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Welcome to new Scottish Food Guide member Norse Pilgrim Teas. Up in the far north of Scotland on the beautiful isle of Shapinsay there is a lady growing tea. Scotland’s most northerly tea crop on a smallholding on the Orkney archipelago. The leaves on sale are freshly picked camellia sinensis leaves to use for culinary purposes or for making small quantities of your own Matcha.
Lynne was inspired to do something different and delicious; to work with nature and nurture a unique nursery of a quite exotic but oh how essential plant: TEA.
Scientists have done research on other fruit and vegetables and found that the more northerly they grow the more flavoursome they are. I know such work has been carried out with berry and potato harvests so by pure deduction, perhaps the same can be said for this tea crop.
Lynne harvests her leaves fresh in perfect condition to dispatch for next-day-delivery to your door where you can use fresh or process as you wish: shred finely through a vinaigrette; infuse in a crème brûlée or add flavour to cookies. You can even have fun with friends creating your own Matcha from scratch. They also dry beautifully if you wish to create your own single estate tea for this is rare and beautiful.
The Orkney tea plantation has garnered some publicity for its uniqueness and been aired on BBC. It even attracted a visit from Ben Fogle who was filmed picking tea during a visit to the island for his BBC Scotland’s Sacred Islands’ series.
Lynne flitted to Orkney from Wales over a decade ago having fallen for Orkney as a student on an archaeological dig. A true pioneer, she read an article on tea and decided to rise to the challenge. Some of her tea is safely in polycrubs however the outdoor plants are coming along a treat and she can now maintain a steady – if micro – harvest. This is a unique crop, something to value and enjoy.
In the near future, Lynne hopes to run tasting tours of her micro plantation along with wellbeing courses and activities based around tea and the island’s reflective walks, so watch this space.
RECIPE SUGGESTIONS…
Haddock quenelles poached in Norse Pilgrim fresh tea leaves
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