Sweet Watermelon Oolong

Sipdown

This is another tea sent by Youngest – many thanks!

A while back we had a tea called Watermelon Oolong from Frasier Tea. The watermelon flavor was KAPOW and we really liked it. Over time, the flavor diminished as we didn’t drink it down as fast as we thought we would, since we craved it in summer but also summer was too hot to drink it much. We should have made it iced!

We did drink this one hot, and mostly at breakfast time in late summer so it wasn’t so insufferably hot outside.

I really like the watermelon here. It is strong enough but not KAPOW, the scent being stronger than the flavor. There is a fresh coolness to it that reminds me of cucumber without tasting like cucumber, just a whisper of lightness that runs alongside the watermelon. You do taste the oolong, too. It isn’t buried in the flavoring.

I have just crawled out of bed after getting my world absolutely rocked by a 1mg tablet of children’s melatonin. Adult dosages of 10-20mg maim me beyond utility for at least 24 hours after taking and leave me with an insatiable craving for a white, padded room, but apparently based on this dosage chart, I have the body chemistry of a 3-5 year-old, and the body chemistry of a 3-5 year-old has a very specific craving lately.

I used to love watermelon as a kid but over the years I’ve cooled off on it. Nowadays my preference for watermelon flavored things is surfacing (Wiley Wallaby’s watermelon licorice has got to be the hottest collab that watermelon has dropped to date). This watermelon oolong seemed like destiny, and that’s because it is.

The aroma is prominent: sweet and piquant with an almost savory first impression that reminds me of pickled peruvian pearls, but the taste is so brightly and sweetly watermelon and feels like it pole-vaults into your mouth, skipping 60% of your tongue and landing flawlessly at the back of the palate. Oolong is the supportive introverted friend tip-toeing in behind it and softly closing the door behind them.