A vacation inspired brothers Jan and Miles Menafee to try their hand at creating a drink that brings flavors of the Caribbean into the hands of Chicagoans and, hopefully, beyond.
“We took a trip to Jamaica for my bachelor party and really fell in love with sorrel,” Jan Menafee said. “It’s hibiscus tea with different spices in it. Back home I was buying it a lot and then Miles found flowers for me to learn how to make it myself.”
Hibiscus has long been associated with various health benefits.
“It’s a super flower for all its antioxidant power. What that means is that basically it helps with like your heart health, blood pressure, cholesterol,” Jan Menafee said.
The Menafees added to that ginger with its warm flavor and its own health claims. Locally produced honey gives a touch of sweetness to the 110 calorie per bottle beverage. Through tasting and testing, they got the flavor balance right with a pinch of pink salt.
“Hibiscus is tart, while ginger is kind of spicy and like warming from the inside out. And the honey is sweet, right?” Jan Menafee said. “You got three dimensions of flavor all in one.”
“Generally, there’s a non-alcoholic beverage trend,” Miles Menafee said. “Gen Z and everyone is just drinking less. In the non-alcoholic space, the big players now are the prebiotic sodas or THC drinks. And those are cool. But we find that they have a lot of stuff in it that you don’t know. I feel like that’s kind of the zig to our zag, having our ingredients that folks know and could have on their own shelves.”
As their formula was coming together, Jan Menafee happened to move next to Carnivore in Oak Park.
“My wife was like, this tea is incredible. You got to go share it with them and see if they’ll sell it in the store,” Jan Menafee said. “I went over there, they were like, yeah, this is great. We’ll help you get set up. You can use our kitchen.”
The brothers started producing product for sale last summer and now are up to more than 300 bottles per week. The drink is sold at Carnivore, of course, and at The Sugar Beet and FFC Oak Park. In Hyde Park bottles are stocked at Strugglebeard Bakery; in North Lawndale, Monday Coffee has got them too.
For Black History Month, a pop-up featuring Chicago-made products at Midway Airport used Ruby Tea syrup to make mocktails.
Ruby is more than the color of the drink. There’s a who behind the name too.
“We wanted to honor something that our great grandma, Ruby, always taught us about how you can taste the love in things,” Jan Menafee said. “And, of course, because she is the name of the gemstone, ruby worked perfectly for giving that connotation of luxury.”
For now, both brothers still have day jobs, but the business is moving another step forward.
“We’re moving to The Hatchery at the end of this month,” Jan Menafee said.
“We’re going to be a part of their next incubator program,” Miles Menafee said.
The Hatchery is a West Side food and beverage business incubator that serves local entrepreneurs as they build and grow, which in turn creates sustainable economic growth and job opportunities.
“The Hatchery is a really big step,” Jan Menafee said. “Scaled up production, facility and number of people that we’re able to employ in brewing and bottling the tea. The flip side of that is also being able to be present in more actual retailers.”
The Menafee brothers appreciate the support from their family, Carnivore, and all their current customers.
“There’s a lot of people, which is really exciting, honestly, for how we’ve been able to grow in this short time,” Jan Menefee said.
More at experienceruby.com.
