Instant Spiced Apple Cider

So the longer I'm out here, the more I laugh at things I used to crave, bring, or have sent from America. Its not just that more is available than used to be. Actually, I just get more resourceful the longer I'm out here. This recipe for example--the ingredients for it have been here as long as we have. I just never really thought to put them together. We used to always have our family send us the little instant spiced apple cider mixes during the winter. There is nothing special about them. They aren't nearly as good as brewing your own pot of spiced cider. But they sure are convenient for a quick drink by the cup. Its a lot different than the spiced tea (aka Russian tea) mix popular this time of year. I don't know if this recipe will be incredibly helpful to people outside China as I don't know if you have the same drink mixes we do to use as a base. But if you are around these parts, I hope you enjoy this!

Instant Spiced Apple Cider
1 bag Nestle Apple Juice powder (400g)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 heaping Tbs cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
pinch of ginger powder

Mix together all the ingredients and store in an airtight container. Place 3-4 heaping teaspoons in a mug and mix with hot water to serve.

Notes: I put all this in the food processor to combine in order to have more uniformity to the mix (the brown sugar was a little clumpy otherwise). You can just put the first 4 ingredients and its actually quite good and very close to being like the mixes in the States. We thought it needed just a little more flavor though, so I added the cloves and ginger as those are flavors in the brewed cider I make. The downside of this compared to the bought mixes is that you end up with some of that spice dredge at the bottom of your cup. Oh well.