Tired of running out of spices at the last minute and not really satisfied
With the quality of spices (not to mention the rising prices), I decided to
Search online to resupply my spice collection.
The popular sites I found reading blogs and cooking forums were either
Too expensive or very specialized in the spices they offered. And some
Of those sites were not friendly to use. Good ole Google pointed me to
Spicebarn. Rarely do I take a chance on an unknown, but I was at my
Wits end.
I found their site easy to navigate. Nothing fancy about it. They have
Good descriptions of the spices. Although, they could provide more
Detail. For instance, they really don't describe what the different Mesh
Numbers mean. They also don't provide a search engine, so it could
Take a few clicks to find what you need. Some spice sites categorize
Black Pepper under "B." Whereas Spicebarn lists it in the "P" section.
No big deal, but it your searching for multiple items, it takes a few
Minutes longer than it should to find some items. But when you find
Them, they usually have pictures with uses and descriptions.
What concerned me most was the quality. I don't hear too much about
The "quality" of spices. But, I could not understand why I pay 50 cents
For Off Brand Garlic Powder and Brand costs like $3.50. When I chose
Spicebarn, I was taking a gamble that the quality would be equal or
Better than what I was used to getting.
I was elated to find the quality of Spicebarns spices are excellent. You
Can tell just by the color of them that they are better than what you
Find in the grocery store. And when you open the lid, the aroma they
Give off attests to their quality. Using the old Garlic Powder, I would
Shovel the powder into my recipes. Since I have been using my Spicebarn
Spices, I have ruined two meals because I used too much Garlic. I was
Using my old method of calculating spices. Now I can just follow directions
Or even tone it down a little.
The prices are good. You are not going to get "great" deals. You will find
Their prices are equal to or better than most sites. It's difficult to compare
Spice prices because you are comparing unknown qualities and some size
And origin differences.
It took 3 days to arrive. Not bad, considering I ordered in the evening. They
Did charge me for shipping, but it was a normal charge ( $12.50 for 9lbs).
They don't carry a lot of exotic or specialty spices. They do provide some
Options for your basic spices like: Cayenne Pepper is available in 6 levels
Of heat. And Black Pepper is available in 6 different sizes.
I highly recommend this place for spices. It's a pretty good deal once you
Start getting into the Quart and above sizes. I think you will notice a
Difference in the quality too.