Orkney Tea, Shapinsay

Lynne Collinson

Lynne moved to Orkney from Wales 10 years ago looking for a fresh challenge in a beautiful setting, having fallen in love with this iconic location as a student on an archaeological dig many years ago.

As a journalist turned entrepreneur Lynne loves pioneering and after buying a smallholding on a remote Orkney island, spotted an article about the fledgling Scottish tea growing industry. “It had never been tried this far north before so I decided to give it a go despite having no gardening expertise – and it seems like it was ‘meant tea be’!”

A grant via Highlands and Islands Enterprise got the business underway in 2018 with input also from Orkney College’s Agronomy Institute – with the first tea from her micro plantation processed and on sale in 2022. It attracted media attention in print, on radio and TV. Presenter Ben Fogle also dropped by to pick and taste some of Lynne’s tea and she was also praised in a Scottish Parliament motion for her tenacity in persevering successfully with the project against all odds.

Most of Lynne’s tea is grown under cover but after a rocky start, plants outside are also now doing well, but these have a much shorter plucking season due the often extreme windy and stormy conditions. 

Lynne hopes to run some tea tasting events and tours of her micro plantation later this year and also to offer some wellbeing courses and activities based around tea and the island's reflective walks guide. 

She is also going to be experimenting with different ways to use the picked leaf and may be venturing into white tea making in the near future. Long term its hoped to provide a tea visitor centre and onsite accommodation for tea and other tourists.