How Melon Saved a Paris Heatwave
Cold tea for hot cities, warm tea for mountain nights
This summer in Paris, we turned a tiny airbnb into s.i.t.a’s showroom during fashion week.
It was six flights up, in the middle of an extreme heatwave. Lea and I dragged multiple suitcases of clothes up those spiral stairs, sweating through everything before we’d even unpacked. We assembled the garment racks her cousin lent us and steamed clothes like a sauna. By the time we finished, we were convinced one of us might pass out, and terrified buyers would take one look at the stairs and cancel us before they caught their breath.
The place itself was perfect - a little bar area for tea, a couch for conversations, and just enough room to hang the pieces and pretend this was always meant to be a showroom.
The only flaw was that we hadn’t checked for an elevator, or air-conditioning…
So we improvised. Guests would arrive overheated and breathless, and we’d have something ready.
When the first group survived the climb, they stopped to catch their breath, fanning themselves with lookbooks. We apologized for the stairs and immediately offered icy glasses of roasted oolong infused with summer melon.
One sip. Shoulders dropped. Faces softened, almost as if we had air-conditioning. Strangers became chatty, and the room felt a little less like a Paris heatwave.
Fast forward to now - I am back on the mountain in Taiwan, and the weather has flipped. Fingers are cold again; sweaters are thicker. The same tea asks for a warmer approach.
A gingery oolong felt just right, something to keep hands warm and bring the evening closer.
If you’d like to try these teas at home, I’ve included the recipes below.
Recipes
If you received a tasting kit, you can use Tea #2 for both of these recipes.
If you try either version, let me know what you taste - I’m always curious.
Paris Showroom Cold Brew
Bright, cooling, easy to batch
Ingredients
5 g charcoal roasted oolong
1 liter filtered water
8–10 medium cubes ripe cantaloupe
Optional green tea ice cubes
Method
Steep green tea and freeze into ice cubes.
Add tea leaves and melon cubes to a pitcher with 1 liter of filtered water.
Refrigerate 8–12 hours.
Strain.
Serve over the green tea ice cubes so the flavor stays bright as they melt.
Add 2–3 tiny melon cubes to each glass.
What to notice
Roast in the back
Fruit at the front
Calm finish
Toasty Ginger Oolong
Warming, grounded, a little spicy
Ingredients
3 g charcoal roasted oolong
300–500 ml water
4–5 slices fresh ginger
Optional: a little honey, maple syrup or brown sugar
Method
Bring the sliced ginger and water to a rolling boil, then simmer 8–10 minutes so the flavor fully develops.
Warm your teapot or mug.
Add the tea leaves, then pour in the hot ginger water and steep 3–4 minutes.
Sweeten only if you like, just enough to soften the spice.
Top up with more hot ginger water to re-steep so the warmth keeps going.
What to notice
Toasty aroma from the roast
Ginger heat that feels awake
Warmth that stays awhile