If you have never smelled fresh lemon myrtle, it is genuinely surprising. The scent is lemon — but lemon concentrated to an almost unrealistic degree, overlaid with subtle lime and verbena notes, without the bitterness that comes with actual lemon. The scientific explanation is the plant's extraordinary citral content: Backhousia citriodora produces essential oil that can be up to 98% citral, the compound responsible for that intensely clean citrus character. No other plant on earth produces citral at this concentration.
As a tea, lemon myrtle is one of Australia's finest herbal offerings — genuinely special in its flavour, and not without real functional benefits. It deserves to be better known internationally, and it deserves to be understood correctly, which means being honest about both what it does and what the evidence says.
The Plant: A Queensland Native
Lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) is native to the subtropical rainforests of Queensland, growing naturally from the Sunshine Coast hinterland to around Gladstone. It is a medium to large tree now widely cultivated across Queensland and northern NSW for both the food and essential oil industries, and grown as a garden plant across Australia's subtropical and warm-temperate regions.
Aboriginal communities of southeastern Queensland used lemon myrtle leaves as a food flavouring and as part of medicinal and ceremonial practice. The specific details of traditional medicinal use are less extensively documented in published ethnobotanical literature than for some other native plants, which likely reflects gaps in documentation of Queensland Aboriginal plant knowledge rather than limited traditional use.
The modern food and herbal industry around lemon myrtle developed from the 1990s onward, when food scientists began recognising the extraordinary citral content of the leaf oil. Today the plant is used widely in food manufacturing, essential oil production, cosmetics, and increasingly in herbal tea.
The Antimicrobial Chemistry
Citral — the compound that gives lemon myrtle its characteristic scent and flavour — is also responsible for its well-documented antimicrobial properties. Laboratory research has confirmed strong activity against a wide range of bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antifungal activity against Candida albicans and various other fungal species has also been demonstrated. The mechanism involves disruption of microbial cell membranes — similar to how tea tree oil's terpinen-4-ol works — giving citral-containing oils broad-spectrum activity against multiple types of microorganism.
A small controlled trial published in Archives of Dermatology found lemon myrtle essential oil significantly outperformed tea tree oil in treating molluscum contagiosum — a common viral skin infection in children — over an eight-week period. This is one of the few clinical trials directly comparing lemon myrtle to another natural antimicrobial, and its result was genuinely notable.
In the context of a tea, the relevant question is whether the antimicrobial activity of lemon myrtle translates to measurable health benefits when consumed as an infusion. The honest answer is: the in-vitro antimicrobial activity is well-established; the clinical evidence for drinking lemon myrtle tea specifically for antimicrobial purposes is very limited. The tea is a pleasant way to consume the plant's compounds, and a reasonable part of a general wellness approach, but it would be overclaiming to say it treats infections.
Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Several components of lemon myrtle leaf extract have demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity in laboratory studies. Citral itself inhibits certain inflammatory signalling pathways; the leaf also contains antioxidant flavonoids and phenolic acids that can neutralise reactive oxygen species and modulate inflammation-related cellular signalling. This makes lemon myrtle tea a reasonable choice as part of a diet oriented toward anti-inflammatory foods and beverages — sitting comfortably alongside green tea, turmeric and ginger as botanicals with genuine anti-inflammatory chemistry, even if the clinical evidence for population-level effects on inflammatory disease is much stronger for some of those alternatives.
Oral Health Applications
For oral health, the antimicrobial properties of lemon myrtle are more directly relevant. The bacteria responsible for dental plaque, gingivitis and bad breath are among those inhibited by citral. Some functional toothpastes, mouth rinses and chewing gums now incorporate lemon myrtle extract for exactly this reason. As a tea, the direct contact between lemon myrtle compounds and oral bacteria makes this one of the more credible applications — though it should complement rather than replace regular brushing and flossing.
How to Brew Lemon Myrtle Tea
From fresh leaves — the most aromatic, complex cup. Pick 3–5 fresh leaves per cup, bruise them lightly by rolling between your fingers to release the volatile oils, and steep in just-boiled water for 3–5 minutes. Strain and serve. The flavour is intensely citrusy, clean and bright — exceptional iced in summer.
From dried leaves — available from health food stores, specialty tea retailers and online. Use approximately 1 teaspoon per cup, steeped for 3–5 minutes in just-boiled water. The dried leaf retains most of its volatile oil content and produces a reliably good cup. Avoid over-steeping — beyond 6–7 minutes, the tea can develop a slightly bitter edge. This is the most practical option for most people.
Commercial tea bags — the most convenient option, available from a growing range of Australian tea producers. Quality varies — look for products specifying Backhousia citriodora as the sole or primary ingredient, rather than blends that use lemon myrtle primarily for fragrance while the tea base is green or black tea.
Cold brew — lemon myrtle is particularly good cold-brewed. Steep a generous amount of dried leaves in cold water overnight in the refrigerator, strain and serve over ice. The cold extraction produces a different flavour profile: less volatile top notes, more of the clean base citrus character. Excellent with a slice of lime and fresh mint leaves. This is the perfect summer drink.
Culinary Uses Beyond Tea
If you are growing or buying fresh lemon myrtle, it is one of the most versatile culinary herbs in the Australian native food repertoire. It can replace lemon zest in baking — use half the amount, as it is significantly more concentrated. It flavours salad dressings and marinades beautifully. It infuses into cream or milk for ice cream, custards and pannacotta. It can be added to risotto, pasta and poultry dishes. The flavour pairs naturally with seafood, chicken, and tropical fruits — particularly mango and passionfruit. Lemon myrtle is one of the native Australian botanicals most readily adopted into everyday cooking, without requiring any specialised knowledge or equipment.
Safety Considerations
Lemon myrtle leaf tea, at normal culinary concentrations, is safe for most adults and has no documented serious safety concerns.
Pregnancy: herbs with volatile oil-rich profiles are generally recommended with caution during pregnancy, and lemon myrtle is no exception. The evidence base for safety in pregnancy is absent rather than negative, but the precautionary approach is to limit consumption and seek advice from a midwife or GP if you drink it regularly during pregnancy.
Essential oil vs tea: the essential oil of lemon myrtle is significantly more concentrated than a leaf infusion and should not be consumed. The high citral concentration that makes the essential oil an effective antimicrobial also makes it potentially toxic when ingested at the concentrations present in the oil. This is a general principle of essential oil safety — the concentrated oil is a very different thing from the tea or culinary use of the plant.
At normal food and tea consumption levels, interactions with medications are not an established concern. People on regular medications who are considering high-dose herbal preparations should discuss with their prescribing doctor.
Where to Find It
Fresh lemon myrtle plants are available from native plant nurseries across Queensland, NSW and the ACT, and from some nurseries in Victoria and South Australia. The plant grows readily in most subtropical and warm-temperate climates and is low-maintenance once established. It can be grown in large containers in cooler climates and brought indoors over winter. Dried leaves and tea products are available from health food stores, Australian specialty food retailers, and online. Growing online presence has made Australian native food products — including lemon myrtle — increasingly accessible both domestically and internationally.
For something that is simultaneously a genuine pleasure to drink, a fascinating botanical, and a small act of connection to the extraordinary native plant heritage of this continent, lemon myrtle tea is hard to beat.