1st Day of Christmas // Hot Drinks in a Jar

Last year I discovered some recipes for homemade hot drink mixes while snooping around the internet. I came up with my own versions modified from some of the recipes I found and I’m going to give them as gifts for Christmas this year!

My Dad goes away tramping some weekends and he loves cappuccino’s – so I’m going to make a homemade cappuccino mix he can take with him and just add hot water too – no need to take with him the tiny bottle of milk he usually does!

Below I've included some picture tutorials of the recipes I'm using for my hot drinks gifts.  Instead of actual jars I have decided to use these white lidded plastic containers I found at The Warehouse. While I love the way the jars look, by the time I fill them with ingredients they'll end up being preeeetty heavy so I'm keen to keep the weight down by using plastic. Price-wise they were about the same (approx NZ$3 each)

You will need;

Plastic containers or preserving jars, it’s up to you (mine are 400ml)

Milk Powder (Full or Trim – personal preference)

Coffee-Mate

Instant Coffee Powder (Make sure it’s powder, not granules!)

Hot Chocolate Powder (For Mocha or Hot Chocolate Mix)

Various spices – see the ones listed below

A bowl, spoon, sift and cups for measuring and mixing

Labels – check the corresponding recipe for the PDF label you are after!

Glue to stick on your labels

Basic Mix Instructions

(Cappuccino, Mocha, Pumpkin Spice, Gingerbread)

1. Sift all ingredients except the sugar into a bowl.

2. Add the sugar to the other ingredients.

3. Stir everything together and then fill your container

4. Glue the back of your labels and stick them to your container. 

Mixes Flavoured with Essence Instructions

(Vanilla, Peppermint Hot Choc)

1. Add sugar to bowl, sprinkle essence over and mix through to remove lumps.

2. Sift in remaining ingredients

3. Stir everything together and then fill up your container

4. Glue the back of your labels and stick them to your container.

Smooth-as Cappuccino Mix:

1/2 C Powdered Instant Coffee

1/3 C Milk Powder

1/2 C Sugar

1/4 C Coffee-Mate (Coffee creamer - it should be with all the coffee in your supermarket)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Sift to remove any lumps, then pour into container and label. Makes approximately 12 servings. 

**This amount of mix will nicely fill a 400ml (13.5oz) container which is what I'm using. 

                                                                                                           

You can find a PDF of the labels for "Smooth-as Cappuccino Mix" I made here - you can print them, cut them out and stick them on your own jars or containers!

Totally Morish Mocha Mix:

1/4 C Powdered Instant Coffee

1/4 C Hot Chocolate Powder (like Cadbury's or similar)

1/3 C Milk Powder

1/2 C Sugar

1/4 C Coffee-Mate

Repeat process as for Cappuccino mix. 

 You can find a PDF of the labels for "Morish Mocha Mix" I made here - you can print them, cut them out and stick them on your own jars or containers!

Spicy Gingerbread Latte Mix:

 
1/3 C Powdered Instant Coffee

1/3 C Milk Powder

1/2 C Sugar

1/4 C Coffee-Mate

1 t Ground Ginger

1 t Hot Chocolate Powder

Repeat process as for Cappuccino Mix.

You can find a PDF of the labels for "Gingerbread Latte Mix" I made here - you can print them, cut them out and stick them on your own jars or containers!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Mix:

1/3 C Powdered Instant Coffee

1/3 C Milk Powder

1/2 C Sugar

1/4 C Coffee-Mate

1/2 t Cinnamon

1/2 t Ginger

1/4 t Allspice

1/4 t Nutmeg

Repeat process as for Cappuccino Mix. 

You can find a PDF of the labels for "Pumpkin Spice Latte Mix" I made here - you can print them, cut them out and stick them on your own jars or containers!

Sweet Vanilla Latte Mix:

1/3 C Powdered Instant Coffee

1/3 C Milk Powder

1/2 C Sugar

1/4 C Coffee-Mate

1 t Vanilla Essence

Place sugar in a bowl. Add vanilla essence and stir in until there are no lumps. Add the remaining ingredients and sift to remove any lumps. Pour into container.

You can find a PDF of the labels for "Sweet Vanilla Latte Mix" I made here - you can print them, cut them out and stick them on your own jars or containers!

Peppermint Hot Choc Mix:

1/2 C Hot Chocolate Powder

1/3 C Milk Powder

1/2 C Sugar

1/4 C Coffee-Mate

1 t Peppermint Essence

Repeat process as for Vanilla Latte Mix.

You can find a PDF of the labels for "Peppermint Hot Choc Mix" I made here - you can print them, cut them out and stick them on your own jars or containers!

The instructions for how to make up your hot drink mix is written on the tag, but just so you know I’ve included a picture demonstration below.

1. Add approximately two tablespoons of your chosen mix to a coffee cup.

2. Add boiling water to the cup (you don’t need to add milk, but you could if you like it milky!)

3. Stir well to combine.

4. Drink up and enjoy!! 

 I’ve been busy making trial versions of all of the drinks listed to make sure they all taste good. My favourite so far would be the Mocha Mix – it tastes just like a cafe one, minus the foam of course! The gingerbread one is great for a cold day and you can’t go past a basic milky Cappuccino every now and then!

Of course you could use the recipes above and vary them to suit your tastes. A caramel latte mix would be yummy, as well as a bit of brandy essence instead of vanilla would be a nice Christmassy drink! 

Like all of my '12 Days of Christmas' DIY tutorials, there is a PDF version of this blog post here. Simpy click on the link, print out the tutorial and get to work. Easy as that. Feedback appreciated!

Make sure to check out the rest of my “12 Days of Christmas” posts for more awesome decorating ideas, recipes, and gift ideas!