Custom Teas Mark Peace Corps 50th Anniversary

Made with ingredients from countries where volunteers have served.

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The Peace blend

Organic Black Tea, India
Organic Cornflowers, Bulgaria
Organic Golden Raisins, Nigeria
Organic Black Tea, Sri Lanka
Organic Bergamot, China

The Harmony blend

Organic Apple Bits, Turkey
Organic Hibiscus Flower, Sudan
Organic Mango Bits, Burkino Faso
Organic Honeybush, South Africa
Organic Rose Hips, Chile

March marks the 50^th anniversary of the Peace Corps promoting peace and community around the world. To commemorate the organization’s profound work, SerendipiTea, an award-winning artisan tea company based in New York City, has created two special-edition blends aptly named Peace and Harmony ($12/4 ounces or 50 cups of tea; serendipitea.com). The company is even donating 20 percent of the limited-edition tea’s sales to the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA).

The partnership was born when SerendipiTea owner Linda Villano was approached by Priscilla Stevens Goldfarb, a former Peace Corps volunteer who is now on the NPCA business committee. “When Priscilla’s committee was tossing around ideas for celebrating and promoting the 50^th anniversary with creative ideas for fund raising, she thought about tea,” Villano recalls. “Her son, Chef Will Goldfarb, is a good friend of mine and recommended she contact me as he’s familiar with SerendipiTea, has spent time with us here on site and knows that I make custom blends in addition to all SerendipiTea blends.”

Villano took time to study the history and mission of the NPCA. “The blends should be meaningful in content and not just a tool,” she said, describing how she developed the blends. She settled on five ingredients, each representing a decade of the organization’s 50 years. All ingredients hail from countries where Peace Corps volunteers have served.

“Great care and attention to detail has gone into selecting the teas, florals and fruits that comprise the unique blends of Peace and Harmony,” says Priscilla Goldfarb, who served in the first decade of the Peace Corps’ existence. “These teas bring positive visibility to every region of the world where Peace Corps volunteers have served and continue to serve.” As an avid tea drinker, Goldfarb notes about the flavors: “I find Peace to be restorative and Harmony to be calming. Each is sublime and refreshing.”

The blends are available online and in SerendipiTea’s boutique in Manhasset, N.Y. For more information on the Peace Corps’ 50^th anniversary, visit peacecorps.gov/50. —Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the
author of foodspring’s food forager blog.