Beyond store growth, the trend is also raising a broader question for Australia’s citrus sector: whether rising demand for fresh, aromatic lemons could create new sourcing and collaboration opportunities.
LINLEE Makes Its Australian Debut
LINLEE （林里）opened its first Australian store at Macquarie Centre in Sydney on 24 September, bringing its signature hand-smashed lemon tea to the local market.
For its grand-opening promotion period, coinciding with the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival and Australia’s long weekend, the brand introduced Australian-exclusive cup decoration featuring kangaroo and koala versions of its iconic duck mascot, alongside a Sydney-themed fridge magnet.
LINLEE has appointed Chinese singer Cai Xukun (KUN), who also represents Australian wellness brand Bio-E globally, as its global brand ambassador in May 2026.
After the Bubble Tea Boom, Australia Enters Its Fresh Lemon Tea Era
LINLEE joins a growing wave of lemon tea chains, as fresh "hand-smashed" lemon tea emerges as a category in its own right in Australia.
Ningji Lemon Tea（柠季） opened its first Australian store in Eastwood in October 2025 and has since moved into key Asian cultural and student precincts, including Chatswood, Ultimo and Glen Waverley in Melbourne, with further expansion planned across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It has also launched its Chief Lemon Tea Taster program in Australia and Malaysia to collective timely feedback and improve product localisation.
Happy Lemon also operates two Sydney stores in Waterloo and Chatswood, offering lemon-based drinks alongside its broader tea menu.
Order Lemon（柠檬向右）, founded in Guangzhou in Southern China in 2017, has built a growing Australian network across Sydney and Brisbane, with a menu centred on perfume lemons and bullet lemons paired with brewed tea.
Another Guangzhou-born specialist chain, Taning Lemon Tea（挞柠）, has established a presence in Melbourne and Perth, with fresh fruit and aromatic perfume lemons at the heart of its offering.
According to the Freshly Made Lemon Tea Category Development Report 2026, China’s fresh lemon tea market grew from RMB2.2 billion (about A$472 million) in 2020 to around RMB11 billion (about A$2.36 billion) in 2025, while specialist store numbers increased from just over 3,000 to more than 20,000 over the same period.
Could Fresh Lemon Tea Growth Create Opportunities for Australian Citrus?
LINLEE’s core products in China, for example, use perfume lemons from Zhanjiang, Guangdong. A staff member at its Sydney store has revealed that the lemons currently used locally are imported from China, although the company has not publicly detailed its Australian sourcing arrangements.
Australia already has a substantial and growing lemon and lime industry. Latest Hort Innovation , the country produced around 83,700 tonnes in 2024–25, with fresh imports of just 1,115 tonnes and exports of 4,815 tonnes.
Citrus Australia says lemons and limes are available year-round, while its industry guidance stresses that production should respond to market specifications around fruit quality and size.
That could become increasingly relevant for specialist lemon tea chains, where flavour depends on characteristics such as aroma, acidity, peel oils and consistency. Australia grows established varieties including Eureka and Lisbon lemons, but some lemon tea chain brands build their signature drinks around other varieties such as perfume lemon.
As these chains expand, local sourcing may become increasingly relevant, particularly where Australian growers can meet the flavour, consistency and year-round supply requirements of specialist lemon tea brands.
（Images source: instagram of LINLEE, Ningji_Chatswod, and Taning Australia)