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Me and Bees founder Mikaila Ulmer and her mother D’Andra held a little pop-up lemonade get-together a few weeks ago.
The front yard gathering was one of the first media events I attended since vaccinations became available. It was nice to see some familiar faces and sip on a drink they had come up with for the event: a purple lavender lemonade from Austin bartender Coleman DeWayne Steagall, who owns a pop-up bar service called Jitters Espresso & Spirits.
The family behind the Austin-based soda company recently celebrated an expansion to 800 Target food cafes, where customers can now find Me & the Bees in three flavors: Classic, Prickly Pear and Ginger.
A day in the life:Me and the Bees founder Mikaila Ulmer
Ulmer, whose first book was published a year ago, started selling lemonade at the age of 4 and continues to run the company. The 16-year-old aspiring senior stayed busy with school through the pandemic as he expanded the business to all 50 states for the first time.
It was fun stopping by and getting the recipe for this colorful drink that is perfect for summer. I’ve never worked with butterfly pea flowers before, but this seems like the perfect first recipe to try them out. This drink could easily transform from a mocktail to a cocktail with a dash of spirits if you prefer.
Simple lavender syrup
You can find dried butterfly pea flowers online or at grocery stores. The brightly colored petals don’t give this syrup any flavor, but they give the syrup a nice blue, almost lavender hue.
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cup of water
- 2 tablespoons of lavender buds
- 1 tablespoon of dried butterfly pea flowers
Put the sugar and water in a saucepan, bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the dried lavender buds and butterfly pea flowers, keep simmering, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool, then cover and continue to cook for 2 hours. Strain the lavender and pea blossoms and pour them into a glass container. Keep refrigerated. It will be a lovely deep lavender color. You can replace the homemade lavender syrup with a commercial brand like Monin or Torani.
Lavender lemonade
- 3 ounces Me & the Bees Classic lemonade
- 1 ounce of plain lavender syrup
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice
- Ice, to shake and serve
- Lemon wedge, lavender sprig (for garnish)
Mix the lemonade, lavender syrup, lemon juice and ice in a shaker, then shake. (For larger batches, multiply the ounce amounts by the number of servings you want and use a pitcher instead of a shaker and stir 20 times.)
Pour drinks into a 10 to 12 ounce glass over ice and top up with a dash of mineral water. Garnish with a freshly cut lemon wheel and a sprig of dried lavender.
– By Coleman DeWayne Steagall, Jitters Espresso & Spirits
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