NewCanaanite.com (https://newcanaanite.com/tag/the-spice-tea-exchange)
For today’s installment in our local holiday shopping series, we talk to Pam Robinson, co-owner with husband John of The Spice & Tea Exchange. The shop at 118 Main St. is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday. Here’s a transcription of our conversation. ***
New Canaanite: This is your first shopping season here on Main.
The Robinsons fell in love with The Spice & Tea Exchange long before they planned a New Canaan franchise. John Robinson, known to locals as the friendly face of Stewart’s Wine & Spirits for 26 years, had entered the Newport, R.I. store in the summer of 2017 while attending the annual folk festival there.
“One of my friends said, ‘You’ve got to check this place out—you love cooking, they’ve got everything, spices, and teas, and everything you could ever imagine,’ ” he recalled. “I walked in and I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ ”
Pam Robinson visited the same store in May of 2021. She recalled, “It was just completely overwhelming, in a good way. The smells, the vibrancy, the colors, it just welcomed you all in.
A provider of spices, seasonings, teas and gifts is coming to downtown New Canaan.
The Spice & Tea Exchange is “coming soon” to 118 Main St., according to information in the window of the vacant commercial space (formerly Greenwich Pharmacy) and the company’s website. The shop will offer “a variety of fine spices, handcrafted seasonings, loose-leaf teas, salts, sugars, gifts, and more,” according to its website. “Explore some of the best New Canaan gifts and accessories in town,” it says. “Whether you’re new to the culinary scene, own your own food service business, or are simply looking to add a bit of spice to your life, our friendly and knowledgeable staff can help you find the perfect menu additions. We’re known for our over 85 handcrafted seasonings, which we hand-mix in store daily.”
The Spice & Tea Exchange’s Facebook page also says the shop is “coming soon.”
The business carries peppers, chiles, paprika, whole spices, dried herbs, grains and powders such as beetroot, turmeric and arrowroot, the website says, as well as matcha and green and black teas, monk fruit sweetener and flavored sugars, among other items.
It isn’t clear just when the shop is expected to open.