Our Australian Teas
About our Artisan Australian Teas
With our range of Australian teas, we're breaking the rules as far as tea production goes!
Japanese green tea varieties - Processed in the Taiwanese Style - for Australian Tastes.
When brewed correctly, our teas won't produce a bitter brew strong in tannin. Instead, you will find a complex mix of floral, aromatic & sweet notes. Our range of tea flavours have been likened to renowned areas from Taiwan, China, Korea and Japan.
A mix of curiosity, necessity and inventiveness have brought us to our final tea products.
Our Current Range
Spring Flush Green & Spring Flush Black
Our Spring Flush Green & Spring Flush Black teas come from the first harvest in Spring after a Winter dormancy. This first Spring harvest is the prime cut of tea, prized around the world for the unique qualities of flavour, aroma and cup smell. All of which you will find in Arakai Estate's Spring Flush tea, as well as a long, lingering sweetness in the mouth.
We only get one shot at this harvest and we put everything into ensuring a uniform plantation and clean harvest. Many a late night is spent in the processing factory gently coaxing the finest qualities from the leaf. It can take up to three days from harvest to the final dry - always tasting, smelling and sorting to ensure only the best leaves make it through the process.
Spring Flush Tea Customer Reviews
“Ever wonder what the love child of a Taiwanese high mountain oolong and a Japanese green is? This is your tea and it is pure bliss. Complex, smooth, and sweet! 9.5 out of 10”
“..the spring green tea evokes memories of high mountain oolongs, while the spring black tea I found to be very reminiscent of the more oxidised Balhyochas.”
Spring Flush Black Tea Awards
2015 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Australian Black Tea (2015/16 Spring Flush Black)
2017 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Australian Black Tea (2016/17 Spring Flush Black)
Best Australasian Black Tea (2016/17 Spring Flush Black)
2018 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Australian Black Tea - Gold (2017/18 Spring Flush Black)
Best Australasian Black Tea - Gold (2017/18 Spring Flush Black)
2019 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Australian Black Tea - Gold (2018/19 Spring Flush Black)
Best Australasian Black Tea - Gold (2018/19 Spring Flush Black)
2021 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Black Tea Single Origin - Australia - Gold (2020/21 Spring Flush Black)
2022 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Australian Black Tea - Gold - (2021/22 Spring Flush Black)
Best Single Origin Worldwide - Gold (2021/22 Spring Flush Black)
2023 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Single Origin Worldwide - Silver - (2022/23 Spring Flush Black)
2023 Hobart Fine Food Awards
Silver (2022/23 Spring Black)
2024 Hobart Fine Food Awards
Gold (2023/24 Spring Black)
Silver (2022/23 Spring Black)
2024 UK Leafies Awards - UK Tea Academy
Highly Commended (2023/24 Spring Black)
Spring Flush Green Tea Awards
2015 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Australian Green Tea (2015/16 Spring Flush Green)
Best Overall Green Tea (2015/16 Spring Flush Green)
2017 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Australian Green Tea (2016/17 Spring Flush Green)
Best Worldwide Green Tea (2016/17 Spring Flush Green)
2018 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Australian Green Tea - Gold (2016/17 Spring Flush Green)
Worldwide Green Tea - Bronze (2016/17 Spring Flush Green)
2018 Hobart Fine Food Awards
Bronze (2017/18 Spring Flush Green)
2019 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Worldwide Green Tea - Gold (2018/19 Spring Flush Green - Special Reserve)
Best Australian Green Tea - Gold (2018/19 Spring Flush Green)
2021 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Worldwide Green Tea - Gold (2019/20 Spring Flush Green)
Best Australian Green Tea Gold (2019/20 Spring Flush Green)
2022 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Worldwide Green Tea - Gold (2021/22 Spring Flush Green - Special Reserve)
Best Australian Green Tea - Gold (2021/22 Spring Flush Green)
2023 Hobart Fine Food Awards
Bronze (2022/23 Spring Green)
2024 Hobart Fine Food Awards
Gold (2023/24 Spring Green)
Gold (2022/23 Spring Green)
Premium Green & Premium Black
From the late Spring, Summer and early Autumn harvests come our 'Premium' range of Green and Black tea. We use the same process and same high level of quality control in harvesting and sorting to create these light and refreshing teas.
We produce much higher volumes of these two teas, but still stand behind them as strongly representing the quality and flavour that Arakai Estate is dedicated to producing.
Premium Tea Customer Reviews
“Absolutely fabulous green tea. It’s the first time I drink an Australian tea and for a first time it’s a success. A smooth green liquor gives you buttery, floral notes without astringency or bitterness. It’s a really great green tea which can compete with the best of the most known green tea. 5 out of 5”
Premium Black Tea Awards
2018 Hobart Fine Food Awards
Bronze (2016/17 Premium Black)
2023 Golden Leaf Award Winner
Best Australian Single Origin - Gold - (2022/23 Premium Black)
2023 Hobart Fine Food Awards
Silver (2022/23 Premium Black)
2024 Hobart Fine Food Awards
Bronze (2022/23 Premium Black)
Premium Green Tea Awards
2023 Hobart Fine Food Awards
Bronze (2022/23 Premium Green)
2024 Hobart Fine Food Awards
Bronze (2022/23 Premium Green)
Arakai Estate statistics & information
Tea varieties
Six different Japanese small-leaf varieties of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis :
Majority of plantation is Yabukita & Sayamakaori.
Smaller numbers of Meirokyu, Yutakamidori, Fushin & Okumidori.
Tea farm information
Plantation size is 1 hectare, with over 12,000 plants and just over 5km of tea hedges. We harvest every 5 - 6 weeks from September to April.
Harvesting
Our plantation is pruned & harvested using a specialised tea pruner/harvester from Ochiai Japan. Running on tracks and with hydraulic height control it is a sophisticated machine that cuts following the contours of the land with remarkable accuracy and reliability.
Grown & processed locally
All of our teas are guaranteed to be grown & processed on-farm at Arakai Estate in Bellthorpe, QLD. We don't, and won't import tea from overseas to mix with our products.
Plant nutrition
All plant nutrition is from a mix of certified & non-certified organic inputs. This includes microbial innoculants to reduce Nitrogen requirements to keep our tea full of natural flavour instead of synthetic additives.
There are no pesticides or fungicides used on our farm. Herbicides are occasionally used in weed management when necessary but our teas are guaranteed spray-free and residue-free.
Want to hear more about Arakai Estate and our story? Learn more on the Our Story page.