The Spice and Tea Exchange....a little spice of life.

Saturday afternoon, and we decided to head into town.  The *plan* was to go visit a craft show at Farm and Home, but half way in we realized it was closing up soon.  

Plan B was going to Market, for a basket of Noms to include Chorizo sausage and some cheeses.   We parked near the Market, and moments later were tugging on the locked door... as Market was closed.... and once again demonstrate our stupidity.   (Deep heartfelt sigh goes here).

That left us standing in an alley by Market, totally at loose ends, and nothing to do but enjoy the howling arctic winds that were so busily sucking the souls out of pedestrians like us.

As it happens, on the drive in Herself had identified several places she wanted to visit .  Mostly by wildly pointing and making OOK OOK sounds as we drove through town.   Given our situation, Herself pointed out it would be a good opportunity to take a walking nom-nom tour of said places.  So be it..... off we tromped, shivering and growling.  Well.... mostly she shivered and I growled.

All that leads to our finding something special as we trekked our trek.  Midway through the walking feast, we came upon The Spice and Tea Exchange at 20 West Orange street.  

Walking in the front door of the building (which used to be my bank), we were hit with a wall of scintillating scents.  Not ten steps into the store, we were also hit with a Very Perky young clerk (her name was Gianna, and she was adorable) who was quite willing to show us every facet of the store while burying us in a flurry of .... 'perkiness'. The attention was nice, yet we just wanted to look around and take it all in on our own, which YoungPerky (Gianna!)was kind enough to allow us to do.   On the other hand, I was left with the impression overwhelming help was just one voiced question away.

First, to the right as one walks in.... the Wall-O-Spice-Blends.  Each aptly named blend includes a big jar of the mix which a customer can open, breath in, and even taste a pinch of I assume.  Alongside each large urn, small jars of the mix, and one ounce bags as well.  The majority of the blends seem to run about $5 an ounce.  To put that into perspective, I think the one ounce bag of English Roast

Rub I bought will likely do two or three large roasts (which I'm deeply looking forward to!)  If I'm paying $20 for a hunk of meat, another $2 to give it outstanding flavor seems fair.

Moving on, there is the Wall-O-Salts, which is crammed with rare, unusual, and interestingly flavored salts.  Salt is such an important seasoning in our food, but so often gets left to only one or two types.  Table salt and kosher salt rule the roost, yet there are SO MANY other choices.  Not just herbed and spiced salts, which Spice and Tea Exchange has plenty of, but the more unusual varieties of natural salts out there.  Each has it's own addition to the plate.

Naming something as 'Salt' seems straightforward, and most folks are only aware of the iconic blue-box table salt, or more often the nameless salt shaker.  But.... it's just not like that.  Salt is a natural mineral, and it's flavor depends on it's source and environment.  Small 'impurities' change the flavor greatly.  It's a bit like calling that big thing in your back yard a 'tree'.  Yes, it's a tree.... but there are thousands of kinds of tree, and they can be wildly different.

Speaking for myself, I think there may be striking value in the idea of 'finishing salt'.  That little sprinkle of an unusual salt or salt mix that lends a final touch to the dish.  Towards that end, I'll be heading back to his shop to build myself a selection of salts to do exactly that.

Past the salt cellar and seller (See what I did there?),  we find exactly what we'd expect.... the Wall-O-Pepper.   There, a multitude of 'peppers' from around the world.  Not just the black pepper we all spent a lifetime buying pre-ground, flavor-reduced, and cheap-cheap.

Happy we were to see an entire row of various Paprika's, including a sweet Hungarian Paprika we were out of, and both of us relish.  I think the variations on that theme alone are worth creating dishes just to explore the spice.

Plain black pepper, or it's brother Tellicherry, are in attendance in abundance.  The difference between the pre-ground crap found in the grocery store, and pepper that's been freshly ground right over the plate..... that difference is like the spread between a busted down Chevy Cobalt and a perfectly maintained Rolls Royce.  Just plain black pepper, and it's variations, can utterly change a dish.  There are pre-loaded pepper grinders on the shelf in every grocery store, and they are not expensive.  One can also choose to buy their whole pepper at a shop like The Spice and Tea Exchange, and use their own grinder.  Whichever.... there is simply no excuse for using that flavorless pre-ground stuff anymore.  

Joining the peppery goodness on the back wall are all the bulk spices.  Un-ground, un-defiled, and whole for the most part.  Displaying maybe ten times more variety of spices than an average home might have on hand, the store has a fair selection of needful things. Not everything, but certainly enough to vastly expand the flavors most people encounter in their lives.

Between the whole spices and the next wall of goodly tastiness, we encountered the owners of the store, Mike and Judy Gitomer.   They graciously talked with us about the store and how they came to own it.  Along the way they shared their enthusiasm for what they are doing.

See..... The Spice and Tea Exchange is something of a rule-breaker for Herself and I, being the first chain store we've ever reviewed here.  It's a franchise operation, with locations around most of the country.  That said, Mike and Judy have made it their place in every way.  Yes, the displays, layout, and even the lighting are all probably part of the franchise specifications, but it's the people who make the shop come alive.  Only open a few months so far (they have been open since July. They both work other jobs, but have really found a passion in this!), these folks are already making their mark.  The store was Busy while we were there.

Lancaster needs a shop like this, where people with an interest can satisfy and expand their palate.   Yes, the last time I looked there is a spice and tea shop in Market.  That said.... Market is open only a couple days a week, for limited times, and gets a might bit crowded for our taste.  To counter that, Spice and Tea exchange is open 7 days a week, with a nice spread of hours that allow real working human type people to get there.

We were in town on *our* schedule.  The Spice and Tea Exchange was open.  Market was closed.  SoSadTooBad Market.... you lose.

Back to the walls of interesting things at the store, we completed the circumnavigation with a short wall of flavored sugars (I will be getting some of those sugars, to make and bake with!), and a Big Wall of Teas.  Lot's of teas. Many, many, lots of teas. All's the teas.   With myself not being a heavy tea drinker, being happy with the occasional pot of Black English Breakfast brewed in my percolator, the selection here was impressive.  Flavored and herbed teas seemed to be the best part of them, but my eyes lighted on some old favorites as well. Another visit, and I'll try a nice Ruby Oolong perhaps.

Rather intelligently, I think, the proprietors sell quite nice small tins for storing spices.  Just the right size for an ounce or two of spice mix, with a clear insert in the lid so one may see what's inside.  The clear plastic insert takes writing from a sharpie well so it can be labeled.  These tins sell for a just few dollars, being a reasonable counterbalance to the premium prices the spices bring.

Also rather intelligent of them, and I suspect the franchise company has a hand in this, they maintain a rack of free recipes cards on hand.  Full color, professionally done, and designed to highlight the spices the store sells.  While we were there, they had several of these recipes done up and available for tasting.  I very pointedly refused to taste the bourbon glazed pecans.... as I know a drug dealers trick when I see it.  "Psstt..... Hey Buddy!   Ya wanna try a free taste of this amazing stuff?" (Ermagherd! They were soo good. They were Bourbon Bacon Glazed Pecans. I could have eaten the whole bowl.)

Take one each of the  free fancy recipe cards, put them in an album, and they'd make a fair cook book.  For free.  Yeah... sure..... free.  All you need are $ome of the $pices to complete each dish.

I'm a fan of flavor.  Sometimes the dish is about the ingredient, like a grilled steak.  Using seasoning on a grilled steak is done to accent the steakiness of the steak.  It all starts with a really good steak.  On the other hand, sometimes the dish is more about the seasoning and spice.  Chili is a good example.  Yes, the ingredients need to be good and handled correctly, but they are there to uphold and display the spices involved.   

See the difference?  An unseasoned steak can still be a great steak with lots of steak flavor.  An un-spiced Chili..... well..... it just ain't Chili.

Life is like that.   Sometimes, it's all about the spice.

Mike & Judy GitomerMik  

Mike & Judy Gitomer