Harkening back to our trip to Hollywood, our newest chilehead friend Jon passed along a small shaker full of spice mix that he dubbed “Dave’s Zesty Blend.” Dave Reed is Jon’s artist roommate who may be less heat-tolerant than us chileheads, but he shares the garden duties with Jon and grows some pretty bitchin’ peppers. Given their limited growing space compared to many chile pepper gardens that are out there, Jon & Dave certainly make the most out of their meager soil to crank out some serious pepper flora.

We’ve not reviewed a whole lot of spice mixes thus far. We have nothing against them, mind you, but most that we have tried have been mixes that were designed with a specific use in mind and weren’t really as good when used in many types of dishes. Just by the smell of this mix, I just knew that it was going to be damn good.

About the name…Jon didn’t know whether to call it a “harvest blend” or what sort of “(fill-in-the-blank) blend,” but Zesty Blend seems to work quite well.

This is the look in from the top of the container. It might not seem like much by sheer weight, but a little of this stuff goes a long way. You can also tell from the heterogeneity of the powder, that this is a mixture of different kinds of fresh ground chile powder, although one doesn’t seem to predominate.

This is a heaping spoonful of Dave’s Zesty Blend…ready for action. Tastewise, it’s a real chilehead treat. We initially tried some over Mexican food while in California. Stuff like enchiladas, fajitas, and soft tacos (with ostrich meat no less!), and it made ALL of them taste better with a nice capsaicin zing to it. One notable tasting note was that this blend is much spicier when simply sprinkled onto foods than if you mix it in to something like soup or stew, and a little goes quite a long way. The presence of habanero is unmistakeable. When we use this stuff up, we’ll no doubt contact Jon to get Dave to make some more. Since each batch is a little different in composition, no two will taste exactly the same.

Much like we do with people who make homemade hot sauce, we might have to put out an open call for those who make spice blends for chileheads like this as well. It’s been a blast finding different foods to use to compliment the taste of the chiles!

There are so many chileheads out there who make some quality hot sauces, salsas, spice mixes, and other spicy goodies that we want to give them some recognition as well. Whether you are just an amateur who makes stuff on a yearly basis or are an up and coming entrepreneur, we want to hear from YOU! Here’s what to do:

1. Send us an email letting us know what you make and that you would like to have your sauce reviewed. We can be reached through our contact form HERE:

2. Send us a bottle of your creation in the mail, along with a list of ingredients (from most to least) that you used in your batch. You don’t have to provide the amounts of the ingredients or an exact recipe, just a list like you would find on any food product you might buy at the store.

3. We’ll take a few pictures and pass it along to one of our regular reviewers (or possibly even one of our celebrity reviewers if available) to give your creation a try and write up a full review of your culinary capsaicin-laden creation.

We are willing to review products including, but not limited to:

Hot sauce
Salsa
Spice Mixes
Relishes
Jams/jellies

No cost or fees other than what you spend to mail the bottle to us. We have made our own sauces before and know how fun it can be, so please share some of your efforts with us and the hot sauce aficionados out there who read this blog.

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