This Gong Cha Lemon Roasted Melon Tea with Basil Seed ($5.80, little sugar) is part of their ‘Health’ series. It’s not a true tea, being a wintermelon tea, which is made by cooking winter melon slices in boiling water with brown sugar and caramel.
The tea is a translucent deep brown-red colour with a sweet, nutty and citrusy aroma, and basil seed and lemon flesh throughout. Served chilled, the sweet nutty notes of the wintermelon tea came through in the head of each sip with a more prominent flavour than usual as a result of being roasted. A refreshing acidity from the lemon follows swiftly, cutting through the sweetness of the wintermelon and developing to brief zesty citrus notes in the finish. The basil seed adds textural interest to the drink without interrupting the flavour.
Gong Cha Lemon Roasted Melon Tea with Basil Seed was purchased at Gong Cha in Sydney, Australia during June 2018.