Seeing the name “august beverage company” really takes me back. Not to that specific company, mind you, but to one particular August years ago when I got this wild idea buzzing in my head.
My Own Little Beverage Experiment
It was hot that summer, real sticky August heat. I was sitting on my porch, sipping something cool, and thought, “Hey, I could make something like this. Maybe even sell it.” It sounds simple, right? Famous last words.
So, I decided to dive in. My big plan? Homemade iced tea and maybe some fancy lemonade. Nothing too crazy, just good, simple stuff.
Getting Started – The Shopping Part
First thing, I needed supplies. I remember heading down to the local market. Grabbed a whole bunch of lemons, way more than I probably needed. Bought different kinds of tea leaves – black tea, some green tea, even tried a herbal blend. And sugar, lots of sugar. Then came the bottles. Finding decent, clean-looking bottles that weren’t ridiculously expensive was a mission in itself. Ended up with a box of plain glass jars with screw tops.
Kitchen Chaos – Trying Recipes
Back home, my kitchen turned into a lab. And honestly? A sticky mess. I started brewing tea. Made big batches. Some too strong, some too weak. Tried different steeping times. Then the lemonade. Squeezing dozens of lemons by hand is no joke, let me tell you. My hands were sore for days. I fiddled with the sugar-to-lemon ratio constantly. Added some mint from the garden to one batch. It was trial and error, mostly error at the start.
- Brewed gallons of tea.
- Squeezed endless lemons.
- Made simple syrup, spilled simple syrup.
- Tasted, adjusted, tasted again.
Bottling and Selling (or Trying To)
Once I had a couple of recipes I didn’t totally hate, I had to bottle the stuff. This meant washing and sterilizing all those jars. Boiling water, tongs, trying not to burn myself. It took ages. Then carefully pouring the tea and lemonade in, trying not to spill too much. I even hand-wrote little labels. Very rustic, let’s say.
The grand plan was to sell them at the little farmer’s market in town the next Saturday. I packed up my cooler, feeling pretty proud. Set up a little table. And waited.
The Reality Check
Well, reality hit pretty quick. A few people stopped by, mostly friends being nice. Sold maybe five or six bottles all morning. People liked it okay, but nobody was exactly clamoring for my homemade brews. I realized I hadn’t thought about pricing properly, didn’t know anything about permits (luckily nobody asked), and honestly, it was a ton of work for very little return. Standing there in the sun, with my cooler getting warm, I saw all the effort – the shopping, the squeezing, the brewing, the bottling – just melting away.
By the end of that August, my beverage empire dreams had kind of fizzled out. I drank the leftover tea myself. It was a humbling experience, for sure. Made me appreciate just what goes into even a small company, let alone a bigger one. Every time I see a local drink brand now, or something like “august beverage company,” I think back to that sticky kitchen and those hand-squeezed lemons. It’s way harder than it looks.
