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Loose/Bulk Spices in Santa Clara co. / Sunnyvale area?

Just about all of the ethnic stores around here carry spices in the little 2 oz plastic packets-- are there any places in the Sunnyvale/Santa Clara co. area which carry bulk spices in bins? In particular I'm looking for:
black pepper (tellecherry)
nutmeg
star anise
cassia (scratch that; seen some nice big bundles of cassia in a few mexican supermarkets)

8 Replies so Far

  1. I think Whole Foods has bulk spices, at least they used to.

    1. re: tristan

      Whole Foods in Cupertino n/a
      Whole Foods in Los Altos n/a
      The closest place I've found to non-yuppie quantities of spices is Bharat Bazaar on Reed Ave in Sunnyvale. They're not bulk spices, but they are enough to last a while.

      Now I'm on a quest to find somewhere that's got bulk dried herbs such as dried oregano. Any suggestions?

      1. re: vprasad

        I get my bulk spices at Whole Foods in Palo Alto. They have jars of spices and a decent selection. Whole Foods in Palo Alto is on Homer (between Emerson and Alma). I know that they have nutmeg and star anise. They have black pepper, but I am not sure what tellecherry is.

        If you find another source of bulk spices in our area, please let me know!

        1. re: hawaii_4me

          "Tellicherry is a higher-grade pepper, made from the largest, ripest 10% of berries from Malabar plants grown on Mount Tellicherry."

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pe...

          .... but I buy bulk black peppercorns in a plastic jar @ Costco. Good enough quality and remarkably inexpensive.

    2. When I lived in Santa Clara, I bought mine from Kumud Grocery. They came in bigger bags - maybe half pound, or one pound bags. Plus, huge branches of curry leaves for a dollar. Although, I don't remember seeing nutmeg or star anise - maybe 99 Ranch would big bags of those?

      1. Maybe the best best bet would be to order through the internet:

        http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzey...

        It maybe more efficient than driving to all these stores looking for specific spices. Hopefully they will be fresher also.

        I have never ordered from this company. I have seen their ads in food magazines. I have learned a lot about different black peppers by reading their catalog!

        1. re: hawaii_4me

          I adore Penzeys. They have excellent stuff, and it's cheap. I've never been disappointed by anything I've ordered from them, and I've probably spent $200 there in the last two years.

        2. Elephant Pharmacy in Los Altos (on El Camino) has lots of bulk spices, herbs (including Chinese ones), and tea. Someone else mentioned WF in Palo Alto, which I think has all of the spices you mentioned.

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