The Spice & Tea Exchange of Georgetown

Visited this place with a Groupon. I picked up 3 tea flavors. There was a discount for buying 3. They had samples to try… The only draw back was 1 person was working. I wanted to ask about tea varieties and popularity but…

Overall, I’d say I was satisfied with this place. I came here with a groupon for $ 16. I brought an ounce of sweet heat spice, 2 ounces of green cardamom seeds, an ounce of Darjeeling black tea and a four peppercorn blend in a grinder. I ended up paying an extra $ 20. In total this came to be $ 36 for these four items. This is a little expensive in my opinion, but I did like the blends they pre made up.
What I liked:
1. Huge selection of flavored salts and a moderate amount of sugar.
2. They had a better selection of spices than your average supermarket.
3. The spice blend were great and they offer tasting on select mixes and teas they highlight on that day.
There were some things that I wasn’t too fond of though:
1. Quality control. With the endless jar opening and sniffing in addition to the clear jars (should be amber), non twist top jars, I’m unsure how long these spice will last. Not to mention, when it comes to herbs, this increases the likelihood of their pests getting into the jar.
2. The place is incredibly small. Once four people enter, the space is instantly crowded.
3. Not a huge selection of single herb teas. They only had chamomile and hibiscus so there’s no way you can make your own tea.
4. Other than the salt and sugars (which i barely use anyway), I didn’t feel like it gave me anything different than what I could get at a specially supermarket.

Cute little tea and spice store. Was expecting more, the inside was a little small. Very small loose leaf tea selection, but the tea they did have was good. I purchased a few small sampler bags for my first time there. My favorite was a black chocolate tea! Very good, almost like coffee it was so strong. I also picked up a few spices since I was there. They had a lot of interesting, unique spice blends. Great place for gifts for anyone who loves to cook. They also had quite a few different salts and some accessories for using the salt, which was nice.

Wow! I just couldn’t stop buying salts, spices and blends. This store is great! Personal favorites are: hickory smoked salt, Viks Garlic Blend and Tuscany Blend. I will go back and soon!

Do you love to cook? Do you watch too much Food Network? Are you one of those people that is looking for a new way to spice up your attempts at culinary genius? If the answer was Yes, then The Spice & Tea Exchange of Georgetown may be a destination for you. Rows of salts, teas, sugars, all just waiting for you to come say hi, take a whiff, and open your imagination to your next dinner party menu.
I admit that I can’t tell the difference between pepper flavors, so in terms of quality, this review is not completely thorough but its a GREAT place for gifts for out of towners seeking something uniquely DC, and I know I can’t wait to get into my kitchen and try out the spices I bought for myself! Who am I kidding, all I need is a baguette, some olive oil, and a spice packet. But now my options are endless! Really glad this place is here.

Spice and Tea Exchange a cute shop with a historic trading-​post vibe. The owner was polite and offered samples of a cinnamon/​plum tea — too sweet for my taste, but it smelled pleasant and reminded me of holiday baking.
While the selection of spices, herbs and salt were good, the overall quality was lower than what I am used to and more expensive (200−300% in some cases) than the certified fair-​trade organic products I keep in my pantry.
The jars, while useful for display purposes, are not airtight and expose the spices to oxygen and light — two no-no’s of proper storage. Add to that the dozens or hundreds of people opening the jars daily to inspect quality or inhale the aromas only compound the problem. Those same containers are what they use for their spice blends.
We did purchase a small packet of Earl Grey tea which we brewed the next morning and was OK. Bottom line — Spice & Tea is aesthetically pleasing but their goods don’t merit a return visit.

I love tea and I love Spice and Tea’s collection. The lady who helped was very helpful when I was looking for some black tea for my sister. She explaine to me the different black tea and when I told her the type I was looking for she got me exactly what I needed. They also have an large spice collection for those who love cooking.

I LOVE THIS PLACE!
I first stumbled upon The Spice and Tea Exchange during a trip to Rehoboth Beach. I have been to both the Annapolis location and, most recently, the Georgetown location since then. I usually spend a king’s ransom on the teas and spices every time I visit here but it is so worth it!
If you’re like me and cook with your nose, you have found Nirvana. Ready your nose for an olfactory odyssey because there are so many things to smell. Just grab a jar and start sniffing!
While the spice blends may be expensive, they do come in various sizes, giving you a chance to try more things. One thing I really like about the store is that it sells a lot of things that may be difficult to find in your average grocery store
(i.e. juniper berries, lavender, Asafetida powder, dried hibiscus flowers, arrowroot powder), and instead of buying more than you need, they will sell you as little or as much as you request. Translation: No clutter in your cupboard.
I find a new spice or tea blend every time I come here and rarely have I been disappointed by what I’ve brought home (With the exception of the Signature Spice Blend or the Ginseng Hippie tea. Wasn’t crazy about either).
The Onion Obsession and Coastal Blend blends are both staples in my kitchen. I’ve also picked up random things such as applewood smoked salt and mesquite powder (equally amazing in both chili and homemade slow cooker tomato soup) and have made absolute magic with them. (And if you’ve never had a chocolate cupcake with homemade mesquite flavored buttercream icing, you have not lived!)
There are all kinds of flavored salts (applewood and hickory smoked, black truffle, ghost pepper and French grey to name a few) and sugars (such as sweet onion, cocoa, lime, habanero, strawberry and raspberry) to send your taste buds soaring. The staff here is great about swapping recipes and sharing ideas about how to use their products.
The Ginger Turmeric tea is amazing. It’s fantastic at combating nausea whether you ate too much during the holidays or are battling a nasty stomach bug.
And the cinnamon plum tea… it’s like a piping hot (or ice cold) cup of plush velvet. Rich and spicy and flavorful. The best!
If you’re looking for a way to add some excitement to your kitchen, find the perfect gift for a foodie friend or take your home chef game to the next level, I can’t recommend a better place to start than here.

Amazing salt selection, fun variety of sugars, a great array of spices, and a super friendly and helpful owner who really knows his stuff!

Great little specialty shop! Has all the spices & teas you can think of an more. I’m interested in trying the aboba spice packet. A lot of little packages to get for friends Nd family as well!
Great items to try:
The earl grey tea has a great fragrance!
Want to try:
The habanero sugar – but what what?

Mind blowing salt selections and chili pepper as well as spices in every imaginable variety. I’m shocked how long I spent here going through, smelling, and easily would be here regularly if I lived in DC. Well worth it for those seeking holiday gifts as I went out thinking I could have bought more!

This is such a great chain I first found down in Asheville, NC. When I discovered one in Georgetown I was so excited to replace the peach robust tea i had purchased in NC. I now frequent this store to find unique and hard to find spices like mullins and cardamom. It’s a great place to get great quality spices and teas at a reasonable price and the quantity I want.

My mom had brought me back some seasonings one time from this store so when I was in Washington DC I had to check it out. There are so many different choices from flavored sugars and salts to meat rubs. The employee was super helpful and let us try a lot of the seasonings so we could make a better decision on which ones we wanted. Among my purchases were salted caramel sugar, super onion seasoning, popcorn seasonings, hickory rub etc etc. I used the hickory rub on bbq chicken I made the other day and my wife and kids loved it. I was happy to find out that they have a website that you can order from so now I will always be able to have their products year round.

This is an awesome little niche shop. Came in here to kill some time while we were waiting to meet some friends for dinner. The shop owner is amazingly friendly, encouraging you to open the jars, essentially trying before buying. I love this concept.
It’s set up into spices, salts, teas, and sugars if I remember correctly. There may be one more category, but within each there are plenty of things to choose from and things you won’t find elsewhere. They had rock salts and sugars and earl grey teas but there were some amazing blends that were handmade and very fragrant. I’m not a tea drinker but I even found the coconut oolong to smell very enticing.
We went in mid September so of course they had a sample of a pumpkin spice chai available to sample. Again a try before you buy. I actually can’t stand pumpkin anything but it wasn’t overwhelming. I tasted more vanilla in the blend. Then the owner went into the tea baskets and how the recommended preparing it for best flavor and so as not to pack the leaves in too much. This was awesome so it gets bang for your buck and makes it taste better. And I don’t even like tea.
If I lived in the area I would totally come here for some artisan steak rubs since that’s more my cup of tea-​pun intended. It’s not the cheapest shop in the world because it’s not supposed to be. It’s a niche store to find cool new things to try you can’t find anywhere else, and to expand your horizons from what you find at the supermarket.

will be back. had a lot of interesting spices to pick from.

The Spice & Tea Exchange is your one stop shop for terrific spices and spice blends as well as delicious teas!
It is a small shop in Georgetown just off of M street, on Wisconsin ave, as you walk towards the waterfront. You go up a small set of stairs and are welcomed by the friendly owner and the sweet aromas of spices!
They have a wide variety of flavored salts and sugars but my nostrils always B-​line for the mixed spice blends and teas in the back of the store. You can open any and all the jars to smell the teas/​spices to assist in your selection. I have been numerous times and without fail, the Northwest Salmon is always part of my purchase.
They have a huge selection of loose teas to choose from. I’m currently on an Earl Grey Crème fix. Not to fret if you don’t have the proper loose tea accouterments, you can also buy them at the store.
Seriously go and just buy a pack of the Northwest Salmon rub!

Small little shop packed with a bunch of spice and flavor. I grabbed three loose leaf teas for around $ 16, all great flavors. There’s everything you need to make an impressive dinner with spices for everything from poultry to salads. The teas run the gamut from Coconut Oolong to Caramel Cookie and beyond. Super cute shop and definitely worth a stop in.

I love this place! You can find just about any spice you need in this store and then some! Strong spices, mild spices, sweet spices, etc. They also have a ton of tea and coffee selections. I really like how everything is organized by category and I really liked spending part of my Sunday afternoon just walking around with friends and smelling and commenting on the various jars of spices. I will certainly have to return in the future to buy some fresh spices from here.
I also really liked the atmosphere — it’s a very happy, peaceful place. One of the store employees made this really amazing dip with mayo and onion spices and we sampled some. It was so delicious!

This is a great little shop in a great little neighborhood. They have an excellent variety of salts and flavored sugars. If you’re too lazy or not knowledgeable enough, they have their own spice blends for a variety of applications. I found their collection of just spices to be OK. They had some harder to find options, but also not very many whole spices in my experience. I prefer to grind everything myself.
I did buy some different flavored sugars though as those are somewhat annoying to make myself. The catnip is also very strong and drove all my cats nuts.
The owner is very friendly and helpful, but the show-​stopper here is the cost. His prices were outrageous, so I won’t be using him as a source going forward.
Very cute little store though.

I was so freaking excited about this place that I wrote this review as soon as I got home.
This place had every possible spice I could want. And I wanted some pretty esoteric ones too. Fenugreek, anyone? When I asked for paprika, I had 4 options — Spanish sweet, Spanish hot, Hungarian sweet, and Hungarian hot. It was almost too much to handle. They also let you smell the spices, although I’ll admit that my nose can’t tell the difference between Spanish hot and Hungarian hot.
On a lark, I asked if they had any Italian seasonings, and he recommended their most popular mixed blend — the Tuscany blend (dried tomato seeds, chili flakes, cumin, oregano, time, lemon zest, etc.). I can’t wait to cook with it!
Prices were pretty reasonable — I spent $ 15 on 1 ounce each of anise star, fenugreek, coriander, cumin, and paprika. The mixed blends cost a bit more — $ 4 for the Tuscany blend.