Offering the finest herbs, spices, teas, exotic rices, sea salts and more
It’s a surprisingly cool morning in August when I arrive at the Spice and Tea Exchange. I like to think it’s because I’ve been forcibly wearing fall outfits for two weeks in hopes of persuading the weather to cool down.
I push open the door, scents of hearty spices and sweet teas whipping around me in the morning breeze.
Proprietor Diane Tobin greets me with a friendly smile and offers to brew me a cup of tea. She offers me the choice of one of their three new fall teas: Pumpkin Chai Latte Tea, Spiced Ruby Cider Herbal Tea, and Tipsy Toffee Herbal Tea. I smell each one, decide on the Tipsy Toffee and we begin our chat over warmly brewed buttery toffee, chocolatey caramel cups.
“Our tea bar is something I’ve wanted to do since day one of opening our store,” Diane says. “Folks used to come in and want to grab a cup to-go and I had no way to do that for them, and now I can! We have great prices and it’s fun for people to try new teas at the bar before they decide on buying a new blend.”
Choose from four different sizes and whether you want your tea hot or iced. Pick a tea from their expanded single flavor teas and master blends, including black chocolate and coconut oolong, or mix the two together for a taste like a candy bar in a cup.
Or choose from seven of Diane’s Sweet Teas, which include dessert flavored teas like Apple Pie a la Mode.
“Add a flavored sugar to it if you want,” says Diane. They’ve recently added even more flavored sugars to their collection alongside favorites like cinnamon sugar. Try their pineapple, key lime or apple cinnamon crisp sugars in a cup, on a dish or as a rim for a dessert drink. Or use them to mix up your own flavored simple syrup to be your own bartender.
As the holidays approach, Diane says now is the time to practice making those new beverages for parties and nailing down your staple dish to wow your friends and family with this holiday season.
“Practice those sweet cocktails for Halloween parties, Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas. Now’s the time to get crafty and we help you be as creative as you want,” Diane says. “This is the time to prep to impress. You can spend these next few months planning and practicing and get the one special dish under your belt. You will be so happy with how confident you’ll feel.”
If you’re like me and want to whip up something special and delicious but are nervous to get started, check out their Chef to Table spice packs that include a recipe, a grocery list on the back, and all the premeasured spices you’ll need to craft a delectable dish, whether it’s for the holidays or just a weeknight dinner.
Seasoning your meal is imperative, and if you tend to over measure or under measure your spices, their Chef to Table options will be a simple next step towards putting together a meal that turns out perfectly.
Choose from delicious options like Bacon Bleu Cheese Macaroni or Baked Ziti, or desserts including Coconut Blondies and drinks like a good ole Bloody Mary.
And once the chilly days of fall finally roll around, nothing’s better than breaking out the slow cooker to do the leg work for you with all kinds of soups and chilis.
Spice and Tea Exchange has all the recipe cards and spices you need to put together slow cooker butter chicken, old city chili and more. If you want to put together “extra special chili,” head over to see the spice queen herself and find your way to flavor.
The Spice & Tea Exchange
2115 Gunbarrel Road
(423) 826-7707
Mon-Sat: 10am-9pm
Sunday: 1pm-6pm
spiceandtea.com