A Definitive Guide To The Best Online Spice Stores In 2022

Cooking with spices and dried herbs adds unparalleled flavor to your cooking—but not all spices are created equal. Some of the options available in the supermarket spice aisle are less-than-fresh (at best) and contain additives and fillers not listed on the label (at worst). So that jar of chili powder you just bought might come with a hidden side of ground up plant husks or red dye.

There’s a wide range of online spice brands selling high-quality spices that not only make your food … [+] taste vibrant but tell a story about the place they were grown and the people who tended to them en route to your kitchen.

Illustration: Forbes / Photo: Retailers

Fortunately, over the last decade, a new generation of spice traders have begun to offer carefully-sourced hyper-fresh spices from across the globe. Many of these companies partner with small farmers, paying them a living wage and sharing the fruits of their craftsmanship with home cooks. These are spices that not only make your food taste vibrant, they tell a story about the place they were grown and the people who tended to them en route to your kitchen.

From the everyday spice rack (hello black pepper and cinnamon!), to harder-to-source spices and signature blends, the 11 companies featured here deliver superior quality, sustainably sourced spices and dried herbs straight to your door.

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Where To Buy Spices Online

Single-Origin Spices From Around The Globe

Burlap & Barrel Fundamentals Collection

Burlap & Barrel’s spices connect chefs and home cooks to small, sustainable farms from across the globe. The company’s single origin spices include black urfa chilies sourced from Turkey, vanilla beans from Tanzania, Buffalo ginger from Vietnam and wild kelp from the coasts of Iceland. (The kelp adds “deep umami” and “oceanic minerality” to dishes, according to Burlap & Barrel’s website.) Co-founders Ori Zohar and Ethan Frisch’s passion for spices is matched only by their commitment to creating a more equitable and transparent supply chain.

Sustainable Spices From India And Sri Lanka

Diaspora Co.

Diaspora Co. Chai Masala

Diaspora Co.’s founder Sana Javeri Kadri partners with 150 farms across India and Sri Lanka to source their single origin spices. The company pays the farmers a living wage for their work and, in turn, offers customers the highest quality, freshly milled, specialty spices—everything from potent Baraka green cardamom and Hariyali fennel seeds to nuanced blends like Tandoori Masala. In 2020, Kadri’s work earned her a coveted spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 list and Diaspora’s single spices and blends have earned an honored spot on customer’s spice racks.

Whole Spices And Blends From Afghanistan

Rumi

Rumi Fall Favorites Collection

Founded by Keith Alainz and Kimberly Jung, two military veterans who served in Afghanistan, Rumi directly trades with Afghan women farmers to support their livelihoods and bring its high-quality spices to consumers. The brand offers whole spices like dill seed and coriander sourced from Afghanistan’s Herat region, ground cumin grown along the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains and Afghan saffron. Rumi’s signature blends include a mulling spice (cinnamon, orange peel, saffron, cardamom, ginger) to infuse drinks with warm, spicy flavor and a shawarma blend (coriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, cardamom) that goes well on just about everything.

Chef-Curated, Globally-Inspired Spice Blends

Amazon

La Boîte The Voyager III Collection

Chef and cookbook author, Lior Lev Sercarz, is a leader in the contemporary spice movement. In 2006, after working as a sous chef at Daniel Boulud’s flagship restaurant Daniel, he founded La Boîte as a French biscuit company that creatively incorporated spices into their tinned cookies. In 2011, he opened La Boîte Biscuits & Spices in New York City, and began producing specialty spice blends—many in collaboration with chefs. From Amba (dried green mango, turmeric) and Marrakesh N.6 (cumin, cinnamon, thyme) to Oz (a collaboration with chef Eric Ripert made from lemon myrtle, Tasmanian pepper and coffee), La Boîte’s carefully-sourced blends are some of the most creative on the market.

Spice Blends Inspired By Latin Cuisine

Loisa

Loisa Sazón And Adobo Combo

Fans of Latin cuisine need look no further than Loisa to stock their spice cabinets. From perfectly balanced adobo and sazón, to Spanish saffron and smoked paprika, co-founders Kenny Luna and Scott Hattis offer organic, superior quality versions of some of the most beloved Latin spice blends and single spices. Loisa also makes an herb forward sofrito sauce that takes you from pantry to stovetop to a vibrantly-flavored dinner in minutes.

Spice Blends To Stock Your Middle Eastern Pantry

Amazon

NY Shuk Rosey Harissa

This Brooklyn-based company helps home cooks stock their pantries with Middle Eastern staples. The founders—Israeli-born husband and wife team Ron and Leetal Arazi—bring their backgrounds as chefs and their culinary heritages (Ron’s family is Moroccan and Lebanese, and Leetal’s is Turkish and Eastern European) to the table. NY Shuk is best known for their jammy harissa paste and sunny preserved lemon paste, but its collection of spice blends like rosey harissa (chili peppers, paprika and dried rose petals) and hawaij (turmeric, cumin, cardamom, and coriander) are destined to become your culinary secret weapons.

Globally-Sourced Spices That Support Women Farmers

Curio Spice Company

Curio Spice Co Classic Middle Eastern Spice Trio

You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but when it comes to Curio Spice Co, the brand’s gorgeously illustrated tins and jars are a good indicator of its thoughtful sourcing and innovative spirit. Founder Claire Cheney works with organic, fair trade farms and farming collectives (many of which are women-owned) to source Sichuan Five Spice, Madagascar Vanilla and Comfort Curry, and many other spices, that prioritizes both flavor and sustainability. The brand’s creative approach to spice blends results in whimsical combinations like magic salt (chile flakes, smoked paprika, chipotle, cayenne and sea salt) and herbes de romance (rosemary, oregano, parsley, tarragon, coriander, bay, mint, lemon verbena, oregano flowers and garlic).

Old School Spice Shop With A Relentlessly Creative Spirt

Amazon

Penzeys Spices Sweet Curry Powder

Since 1986, Penzeys has built a reputation as a one stop spot (first via mail order, then in brick and mortar stores and now online as well) for quality spices. From poppy seeds to epazote, if you need it for a recipe, Penzeys almost certainly stocks it. And its vast array of spice blends—think green goddess dressing base, hot chocolate mix flavored with peppermint oil and a seasoning blend to dress up frozen pizza—are a marvel to behold.

Indian-Inspired Spices From A James Beard-Nominated Chef

Spicewalla

Spicewalla Masala Collection

In 2017, James Beard-nominated chef Meherwan Irani (Chaipani, Botiwalla, Buxton Hall BBQ) launched Spicewalla to bring the professional-quality spices he sources for his restaurant kitchens to home cooks. The company honors Irani’s childhood in India, where every autumn, his grandmother dedicated an entire week to roasting, grinding and combining her own signature spice blends. Spicewalla’s chai masala, blackening barbecue rub, herbs de Provence and other blends are made with small batch spices, packed in light-proof tins and ground to order so they maintain their freshness for longer.

Kosher, Organic Spice Rubs From Around The World

Amazon

Teeny Tiny Spice Company Organic Perfection Spice Rub

Don’t let the name fool you—the Teeny Tiny Spice Company’s whole spices and blends pack big flavor. Founders Thora and Ed Pomicter take a global approach to spice blending, bringing a world of flavor to home cooks. Its blends—like Ethiopian berberé, South American chocolate chili (great for savory cooking or flavoring hot chocolate), Persian adwiya and Southwestern Oaxacan adobo—all come from certified organic farms, and have kosher certification as well.

Vibrant, Creole-Inspired Spice Blends

Beaucoup

Beaucoup St. Beaucoup

Chef Jeremy Nagin founded Beaucoup to capture the soulful, “crave-able, can’t-get-it-out-of-my-head” flavors he grew up eating in New Orleans. His list of curated blends include St. Beaucoup, which combines sel gris, tomato powder, dried bell pepper and other spices for pure Creole essence. There’s also the whimsically named 3:30 Sunday blend, a sweet and smoky, grill-ready rub and Tu Sabes, which fuses Creole and Mexican flavors to addictively delicious effect. Beaucoup’s products are currently sold out, but keep an eye on its site for when they come back in stock.