Tranquilitea Celebrates Five Years of Business

, a downtown Plymouth tea shop, celebrates its fifth year of operation this month, and owner Colleen Cannon wants to give back to the people who made it all possible — her customers.

On Saturday, Tranquilitea will host an anniversary event from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. that will feature samples and plenty of prizes to raffle.

"We really wanted to give back to our customers," Cannon said. "We're here because they support us."

She said she has been collecting items donated by her vendors to raffle off to customers, including a Polish pottery pitcher, a four-pack of tea tins and a collection of special teas.

Cannon also will have tea samples set out, and every customer that day will get a free sample of Citrus Celebration tea.

Tranquilitea opened on Forest Avenue in February 2006 and later moved to its current location on Ann Arbor Trail.

Cannon, who lives in Livonia, said she opened the business because of her passion for health and tea.

"I'm kind of a health nut, and since breast cancer runs in my family, I started doing research on the benefits of tea, specifically loose-leaf tea," she said. "When I found out how beneficial it really is, I wanted to share that with others."

She said she feels lucky to have survived this long in such a down economy.

"You can't count on anything," Cannon said, "especially as a niche business like we are. But we got so much positive feedback, and it's really worked out for us."

Cannon is also donating 10 percent of her sales Saturday to , a Plymouth-based nonprofit group that offers intervention for women who have been victims of domestic and sexual violence.