Lemonade the Rare Way: Harford County father turns life's lemons into a small business

Kara Burnett

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A Harford County man is turning a longtime family recipe into a growing small business, one cup of fresh lemonade at a time.

Matthew Bartee is the founder of Lemonade the Rare Way, a business built on fresh fruit, organic cane sugar, and flavors he spent more than 10 years perfecting at home before ever selling a single cup.

"My number one seller is the pineapple mango lemonade. It's mangoes, pineapples, and fresh lemonade. This is all fresh fruit. I don't use any syrups. I use organic cane sugar," Bartee said.

His lineup also includes a dragon fruit, pineapple, and passion fruit blend, as well as a mango Half and Half that he said has been a big hit since its debut. The strawberry apple lemonade rounds out the menu. There's more than 26 flavors in total.

The business name is a nod to Bartee's clothing brand, Rare Couture. But the lemonade itself has roots in something more personal: years of making a tropical blend of peach, mango, pineapple, and strawberry for family cookouts and gatherings.