STiR coffee and tea magazine

44 STiR coffee and tea | 2025 Issue 1 Spring (Mar/Apr/May) The report points to regional coffee festivals as important to this growth, and the Glasgow Coffee Festival has had an outsized impact on introducing the Scottish public to what good coffee can look like. The festival was founded by Dear Green's Lisa Lawson in 2014, and has since grown to become an essential part of the country's coffee calendar that draws bigger crowds every year. In fact, because it sells out so fast each year, the festival will expand in 2025 to accommodate that demand, which Lawson notes demonstrates the Scottish coffee scene's growing maturity. "The city's ready for it, Scotland's ready for it, consumers are already waiting for it," Lawson says. "It's exciting for us. We can shake it all up a bit." Tea's Modern Revival Scotland's connection to the tea industry goes back centuries, and is inter- twined with the British Empire's history of expansion and conquest. Scottish shipyards built many of the tea clippers that brought the drink back from the colonies—including the famous Cutty Sark—while numerous Scots traveled to India, Sri Lanka, and China to get involved in the trade. On the consumption side, since tea was introduced to Scotland in the 1600s it has proven to be hugely popular. Initially too expensive for all but the wealthiest Scots, the influx of tea from colonial estates in India in the 1800s lowered the price and allowed ordinary people to partake. Since then, tea has been an integral part of British and Scottish life. A 2019 survey found that today, Scots drink an average of four cups of tea per day, while according to another survey conducted a year later, Aberdeen and Edinburgh are two of the U.K.'s "most tea-loving cities." While most people are still content with straightforward tea bought in bulk from supermarkets, according to Erica Moore, founder of Edinburgh- based Eteaket, that is beginning to shift, especially among younger drinkers. "There's definitely a modern revival in tea," Moore says, "and younger people are seeing the power of it and are becoming interested in the health benefits and where it comes from." Moore also points to the expanding interest in homegrown tea. An in- creasing number of commercial tea gardens are dotted around Scotland's countryside, meeting the demand of Scottish consumers who are trying to shop more local and overseas drinkers seeking unique tea experiences. "There are some amazing teas coming out of Scotland," Moore says, although "their volumes are still very low because of all the work that goes into making tea, especially in Scotland with our harsh winters." Price remains an issue, not only for Scottish-grown tea but for the high- quality specialty teas that Eteaket and other small companies focus on. "In the UK, people think of tea as a cheap commodity," Moore says. "So we are helping, along with all the other companies in Scotland, to grow that market so people can have their eyes opened and see all these different amaz- ing teas that are out there." Cultural Exchange Both the coffee and tea scenes in Scotland con- tinue to grow, helped in no small part by the coun- try's wider food scene and popularity with over- seas visitors. "Scotland as a country has got a really good reputation in terms of food, and I think that's helped by the tourist market as well," Thompson says. "It sustains a lot of restaurants and a lot of cafes. For people visiting Scotland, there is an ex- pectation for good food and good coffee when they go out, and I think that carries across to the Scottish people as well." Grant agrees and adds that Scots themselves love to travel and have brought an interest in spe- cialty coffee back home with them. Grant herself was inspired to start Glen Lyon after working in South America and traveling down the West Coast of the United States, while Lawson created Dear Green after spending several years working in Australia's coffee industry. Because of the country's small size, Grant does see the possibility for market saturation at some point in the future, although she also notes that the weather will always make people want to indulge in a good quality hot beverage. "There's such an appreciation and demand for good cof- fee in Scotland and so many fantastic roasteries throughout the country. Maybe it's something to do with our cold, northern climate that makes us want to bunker down in a cafe over a delicious cup of coffee." Fionna Grant is the founder of Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters. Photo by Jess Shurte, courtesy Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters Based in Edinburgh, Eteaket sells specialty loose-leaf teas from around the world with an emphasis on mindfulness and self-care. Photo courtesy Eteaket

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