Tasmanian Lavender Puerh

Tasmanian Lavender Puerh is a blended ripe pu-erh tea from Menghai, Yunnan, paired with dried lavender grown in Tasmania. It combines the smooth, earthy depth of Chinese shou pu-erh with a gentle floral aroma, making it a low-caffeine afternoon or evening tea with a strong Tasmanian identity.

Tasmanian Lavender Puerh received a Silver Medal at the 2025 Royal Tasmanian Fine Food Awards. Menghai ripe (shou) pu-erh nuggets wrapped with Tasmanian-grown dried lavender flowers — blended in Hobart.

What you'll taste

Three things show up in every cup, and they're what bring most people back:

Mellow-rich (醇厚). The ripe pu-erh base has a full, round body — not thin or watery, not sharp or astringent. You feel it settle across the palate rather than sitting on the tongue.

Silky (丝滑). A proper ripe pu-erh from Menghai pours smooth. There's a soft, almost creamy texture to the liquor — no rough edges even at longer steeps.

Glutinous rice aroma (糯米香). This is the one that surprises people. Underneath the lavender, there's a warm, sweet, cooked-rice note that develops with each infusion. It's a naturally-occurring aroma in well-made Menghai shou — nothing added.

The Tasmanian lavender sits gently on top of all this, not over the top. Floral teas often fight the tea base; this one lets the pu-erh do the talking, then finishes with lavender's soft floral note.

Why people come back for it — after-meal tradition

A lot of our regulars first bought this for the flavour and kept buying it as an after-meal tea. Ripe pu-erh is traditionally enjoyed after rich food in Chinese tea culture — the cup people reach for after a heavy dinner, hot pot, or a few too many dumplings.

The fermentation process (渥堆, wòduī) that creates ripe pu-erh gives the tea its smooth, mellow body and deep earthy profile. We're not making medical claims; we describe it this way because this is how many Chinese tea drinkers talk about ripe pu-erh as part of an after-dinner tea routine.

How this blend came to be

In China, ripe pu-erh and dried tangerine peel (chen pi) are often enjoyed together — a classic pairing I grew up with. When I moved to Tasmania, lavender was everywhere. Not just in gardens, but in honey, scones, soaps, even gin. So I tried it.

After months of testing different Tasmanian lavenders against different Yunnan pu-erhs, this combination stayed — Menghai ripe, for the glutinous-rice aroma and smooth body, with culinary-grade Tasmanian lavender that's bright but not soapy.

Low caffeine for afternoon and after-dinner cups

Ripe pu-erh is naturally lower in caffeine than green or black tea, and the fermentation reduces it further. Many customers choose this blend for afternoon or after-dinner drinking. If you're sensitive to caffeine, start with an afternoon cup to see how it sits with you.

Tea Profile

Taste Profile: Mellow / Glutinous rice aroma / Floral & earthy
Tea Type: Blended Post-fermented Tea (Menghai ripe pu-erh + Tasmanian lavender)
Origin: Menghai, Yunnan Province, China (pu-erh) + Tasmania (lavender)
Oxidation: Fully fermented (渥堆 wòduī process)
Traditional tea property: Warm (温性) in Chinese tea classification
Caffeine: Low; many customers choose it for afternoon or after-dinner cups
Ingredients: Tasmanian-grown dried lavender flowers, compressed ripe pu-erh nuggets from Menghai. No artificial flavouring.
Storage: Cool, dark, airtight. Away from strong odours.

Brewing Instructions

Western brewing:
Use 1 tsp or 2.5g per 250ml teapot with 95–100°C water. Steep for 3–5 minutes. Good for 2 infusions. The longer you steep, the smoother it gets.

Thermos steeping (our favourite way):
Use a 1:200 tea-to-water ratio. Add 4g (2 tsp) to 800–1000ml of boiling water in a good thermal flask and let it steep for an hour. Our 820ml Insulated Tea Flask with built-in infuser works well for this — set it up in the morning and sip through the day.

Gongfu brewing:
Use 5g per 150ml gaiwan. Pre-warm. 95°C water. 20 seconds for the first infusion, adding 10 seconds each brew. Up to 6 infusions.

Storage

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place away from light and moisture. Pu-erh ages well, so a bag that's sat in the cupboard for six months won't have lost anything — if anything, it'll have softened further.

Try it in our Evening Collection

This tea is part of our Evening Sample Pack — a way to compare several lower-caffeine evening teas before choosing a full-size pack.

If you like floral teas, have a look at our flower tea collection. If you want to go further into pu-erh, our Loose Leaf Ripe Pu-erh 2021 is a gentle next step once you're used to the style.