Lemon Myrtle
Lemon myrtle is the aromatic leaf of an Australian rainforest tree. It is prized for an intense lemon scent and is used dried, as an extract, or as a distilled essential oil. In beverages it appears mainly as a caffeine-free herbal tea, as a botanical in tea blends, and as a citrus note in syrups, sodas, kombucha, and mixed drinks.
How lemon myrtle is prepared
It is steeped on its own or blended with black, green, or other herbal teas, hot or iced. It is also infused into sugar syrups, cordials, and still or sparkling waters, used as a botanical in kombucha and other fermented drinks, and added to cocktails and zero-proof mixed drinks. Because it carries citrus aroma without acidity, it can flavor milk-based drinks without curdling them.
Extracting compounds from ingredients using heat.
NON describes hot extraction of the teas. It does not specify whether the teas are extracted together, or give duration, temperature, apparatus or order.[6][7]
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In depth
A Queensland rainforest leaf in Aboriginal tradition
Lemon myrtle grows naturally in the subtropical rainforests of central and south-eastern Queensland. Aboriginal peoples of that region knew the tree long before European settlement. They used its powerfully scented leaves to flavor food and as a healing plant. Detailed records of specific traditional drink preparations are scarce. Still, the leaf's value as an aromatic herb and remedy within Indigenous knowledge is the foundation of every later beverage use. The modern industry that sells it as a tea and flavoring rests on that knowledge, even though Aboriginal communities have so far shared only marginally in the commercial trade.[1]
Colonial naming and the neglect of bushfoods
European botanists formally described the tree in 1853, naming it Backhousia citriodora. For much of the colonial period, however, settlers paid little attention to native flavors. Many newcomers considered Australian plant foods inferior and preferred familiar provisions from home. Meanwhile, loss of land and habitat cut many Aboriginal people off from their traditional foods. Lemon myrtle's scent was noted, and late in the nineteenth century chemists first isolated its essential oil. Yet the leaf did not become an everyday drink or kitchen ingredient among non-Indigenous Australians during this era.[2]
A wartime lemon flavoring for soft drinks
The plant's first notable role in commercial beverages came from its oil rather than its leaf. Lemon myrtle oil is unusually rich in citral, the compound behind lemon aroma, and is often purer in citral than lemongrass. During the Second World War, an Australian soft-drink maker used it as a lemon flavoring. This early use foreshadowed a lasting appeal: the oil gives a bright, sweet lemon note without depending on imported citrus.[1]
The bushfood revival and a new trade name
From the 1970s, and especially in the late 1980s, non-Indigenous Australians grew curious about native foods. Restaurants, cookbooks, and television programs all fed that interest. In the same period, lemon myrtle was assessed as a commercial leaf spice and crop. The shortened market name 'lemon myrtle,' replacing the older 'lemon scented myrtle,' was coined to sell the dried leaf. Plantations, often mechanically harvested and grown from cuttings for consistency, began supplying dried leaf and oil to the growing bushfood trade. Lemon myrtle became one of the signature native spices alongside mountain pepper and Kakadu plum.[2]
Herbal tea and tea blends
Lemon myrtle's most widespread beverage form is as a tisane: an infusion of dried, crushed leaf in hot water. Like most herbal teas it contains no caffeine. It is drunk on its own or blended into mixtures with black or green tea, much as citrus peel or lemongrass is added to other blends. Australian-grown black and green teas paired with lemon myrtle became a familiar native-themed style. The leaf also appears in caffeine-free blends with other native herbs such as aniseed myrtle or with familiar botanicals like ginger and mint. These drinks are sold in Australia and exported abroad.[3]
Infusions, syrups, and fermented drinks
Beyond the teapot, lemon myrtle is steeped into sugar syrups and cordials, infused into still and sparkling water, and cold-brewed for iced tea. Its volatile oils release readily in water, so short steeps go a long way. Because the leaf supplies lemon aroma without acid, it can flavor milky drinks and dairy-based preparations without the curdling that lemon juice can cause. Contemporary Australian makers of fermented beverages also use it as a botanical. It turns up in kombucha, water kefir, and craft sodas, and on the low-alcohol side in some brewed beers.[4]
Cocktails and zero-proof mixing today
The early twenty-first-century revival of mixology favored novel, regional ingredients, and lemon myrtle fit that trend well. Bartenders in Australia and beyond use it in syrups, tinctures, and garnishes for both alcoholic and alcohol-free mixed drinks. It often stands in for lemongrass or lemon verbena, or adds a native Australian accent to familiar sours and highballs. In zero-proof cocktails, where layered aroma has to replace the body that spirits provide, a lemon myrtle syrup or infusion adds a fresh citrus lift without extra sourness.[5]
References
- [1]EncyclopediaBackhousia citriodora — Wikipedia↑§1↑§3
- [2]EncyclopediaBush tucker — Wikipedia↑§2↑§4
- [3]EncyclopediaHerbal tea — Wikipedia↑§5
- [4]EncyclopediaInfusion — Wikipedia↑§6
- [5]EncyclopediaCocktail — Wikipedia↑§7
- [6]Instagram@non.world — Sep 20, 2024↑prepared
- [7]Product informationPROGRESS1 Poached Plum & Finger Lime — official product details, captured 2026-09-11↑prepared