Tucson in a Teacup: Rachel D’Acquisto Blends Tradition and Innovation with RayRay’s Sonoran Tea

Links Mentioned In The Show:

https://www.agaveheritagefestival.com/
https://thetucsongallery.com/events/guardianes-del-espiritu-film-screening-and-origen-raiz-tasting/
https://www.tucsonfolkfest.org/folk-festival/
https://cocktaillabaz.com/

In this captivating episode of “Life Along The Streetcar,” we delve into the inspiring world of Rachel D’Acquisto, the creative genius behind RayRay’s Sonoran Tea. “Tucson in a Teacup” presents a narrative that weaves together the rich tapestry of Tucson’s heritage with the innovative pulse of its entrepreneurial spirit. Join us as we explore how Rachel, with her deep roots in the local hospitality scene, crafts a beverage that encapsulates the essence of Tucson’s culture and landscape.

The Inspiration Behind RayRay’s Sonoran Tea

Discover the journey of RayRay’s Sonoran Tea, from its conception in the imaginative mind of Rachel to becoming a beloved emblem of Tucson’s innovative and culinary scene. This episode sheds light on the meticulous process of blending traditional flavors with modern crafting techniques, creating a drink that’s not only a taste of Tucson but also a symbol of its evolving cultural identity.

Episode Highlights:

• The Genesis of RayRay’s Sonoran Tea: Uncover the origins of this unique beverage and the inspiration drawn from Tucson’s desert landscape.
• Rachel D’Acquisto’s Journey: From hospitality expert to entrepreneurial luminary, Rachel’s path is one of passion, creativity, and community.
• A Taste of Tucson’s Tradition and Innovation: Learn how RayRay’s Sonoran Tea is a confluence of local flavors and modern culinary practices.
• Community and Collaboration: Discover the pivotal role of local networks like Startup Tucson in fostering innovation and supporting entrepreneurial ventures in the city.

This episode is a celebration of Tucson’s spirit, its people, and their unwavering drive to innovate while honoring their roots. We invite you to listen and be inspired by the flavors, stories, and characters that make Tucson a unique place to live, work, and play.

Engage with ‘Life Along The Streetcar’

Connect with Tom and “Life Along The Streetcar” to dive deeper into the stories of individuals like Rachel who are making a significant impact in our community. Do you know someone whose story deserves to be heard? Reach out to nominate them and help us shine a light on more Tucson tales that inspire and enrich our community.

Tune in, get inspired, and become part of the journey that celebrates the heart and soul of Downtown Tucson.

Listen to the full podcast on our website and join the conversation on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LifeAlongTheStreetcar. Together, let’s explore the extraordinary stories of our city!

Tom Heath

Good morning. It’s another beautiful day in the Old Pueblo and you’re listening to KTDT Tucson. Thank you for spending a part of your brunch hour with us on your downtown Tucson Community -sponsored, all -volunteer -powered rock -and -roll radio station. On this week’s show, we’re gonna revisit a conversation we had with Rachel D’Acquist, otherwise known as RayRay. We spoke with her a little over a year ago about her creation, the Sonoran Spirit Tea, and a lot has happened. She’s gotten some recognition across the community and is about to take her Tucson -made product statewide. So I wanted to catch up and share some of that news and revisit our conversation. Today is March 31st, 2024. My name is Tom Heath and you’re listening to Life Along the Streetcar. Each and every Sunday our focus is on social, cultural, and economic impacts in Tucson’s urban core and we shed light on hidden gems everyone should know about. From A Mountain to the University of Arizona and all stops in between,

Tom Heath

you get the inside track right here on 99 .1 FM, streaming on downtownradio .org, and we’re also available on your iPhone or Android with the station’s very own Downtown Radio Tucson app. And if you want to interact with us on the show side of things, we recommend you do that on Facebook and Instagram under Life Along the Streetcar. All of our past episodes, information about our book and contact forms are available on our website, lifealongthestreetcar .org, and of course that podcast is out there. all kinds of places where you might find your favorite podcast. April has a lot of things happening and we’ve talked about many of them here on the show but just want to do a quick recap as we start April tomorrow and you know being the first you never know if you’re gonna run into some jokesters so I wanted to get this information out today so you know it was not an April Fool’s joke. Upcoming weekend we’ve got the Tucson Folk Festival starts on Friday with a big push on Saturday and Sunday.

Tom Heath

Talked a little bit about it last week because they always let me hang out there and play around on one of those stages as an emcee. But we want you to, you can head over to the TucsonFolkFest .org page there and we’ll put this on our Facebook side in case you want to learn more about the fabulous events that are happening there. We’ve got on the Presidio Museum stage, which is I think where I’m going to be. I don’t know, maybe not. But there’s all kinds of local acts as well as some national and even some international individuals coming across. And speaking of international, we have the Agave Heritage Festival that’s coming up later in the month. It’s going to be April 18th through the 21st. So the Folk Festival this weekend and then a couple weeks later There’s the Agave Heritage Festival and interviews with Todd Hanley, the founder and driving force of that. You can find that on our page there. Just search Agave from lifelongthestreetcar .org. But they added in an event that connects

Tom Heath

with my other side at the Tucson Gallery. They’re using the patio behind the proper shops to do an airing of a film called Guardians del Espiritu. And it’s a documentary that takes you on a journey through the heart of rural Mexico and showcases the art of traditional mezcal making. So that’s gonna be at seven o ‘clock and part of the Galve Heritage Festival. So we’ll link to all of those things on our Facebook page. Each one has its own schedule of events. Some of them have costs. So you wanna check all that out if you’re gonna head down to the downtown area,

Rachel D’Acquisto

to

Tom Heath

get all this insight beforehand, and you can do that on our page. We’ll share all that. Well, about a year, actually over a year ago, we had Rachel D ‘Acquisto on our show. She was owner of a company called Cocktail Lab, and she had been working on and perfecting the formula for her commercial cocktail, Ray Ray’s Sonoran Tea, which is, well, she’ll tell you in the interview, it’s made of local ingredients and has some very nice characteristics that make it a good southwestern beverage. She was recently recognized as a great member of the Tech Parks Arizona community, and then also made an announcement that she is taking it statewide. So, when we saw that, saw her success over the last year or so since we’ve chatted with her and it’s not a relation of us, I’m sure, but she has popped up in a lot of establishments around town and it’s been fun to see her success. So, I wanted to revisit that and get the foundation story because I think you’re going to start hearing a lot more about Rachel

Tom Heath

D ‘Acquisto and Ray Ray’s Sonoran Spirit team. We are blessed with the presence of what I call the human cocktail, Rachel D ‘Acquisto. You have this varied background that when all mixed together in the right proportions has turned out greatness here in Tucson. So Rachel, welcome to the show. Thank you. You are the founder, the owner of Cocktail Lab AZ. And what I understand is recently you decided that wasn’t enough just to consult and help other people. You came out and created your own product, which we’ll talk about today, Rae Rae’s Sonoran Tea.

Rachel D’Acquisto

Yes, we have.

Tom Heath

Well, let’s take a step back, though, before we get into all of your greatness and accomplishments. Let’s find out about where this came from. You’ve been a fixture in downtown and in the hospitality scene for some time. Give us a little bit about your history.

Rachel D’Acquisto

you? Yeah, I moved back to Arizona about ten years ago from the Bay Area and started working downtown again. Downtown is thriving. I worked a little bit for Maynards and Hotel Congress, proper Good Oak Love Burger folks, and then landed at Playground, stayed as the general manager of Playground Bar and Lounge for about six or seven years until my most recent forced vacation during the pandemic. I got kind of antsy and started developing this new product and cocktail lab.

Tom Heath

Well, and even before that, because you’ve been, I think I ran into you first, you were you’re doing part of the Arizona Bartenders Association and helping coordinate training for bartenders across the state, correct?

Rachel D’Acquisto

Yeah, I am president of a hospitality non -profit here in Tucson, but it’s a national non -profit called the United States Bartenders Guild, and its focus is as a charity for education and furthering the craft for hospitality professionals. So, we bring a lot of resources, training, and education to our Tucson hospitality industry workers. I’ve been doing that. I’ve been part of the board and the council for about seven, eight years, and then the president for four.

Tom Heath

Okay, so you don’t have a whole lot going on. You just started a company, president of the association, got some new products, but somewhere in there, you created this concept of Cocktail Lab AZ, which is, what is it? It’s a consulting group, or tell me more.

Rachel D’Acquisto

I provide hospitality services, anything from a team building exercise, like a fun cocktail class with coworkers, to staff training and or systems consulting for bars and restaurants.

Tom Heath

Okay, so it’s it’s not just I thought it was just a consulting business for bars and restaurants But you do things with the general public as well

Rachel D’Acquisto

Yeah Okay. Yeah, I kind of like to have fun with it and do things like the classes

Tom Heath

and in these classes of you well I guess my question was gonna be how did you then get from from this to creating your own product?

Rachel D’Acquisto

Um, it was something that I always wanted to do. The, uh, hospitality services were kind of a placeholder while I learned how to make a product shelf stable, get my brains on alcohol licenses and all the things, all the technical things of bringing a product to retail market and wholesale market.

Tom Heath

Okay, so this wasn’t something that just sort of happened, this has been part of the master plan and you’ve just been working on ways to get there.

Rachel D’Acquisto

Yep.

Tom Heath

And it sounds like raising a family as well.

Rachel D’Acquisto

Yeah. My three -year -old’s very opinionated about her red shoes at the moment.

Tom Heath

Well, red shoes are very important. And I’ve been doing a little research, reading some bios and such. You’ve gotten a lot of really good press from from different organizations about your efforts and it seems like with, like with Tucson, there we always run across some some common themes and one of your common themes is the support that you

Rachel D’Acquisto

have received from Startup Tucson. Yeah, I would not be in the position I am today without Startup Tucson. I was really able to my brainstorming and my ideas and my dream and really start checking off the boxes of how to own my own business and

Tom Heath

launch my own product. And we’ve been doing more interviews with individuals that have come through the programs that they offer or have been connected to the program. So, you know, Startup Tucson itself is gaining this really big following in Tucson because their alumni, I guess, is maybe the word for it, or their participants are really starting to have an impact and success in Tucson, and I think you’re a perfect example of that.

Rachel D’Acquisto

Yeah, I’m really, really grateful for the resources and the accessibility of my mentors. I was able to have quick effective legal counsel really tap directly into industry giants in terms of local industry giants. 1055 and Thunder Canyon were my closest mentors and it’s just valuable to me. Well those

Tom Heath

seem like good resources since they’re in a very similar position of doing some retail and wholesale of their products. Is that, so let’s talk about your creation then. You have one item on the shelves at the moment, but I’m assuming there’s others working, but tell us about RayRay’s Sonoran Tea.

Rachel D’Acquisto

I don’t know exactly where my passion for it ignited. I’ve just been stuck on this particular product and developing it and really passionate about this flagship product. It’s kind of got its niche in a world of options as a gluten -free draft option. It’s low alcohol, it’s half caffeinated, it’s not malted or fermented, and it’s just something something I have loved testing the recipes on and really perfecting. I’m super proud of it, and I think it represents a regional product, regional flavors. And as the popularity is growing, I think it’s sort of proving its viability. And I’m super excited to continue to promote that as our flagship product and then start to develop spinoffs and hopefully new products.

Tom Heath

That’s Rachel D ‘Acquisto of RayRay Sonoran Tea. It’s recorded back in January of 2023, but since then she’s made a lot of big news and her product is about to get a bigger launch here across the state, so we wanted to revisit that interview. You’re listening to Life Along The Streetcar and Downtown Radio, 99 .1 FM and streaming at downtownradio .org.

Tom Heath

Hey, if you’re just joining us, well, shame on you because the show starts at 11 and you should know that by now. But hey, we are talking with Rachel D ‘Acquisto. Actually going back to January of 2023 when we first interviewed her about her business Cocktail Lab and the new product she was perfecting called Ray Ray’s Sonoran Spirit Tea. Well, she’s done a great job with that. It’s all over the place. And I recently made an announcement that’s going statewide. So we’re back talking about her roots and her foundation and how this whole thing came to be. You mentioned a couple things in there. It sounds like it’s a pretty good option for people with certain dietary restrictions and sensitivities, but you also then mentioned and it’s representative of the region, how so?

Rachel D’Acquisto

Well, in terms of the flavor and one of the most popular classic cocktails that kind of inspired it, a Long Island iced tea, how would you update that? And so it’s sort of an Arizona iced tea, a Tucson tea. It uses distilled spirits, vodka and tequila, but the ABV is low. So it drinks like a beer in terms of alcohol content. It’s 4 .5%. So we have the vodka and the tequila, and then it’s lightly sweetened with agave. Blue, organic blue agave kind of represents the sweetener of our region. And even though it’s just a of it. I wanted to keep the sweetness low. It’s less than a gram per 16 ounce. And then we blend hibiscus tea as well, which is also known as Jamaica, but we use dried hibiscus flowers to make the tea to brew and blend in with our black tea. So kind of bringing in that tequila, agave, and hibiscus to round out those regional flavors with citrus, black tea, and vodka, those sort of classic beverages that people know about.

Tom Heath

Yeah. Very cool. I did not realize all of the intentionality that went into it. I don’t know. I just assumed it was like an iced tea that you spiked with alcohol. I don’t know how these things work, but this took a lot of time, I would imagine, to create

Rachel D’Acquisto

this recipe. It took me a lot of time. I was pretty comfortable making cocktails, making large -scale backs cocktails. I got to test that prior to sort of launching this in ways like big events like the Bowtie Block Party or anything at playground, we could kind of do cocktails on a large scale, but it took me a lot of time to learn how to make that shelf stable, how to turn ingredients that I know into ingredients that will last in a can. And I didn’t know anything about that. I started experimenting in my kitchen with glass bottles and corking fresh ingredients and then three days later corks would be popping and glass would be breaking. I started quickly to realize that I didn’t know what I was doing. So it took me a really long time to learn and understand how I can keep the ingredients, how to kind of put those things together or use ingredients that I know how to pronounce. I didn’t want to use any fillers or stabilizers, and I wanted to figure out which ingredients can go together

Rachel D’Acquisto

and be shelf -stable.

Tom Heath

Okay, so that then goes into, the care goes into how it’s blended in a way that really seems sensitive for people that have a variety of dietary restrictions or allergies.

Rachel D’Acquisto

Yeah, I also wanted to create something that could just make it easier for a larger group of people to drink without having to worry about it. So keeping the sweetener or the glycemic index on the sugar low and keeping it gluten -free, it already includes more people than sharing a beer can. Keeping the ABV low includes more people than sharing a cocktail can. So, I just kind of wanted to reach a broader group and have it be easy.

Tom Heath

Okay. Wow. This is much more philosophical than I think a lot of people would imagine when they just look at an alcoholic beverage available. Where do we get these? Are they in stores? You mentioned they’re on draft and in cans?

Rachel D’Acquisto

We just ordered our cans after we recently received our federal label approval. So, hopefully, we’ll be in retail stores by April. We are currently in around 20 bars and restaurants around town. Five or six of them are accessible by streetcar. Yeah.

Tom Heath

Give us a couple of those.

Rachel D’Acquisto

We have the Monica and John Henry’s. We have the Arbar, Rialto Theater, and 191 Tool.

Tom Heath

And so we just go in and ask for a Ray Ray’s and they’ll know what we’re talking about.

Rachel D’Acquisto

Or a Sonoran Tee, Ray Ray’s Sonoran Tee. It’s the wood handle with the green writing on a draft.

Tom Heath

All right. And where did this name come from?

Rachel D’Acquisto

My dad and I used to brainstorm about names. It’s a very interesting process and my family, it’s a term of endearment for me, I’m Ray or Ray Ray, that my immediate family uses, but also over the years, we, as hospitality workers, we tend to spend more time with our work family than even our own family. So my work family also called me Ray Ray. So, my dad named it that because he felt like I put so much of my own thought and self and intention and all that into this, so he really thought I should call it Ray Ray’s. I agreed.

Tom Heath

It sounds like the perfect name, Ray Ray’s Sonoran Tea, coming to shelves somewhere near you in April -ish and available at some of these spots you mentioned now. How do people stay in touch with you follow up if they want to reach out and do an event with you through cocktail lab? Like what’s all your what’s all your social media and stuff?

Rachel D’Acquisto

Yeah, my website cocktail lab AZ calm will have all the bars and restaurants that carry our product as well as Contact information if you need consulting services, or you’d like a sample for your bar Instagram has all of our latest goings on, Ray Ray’s Sonoran, that’s linked to our Facebook.

Tom Heath

Okay, and then if people want to reach out to you to do something, they would go through your website. It’s probably the best way.

Rachel D’Acquisto

Yeah. Yeah.

Tom Heath

All right. Well, it is a new year. We have all kinds of exciting things ahead of us, and I think my retroactive New Year’s resolution is going to be to make sure I get out and try a Ray Ray Sonoran tea here in the very near future.

Rachel D’Acquisto

All right. Thank you.

Tom Heath

Rachel, this has been an absolute pleasure. I appreciate everything that has happened in your life that has brought you to this point, and I think we’re, I’m excited because this is one of those interviews that I’m going

Rachel D’Acquisto

to

Tom Heath

be able to talk about in five years and say, you know, I interviewed her way back when, and now that Ray Ray’s has this entire suite of products sold across the globe, we can find out how it got its start here by listening to our little show in downtown Tucson.

Rachel D’Acquisto

Absolutely.

Tom Heath

Rachel, once again, thanks for your time, and I look forward to tasting the products.

Rachel D’Acquisto

Thank you.

Tom Heath

That was Rachel D ‘Acquisto of Ray Ray’s Sonoran Tea. That was an interview we did with her back in January of 2023. It’s amazing to see, you know, not just with her but others when we’ve interviewed them early in their process and then we see them later on achieving the success and working closer to the end goal that they established for themselves. Tucson is blessed with entrepreneurs and individuals that are just going out there and making things happen. and it’s fun for us to get a glimpse of that. My name is Tom Heath. You’re listening to Lifelong Streetcar and Downtown Radio, 99 .1 FM and streaming on downtownradio .org.

Tom Heath

When was the last time you went over to downtownradio .org and checked it out? Well, today should probably be the day. You know, Sundays are a great lineup. I guess every day is a great lineup. I like Sundays, not just because that’s the day they let me air my show, but because I get to start it off with Mr. Nature at seven o ‘clock. I usually walk the dog around that time we have a mr. Nature walk and have some family -friendly music in the background just feeling good to start the day and then we move into DJ Bank the musical bomb with the art of easing at 9 and Man, it’s it’s hard to get off the couch. Once you’re once you’ve listened to DJ Bank spin some tunes He makes he makes easing easy Of course, we’re on and then at the bottom of the hour Ted Przelski with words and work Ty Logan comes on at noon with Heavy Mental and back into the music at one o ‘clock with Speakerboxx. And the host there, V -Riv, knows hip -hop and that genre very well and has educated me on quite a bit of what’s

Tom Heath

happening globally, regionally, and locally. V -Riv is in tune. Monday through Friday we have the Scrambled Sunrise with Paleo Dave starting off the day and Rock Mix in the afternoons and evenings. So it’s all kinds of stuff you can check out. It’s all on downtown radio. The schedules there, shows, information about all of the volunteer DJs and show hosts. Because remember, this comes from a place of love and a place of sharing. This isn’t a corporate entity that is trying to drive that bottom line profit. that we are trying to drive that bottom line of understanding in our community. For people like me, the passion is in sharing information around our urban core. For many of our volunteers, it’s about sharing the music, the history, and the culture of what that music means to us. And they spend a lot of time caring for their shows and curating them. So I think it turns out to be a very well -delivered product overall. All the information is on downtownradio .org. And of course, while you’re

Tom Heath

there, there’s a Donate button. So if you want to support these volunteer efforts, I know that the money you put in goes to Programming and equipment to make the experience better and you know pay the rent keep the lights on You know electricity is kind of important here with the the radio station. So we appreciate those single donations and Always welcome Ongoing monthly donations and helps with our budgeting and all that information is on downtown radio And if there’s information you would like us to share, something that’s going on in the community we’re not paying attention to, because I know you’re hyper -focused on a region of Tucson we call the urban core, then tell us. Send us something on Instagram or Facebook, which our handle’s over there, lifelongstreetcar. Our email is contact at lifelongstreetcar .org. Always happy to learn more and share more. Well, James Portis is our production specialist. My name is Tom Heath. I’m your host and producer. sponsor. We always thank Ryan Hood

Tom Heath

for the privilege of using their Dillinger days to open our show. And we’re going to leave you today with Marquette King from 2022. In honor of Ray Ray Sonoran Tea, here’s Sweet Tea. I hope you have a great week and tune in next Sunday for more life along the streetcar.