I made chai tea spice!!! :)

The cold holiday season is my favorite season to sip on warm drinks while decoration watching all around the city. I tell ya, Beverly Hills has some of the most absolutely beautiful decorations in town. especially on the wilshire/ rodeo intersection... where I used to work. so lovely. Anyway as I stroll all over town my warm sipping beverage of choice??? a chai tea latte with soy milk. I've always stopped at starbucks or coffee bean to order my holiday cup of warm steamed milk with chai spices and I always wondered what goes into a chai tea... I happened to watch one of my favorite magazine tv shows "Steven and Chris" (If you live in Canada, I am sure you know of this show) and they happened to invite a very savy guest that had a few gift giving ideas for under 28 bucks!! one Idea was to make this chai tea spice mix and give it out as gifts in little jars you can purchase at the dollar store. I was more interested in the tea blend. Determined to finally make my own chai tea spice, I went to the steven and chris website and got the recipe for the chai tea, went spice shopping and finally made my chai tea spice mix!! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad I bought that coffee grinder a few years ago. I forgot it at my mom's place when I moved out a couple years and she's made use of it grinding roasted dried barley for tea, or black peppercorns. It's great for making dry rubs too!! Anyway, I came back to my moms to use my spice grinder and the aroma was strong and so full of many different flavors combined in one jar. super cute!! I will take a picture of the finished product later. In the meantime, here is a picture I took of the spices I used for my chai tea... look how lovely!

Check out the recipe for Chai tea spice mix!

3/4 cup green cardamom
2 Tblsp black peppercorns
3 Tblsp cloves
3 Tblsp ground ginger
2 Star anise
4 small (3inch) sticks of cinnamon

combine all spices in a bowl, add spice mixture by the spoonful at a time to a spice grinder or a coffee grinder. grind until the mix becomes a powder consistancy grinde in batches!


Like hot chocolate instead?
check out this recipe for peppermint hot chocolate you can also assemble in layers in a mason jar, dress it up, and give as gifts!

Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Mix In a Mason jar, place a layer of unsweetened cocoa powder, followed by a layer of granulated sugar, a pinch of salt, a layer of mini chocolate chips, and a layer of mint chips, which you can usually find at your grocery store during the holiday season. Recommend adding marshmallows or crushed candy canes if your grocery store doesn't sell mint chips. You can use a piece of parchment paper as a funnel to pour the ingredients into the jar. Cover the jar with its lid, and then dress it up with a tag and some instructions so that the recipient knows how to make Peppermint Hot Chocolate.