AS SEEN IN…
Tea like you
have never tasted.
A nursery of nine botanical teas derived from the natural wonders and native plants of the most pristine place on earth—home. Fresh fruits, ancient myrtles, and soaring gums are just some of the sublime homegrown ingredients that inform this collection.
Winner of seven Golden Leaf Awards
LOOSE LEAF TINS
Australian Botanical Tea leaves encased in gold tins.
TEA BAG CARTONS
Australian Botanical Tea in biodegradable tea bags.
Tea from the most pristine place on earth.
Our timeless expanse embodied in nine Australian teas, each as variegated as the palates they were crafted to satisfy.
GIFT BOXES
An exploration of distinct Australian botanical tastes.
learn more about OUR AUSTRALIAN TEAS
The Tea Centre has been a purveyor of the world’s finest teas since 1993. Proudly 100% Australian-owned and operated, we source the best native ingredients that our sunburnt country has to offer and craft them into nine distinctive blends.
An anthology of local knowledge and tastes, these nine teas revel in our country’s natural food heritage.
The Tea Centre is launching our Australian Botanical Tea collection in the form of loose leaf tea tins (60-100 grams), tea bag cartons (25 tea bags per carton), individual tea bag sachets, and in gift sets:
- The Taster Box: 9x loose leaf tea sachets in the one sampler
- The Exploration Box: the entire loose leaf collection in one set
- The Outback Duo: a delectable sample of Bush Breakfast and Spiced Wattleseed
- The Hinterland Duo: a restorative taste of Alpine Sencha and Native Lemongrass & Ginger
The Tea Centre sources our ‘true teas’ (blends that contain the Camellia Sinensis plant) from two of Australia’s most famous tea farms. One garden calls the Daintree region in Far North Queensland home (black tea) and the other lies in the Victorian Alps near Wangaratta (green tea).
Despite sporting different climates, both regions harbour the ideal conditions for growing tea. The type of bold black tea that Australians love most grows best in tropical climates. As a result, sunny Queensland rainforests are the ideal location for black tea gardens.
Opposedly, green tea made in the style of Japanese sencha thrives in cool hinterland climates. There are several more small tea growers dotted across Australia. However, The Tea Centre centres our Australian teas around these two beautiful localities.
Moreover, The Tea Centre recognises that black tea is without a doubt the most popular tea in Australia. Lovingly known as ‘billy tea’ in common vernacular, black tea’s popularity in Australia has endured since its introduction into the continent during the eighteenth/nineteenth centuries.
For this reason, the majority of our collections (four of the blends to be exact) are crafted on the best home-grown black tea: Australian Daintree loose leaf from Far North Queensland. Brewing up a nostalgic rich flavour, each of our four black teas (Bush Breakfast, Spice Wattleseed, Pepperberry & Cinnamon Myrtle, and Smoked Redgum) are uniquely situated in being both Australian-grown and specifically crafted to suit Australian taste buds.
To encapsulate the endless expanse of Australia into nine blends was a challenge that The Tea Centre championed for two years! The homegrown ingredients in our collection are just a small sample of the beautiful botanicals that Australia has to offer. We acknowledge that the sourcing of these ingredients was made possible through the traditional bush medicine and agricultural teachings of Australian Aboriginals. They are the original cultivators of these ingredients and the first to recognise their health benefits in Australia.
A gathering of gum trees (Eucalyptus)
Did you know that Australia’s quintessential ‘billy tea’ was traditionally black tea garnished with an aromatic gum leaf? Therefore, no Antipodean tea collection is complete without this botanical beloved by people and koalas alike! Known as eucalyptus trees, these soaring gums are endemic to Australia. In fact, we’re the only country in the world to boast 900 eucalyptus species. You can find four types in our collection: redgum (Smoked Redgum), lemon-scented gum (Desert Lime & Lemon Myrtle), strawberry gum (Davidson’s Plum & Rosella), and peppermint gum (Mountain Mint).
What makes gum trees such a fantastic ingredient in fusion teas, you ask? Firstly, gum leaves are naturally rich in oil and boast high water content. Not only do these factors make the leaves superbly fragrant (an important consideration in any tea blend) but super refreshing to sip…no wonder koalas love them so much! Secondly, gums are evergreen trees and there’s no shortage of them in Australia (we have ninety-two million hectares at last count). This ensures that The Tea Centre has a consistent supply chain and can provide you with gum-infused teas all year long without impacting the environment! Thirdly, eucalyptus leaves are packed with bioactive compounds that are thought to support one’s holistic health. For example, gums are often used in cough medicines due to their antimicrobial properties. Lastly, but most importantly…eucalyptus tea blends taste so good!
A marshalling of ancient myrtles
Who knew that the unassuming, flowering shrubs that dot forest floors across Australia could hold so much flavour and punch? Despite being a ‘shrub’, the myrtles native to Australia are built different. Some grow between eight to twenty metres tall in order to better convene with the sun! The Tea Centre has traversed the expanse of our great Southern continent and picked up the following myrtles for this collection: Cinnamon Myrtle (Pepperberry & Cinnamon Myrtle), Lemon Myrtle (Desert Lime & Lemon Myrtle), Aniseed Myrtle (Spiced Wattleseed), and Gulbarn (Davidson’s Plum & Rosella).
Just like gums, myrtles are an evergreen and abundant botanical. This ensures that we can create Australian-grown teas all year round. Highly variegated across multiple species, myrtles sport a number of wide-ranging aromas and notes…all of which have a profusion of flavour. Most interestingly, the leaves of these shrubs contain a volatile oil called myrtol, which Australian Aboriginals have cultivated as an antiseptic, tonic, and flavouring for food.
A caucus of fruits and grasses
It was important to us when creating the range to include ingredients from as many states and territories as possible. For example, we work with suppliers in South Australia to secure desert lime and Queensland for rosella and Davidson’s Plum. From Northern Territory, we source native lemongrass and wattleseed, pepperberry leaves from Tasmania, green tea from Victoria, and strawberry gum from New South Wales. Even Canberra is represented in Smoked Redgum, which is where we smoke our delicious black tea blend.
Five out of the nine teas in our collection—Smoked Redgum, Spiced Wattleseed, Pepperberry & Cinnamon Myrtle, Alpine Sencha, and Desert Lime & Lemon Myrtle—are 100% Australian-grown. Three of the remaining four teas then contain at least 70% Australian-grown ingredients. The one exception is Bush Breakfast, which is 50% Australian-grown. However, given breakfast teas are historically made using loose leaves from all over the world, this is in line with tea-craftsmanship traditions.
Where possible, The Tea Centre uses Australian-grown ingredients. However, The Tea Centre does incorporate some non-Australian ingredients where there is no feasible homegrown alternative, steady supply chain, or taste equivalent. Take Australian-grown ginger for example. While it does exist, it’s not grown on a commercially available scale that would allow The Tea Centre to manufacture a blend with this ingredient all year round. For that reason, the ginger in our Native Lemongrass & Ginger comes from overseas instead.
Overall, The Tea Centre is proud to be one of the few Australian-owned and operated tea retailers to bring a majority Australian-grown loose leaf tea collection of this size and scope to market. We hope you enjoy it and welcome any feedback in-store or via our customer service team at [email protected]!
Yes, our Australian Botanical Tea collection is available for wholesale customers in the hospitality and retail industries!
To enquire further, please touch base with our Wholesale Manager Suze at [email protected].