Our new marketing manager, Christy Garfield, came up with this concept, and now, having made the first recipe for my family over the weekend I can stand up and say, "Bravo!" How great is it that I had some tea in my cupboard (of course) and I could use it to create a really delicious meal? I'm looking forward to discovering many more tea-centric recipes that make our tea shine way beyond your daily mug.

In this case, I used a spice grinder (but you could easily use a mortar and pestle) to pulverize a couple of sachets of Organic Mountain High Chai. That heavenly-smelling powder gets blended in with other spices and used as a rub on pork that will be seared.

More of the Mountain High Chai -- this time, brewed strongly -- is blended into a cream sauce that will be drizzled over the pork. The sauce includes Sriracha hot sauce — you know, the bright red spicy stuff made in Southeast Asia that people like my husband seem addicted to. Which is probably why he misread the recipe and added too much of it to our sauce, giving it extra kick. Interestingly enough, it was still great — but I didn't serve the sauce to my 3-year-old. She did love the pork on its own, though! I served it on a bed of arugula.

Read on for this delightful use of our very own Mountain High Chai (and use promo code NovDeals11 at checkout for a 30% discount on our Chai through the end of November):

Seared Chai Pork Steak with Spicy Chai Cream and Mache

Chai Tea Rub:

5 tbsp loose Organic Mountain High Chai

2.4 tsp ground madras curry

2.5 tsp tandoori spice blend**

2.5 tsp garlic powder

1 1/4 tsp course salt

1 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Note: Makes about 5 heaping tablespoons of rub, enough for five pounds of meat

Spicy Chai Tea Cream:

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp strongly brewed Organic Mountain High Chai

2 tsp Sriracha hot sauce

salt to taste

NOTE: Makes about 1 cup of sauce

Directions:

1. Make the rub: Crush tea leaves to a fine powder. Pour tea into a small mixing bowl. Add curry powder, tandoori spice blend, garlic, salt and pepper to tea and mix.

2. Prepare meat: Brush pork steak with olive oil. Sprinkle chai tea rub onto meat, coating both sides (approximately 1 tbsp per pound of pork). Wrap meat and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

3. Make the dressing: Brew a dark, strong chai tea and let cool. In a mixing bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, brewed chai tea and Sriracha. Refreigerate until ready to use.

4. Finish: Let meat rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Heat small amount of olive oil in oven-proof pan until hot — sear meat on both sides and then finish in 375-degree oven until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Allow to rest for a few minutes before thinly slicing across the grain. Serve on a bed of mache or other flavorful green and drizzle with Spicy Chai Tea Cream.

**Tandoori Spice Blend: mix together equal parts cardamon chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, ginger — store in a cool, dry place.