oolong & chai tea

• iced tea