Sabine Weiten

Hebridean Tea Store Limited

I am the founder and director of Hebridean Tea Store Limited, an independent specialist tea and coffee business based in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides.

I founded the business in 2013 with a simple idea: to offer genuinely good tea, knowledgeable personal service and a range that went well beyond what was usually available on the high street. Today, the Hebridean Tea Store offers more than 150 teas, including our own blends, alongside carefully selected coffees and everything needed to make a good cup of either. From our shop in Stornoway, we serve both our local community and visitors to the Outer Hebrides, while our online store brings our range to customers across the UK.

Our range extends well beyond tea and coffee themselves. We stock teapots, coffee makers and brewing equipment, as well as mugs, cups, crockery and accessories, with an emphasis on distinctive and unusual pieces that are not readily found everywhere else. The aim has always been to offer customers both quality and choice — whether they know exactly what they are looking for or need a little help finding it.

Running a specialist retail business from an island brings its own particular set of challenges. Distance, transport, weather, freight costs and seasonal fluctuations are part of everyday business life in the Outer Hebrides. Over the years, the business has had to adapt repeatedly — through changes in retail, the growth of online shopping, Brexit, the pandemic and an increasingly complex trading environment — while remaining firmly rooted in the community where it began.

What has never changed is the character of the business. We are small, independent and personal. We know our products, we know many of our customers by name, and we believe that excellent service matters just as much as the quality of what we sell.

Visit Hebridean Tea Store Limited

22 Cromwell Street, Stornoway, HS1 2DD