Best mail-order spice house?

[Howard_2]

I'd like to see recommendations from folks for "best mail-order spice merchant", in terms of quality as well as price.

One such is www.thespicebarn.com--but it makes up for the low prices by charging a lot for shipping.

[clubcoach]

www.millcreekspice.com - very good organic blends and rubs, although the selection isn't too deep.

[al b. darned]

I've used Penzy's, The Spice House, and the Spice Barn, and liked all of them. I would add The Savory Spice Shop to the list.

http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/

[laststandchili]

http://www.penderys.com/

I started using penderys for spices for competition chili, but they have a great overall selection. Prices have always seemed reasonable, good quality stuff and efficient customer service and shipping.
Sticking your nose in a freshly opened bag of their ground cumin is a sneak preview of heaven.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i've had good experiences with My Spicer when i need large quantities, and they have a huge selection of custom and house spice blends, plus all sorts of other cooking & baking ingredients:

http://www.myspicer.com/catalog/

[ZenSojourner]

Depends on the spices, but usually I can get Indian spices most cheaply at an Indian grocer.

If you have co-op style health food stores, bulk bins can be very cost effective as well.

I know it's not mail order but typically I've been able to find everything I want fairly locally.

[howlin]

for all us canuks we have www.silkroadspices.ca

[beachmouse]

I've had good luck with both The Spice House and Penzey's. While their core product lines are quite similar, each has some relatively unique/hard to find offerings the other doesn't. Definitely worth it to get on both their mailing lists. The Penzey's paper catalog frequently has a card for a free 1/4 cup jar of a featured product, and Spice House had a free shipping special (usually they get you there) last week for e-mail list subscribers.

[mollyomormon]

I can't say enough good about Spice Station. Blows Penzey's out of the water to my tastes: http://www.etsy.com/shop/spicestation

[goodhealthgourmet]

mollyo, have you been to the store in Venice? i keep driving by and resisting the urge to stop in because i know i'll just go NUTS in there :)

[mollyomormon]

Yes, I have been to both the Silver Lake store and the Main Street one and they are both amazing!! The quality and price of the spices is just incredible. Everything is so much more reasonably priced than you might expect. Really, I've spent much less there than when going to stock up on spices at the grocery store or Whole Foods because I can buy by the ounce there and obviously the selection is a million times better. It's also much fresher tasting than the stuff from Penzey's in my experience, but I'm usually buying stuff for savory applications so take that with a grain of salt ...(har har). The employees are generally super helpful as well. I'm obviously a huge fan :).

[goodhealthgourmet]

OK, i'm sold :) i'll check out the Main Street store when i'm back in town next week. thanks for the feedback!

[Caroline1]

I've been very happy with everything I've gotten from http://www.WorldSpice.com

[HillJ]

plus one for the amazing folks at World Spice Merchants.
C1, have you seen their new online recipe file? Amazing!

[Caroline1]

I keep looking at their recipe for Arabic Chicken Kabsa. I have everything on hand, including the black lemons, EXCEPT garam masala... <sigh> I should have said in my OP that I have never found another place that can surpass (some equal but none surpass) their quality and I've never found lower prices. But I am thinking of suing them.... I had a "spice wall" built in my kitchen with shallow open shelves for spices only. I thought 18 running feet would be enough. I'm out of room...! And now I need garam masala for their chicken recipe? Where does it end???

[HillJ]

Too funny, I couldn't agree more. You might enjoy this article from Sunset on spice blends. WSM contributed to the article and sent me the link info after a quick email communication about their wonderful & growing recipe file.
http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/techn...

[Harters]

For quality & price, I'd use:

http://www.seasonedpioneers.co.uk/

[Indirect Heat]

Penzey's. www.penzeys.com

[davmar77]

i like the spice house. good stock. you may see more answers in the home cooking boards.

http://www.thespicehouse.com/