The Spice & Tea Exchange Edit

Nice owner, but this is not a tea shop. If you are serious about tea don’t even think about going here.

Let’s be honest, this is not a tea shop, and though the old ladies working there were wonderfully sincere and inviting, the tea was trash. We walked out with three bags of tea to sample. The flavoring over-powered the tea in two of the mixes. I also seriously questioned the validity of their white peony (Bai Mudan). It was pretty crushed up, and brewed with a surprisingly shallow taste.

Its a nice novelty shop, and awesome if you want salt from around the world, but I wouldn’t go there if you’re really looking for tea.

This to me is in NO way a tea shop. They have a few selections of tea just as a grocery store would have. The tea is pricey and I would only recommend it if you really want tea NOW, or if you just want to try tea in general. They are a pretty good spice shop and the Staff is helpful (both DC and VA).

Really original theme! Love the glass bottles and cork stoppers! Could increase their selection of teas, though.

A lot of inventory, more spices than teas. But their teas are all displayed on the wall in clear prepackaged plastic bags and the teas are pretty pricey for 1 ounce bags. They are very nice, and seem to have a wide experience with their products but maybe not a wide knowledge of teas.

I stumbled into this place on my first trip to Georgetown. I was expecting more tea (as implied by the shop’s name), but their speciality is really the spices. Amazing spices!!! Ohh, how I love the black lava sea salt! How cool is that stuff? I’m going to crush it up and use it to rim my margarita glasses next time I throw a halloween party. It actually does make really great margarita salt.

Needless to say, my boyfriend and I walked out with $50 worth of spices, salts, and teas. Everything I’ve tried so far has been amazing. And it’s especially great if you love hot, spicy foods. My boyfriend can eat the spiciest stuff and still not think it’s hot at all. They had a whole wall of pure hot spices to make him happy, like habanero powder!

This is a great place that I highly recommend. It has a wide selection of spices from all over the world, including unique proprietary blends for cooking any culture’s food. Pretty affordable prices too.

This is a nice little shop for spices. I love that the walls are filled with containers and you are encouraged to open and smell all the great seasonings, spices and teas. They have many of their own blends of rubs and marinades. However the teas are average at best. I was a bit disappointed by a white tea. The tea selection is not particularly large or varied. Two really great finds: Green Tea Mints and a silicon tea strainer.

It was a little bit weird stepping in here because I remembered this place used to sell yarn, and now it’s full of spices! Well, I definitely am a better cook than knitter, so I can’t say I miss Stitch DC. When I came in, the lone sales associate was filling bags at a counter, so I was left to my own devices. There are many large jars filled with spices and blends that you are more than welcome to open and smell. The price for the spices varied. For about $22, I purchased the Garam Masala, Popcorn Blend, Black Salt, and the Black Truffle Salt. I forgot to ask about the rewards card, so didn’t receive one at checkout.

Don’t bother getting tea here. I stood there reading all the descriptions, and nearly every tea invoked a sense of deja vu. It was then I realized that I had several exact variations at home! It’s fair knowledge to most tea aficionados that a lot of tea companies buy from the same wholesaler. If you are looking for “unique” tea, then this isn’t the place.

Case in point:

S&TE’s Bombay Chai: Black tea leaves blended w/cinnamon, cardamom, orange, pepper, and cloves. Mighty Leaf’s Bombay Chai: Black tea leaves with subtle hints of pepper, orange, cinnamon, cardamon, and clove complete this signature black chai tea. S&TE’s Orange Dulce: Ceylon and China Black teas are blended with orange slices, jasmine blossoms, and other fruits to make this rich and refreshing tea. Mighty Leaf’s Orange Dulce: Black tea with hints of orange, vanilla and jasmine blossoms S&TE’s Pear Caramel: Washington state pears blended with Ceylon and China black tea are accented further with sweet caramel bits. Mighty Leaf’s Pear Caramel Truffle: black tea is made from Ceylon and Chinese black teas blended with sweet pears, bits of caramel and chocolate cacao nibs for a decadent dessert tea.

Price Comparison
S&TE 1 oz Bombay Chai: $4.89
S&TE 4 oz Bombay Chai: $19.17
Mighty Leaf 4 oz Bombay Chai: $9.95
Mighty Leaf 100 foil pack: $49.50*

I actually bought this for half off during their sale and got 7% cashback via eBates. So if you like the tea here, get a sample and then go buy the exact thing from Mighty Leaf.

I will definitely return for the variety of salts that they offer, just not for the tea.

The Spice & Tea Exchange is a lovely little shop that deals in exactly what its name implies. Though a bit on the pricey side (teas are across the board $4.79/oz) and a bit hit or miss, the good teas here are FANTASTIC and the friendly staff – in particular the owner, Keith – as well as the frequent-customer punchcard keep me coming back.

The shop is very open, allowing you to open and smell any of the teas and spices they have on display and often featuring a few teas for tasting – ask, and they’ll allow you to try any of the spices and spice blends but I’ve never tried with the teas. The staff seems to have a lot of personal experience with the products and I’ve always enjoyed the conversations comparing their various teas (and mourning the loss of Almond Cookie Tea with very nearly the entire staff – what were you thinking discontinuing that?!).

As mentioned, the teas can be hit or miss – I’ve been unhappy with their white teas in general, but they’ve got a wonderful Darjeeling (no mention of flush or estate) and the Coconut Oolong has been a mainstay of my collection since I very first tried it. They also have a fair selection of moderately-priced tea accessories.
-Cash