Tea and a yarn with Rhoda

Rhoda Meek is the isle20 founder and owner of Tiree Tea and The Angry Triangle. Intrigued? Read on!

Hi folks! Well, I guess it makes sense for me to be the first Guest Blogger on isle20…

I’m a Digital Consultant living in the Isle of Tiree. I came back to Tiree in 2013 and set about renovating the family house which my great great grandfather had built in 1891.

I’ve got 61 sheep, and am about to add some Luing cows, which is very exciting!

In 2020, I started isle20 as a wee business directory. It has grown and developed since then, and is now one of multiple projects under the social enterprise Isle Develop CIC.

Tiree Tea

I have two businesses which sell products on isle20. The first one is Tiree Tea. Tiree Tea is the reason isle20 exists. I had just taken the plunge and scaled up stock when Covid hit. Trying to figure out how to shift 70k teabags was the inspiration for this entire site!

Tiree Tea currently offers 5 blends, ranging from a sturdy Breakfast Tea called Crofter, to a spiced mulled berry delight – Ferry Berry! My personal favourite is Tilley. Named after the community wind turbine I can see from my window, it is a refreshing blend of mint and nettle.

The blends are unique to me, and use high quality ingredients. When the plastic-free teabags arrive in Tiree they are packed into the eco-friendly bags you see on the website, and labeled before being sent on to customers.

Each blend has a story relating to the island and to island life. My goal is for the flavours to evoke those wee stories – reminding people about their holiday.

The Angry Triangle

The second business is a very new one – The Angry Triangle – which launched a few weeks ago. The Angry Triangle is the nickname of a sheep I have. Every year as she gets bigger before lambing, she glares at me in a very triangular way…

I have pure Hebridan sheep, as well as Hebridean Texel crosses. Having kept the wool for a few years because it was worth so little and because black wool is worth even less, I finally decided that I should do something with it, and set about finding a company to spin it.

The Angry Triangle is a partnership between myself and Rebecca Hutton of Taobh Tuath Tweeds in Harris. We are selling Aran weight knitting yarn in brown and white, and pure Hebridean knitting yarn – also Aran weight but we reckon it is closer to double knitting.

These 100g balls are just the start of what we hope will be a whole range of options. You can even buy a wee gift bag for someone, and we include a card with a list of patterns they can try!

See you around!

Rx

From the shop