Georgetown Gets Spicy

A collection of spices that would make Marco Polo proud.

This past week, WTD featured a coupon ($20 worth of goodies for $10 still available for another 8 days!) at Georgetown's Spice and Tea Exchange. TWSF had no idea there was a spice store in Georgetown and we were excited at the thought of finally having a great spice selection in DC (just try finding gumbo file at your local supermarket). Needless to say, we immediately bought the coupon and headed to Georgetown.

The founder, Clay Freeman, opened his first store (then named the Old Florida Spice Traders) back in 2003 and after hearing requests from customers to open stores in their home towns, turned it into a franchise in 2007.  The Georgetown store is a part of the franchise that now includes 11 stores, with more scheduled to open this year.

The Spice and Tea Exchange is located in a narrow town house on Georgetown's bustling Wisconsin Avenue. This store is beautifully laid out with spices and teas neatly arranged on the walls in uniform jars, each with its own description. Beyond the teas and spices, the store also displayed adorable gift wrapping and spice and tea "accessories," perfect as a holiday gift for your foodie friends (hint hint).

The staff was incredibly friendly and offered us samples of homemade stew, zucchini bread, and tea (all using spices/teas from the store) upon arrival. We were encouraged to smell the spices, and were given great suggestions for spice use. Spices are priced by ounce, and were very reasonable considering some of the outrageous prices you can pay at the grocery store. For $20, TWSF walked away with 5 one-ounce bags of fantastic spices, great recommendations, and a new favorite spice store.