Ann Arbor Spice Merchants

My daughter and I went there over the weekend. It was such a unique store, we love tea and we found several delicious teas that we loved. We even got some catnip for our cats… They loved it!
This is a treasure in Kerrytown.

Tucked away in Kerrytown, this place is a gem if you’re looking for spices or tea. They have quite a large selection of spices to choose from. I have purchased a few of their types of cinnamon and finishing salts and have definitely been pleased. They are a bit on the pricier side for spices, but are of a high quality.
I have also purchased a couple of their teas and they have been delicious. I wish that there were more specific instructions tailored to the different teas but I got along just fine.
The staff was also very helpful and kind. They answered any questions I had and were there whenever I needed, but I never felt too crowded. I would definitely recommend The Spice Merchant if you’re in the Ann Arbor area and are looking to «Spice Up» your kitchen a bit!

As pretty as a storybook, and quite a selection of bulk spices. Beautiful packaging. Attentive and knowledgeable staff.
This is a good place to shop for nice gifts for your foodie friends. Also convenient that it’s right next to the Farmer’s Market.

They had some really nice spice blends!

I am a huge fan of spice shops so when I came to town looking for places to check out this was on the top of my list. I love spices because they are cheap, a little goes a long way, and easy to travel back home with. After purchasing spices at small locally owned places like this I don’t understand why anyone would buy them at the grocery store as the quality and charm far surpass even the organic varieties at chain grocery stores.
I usually stick to plain spices rather than blends but this place had a dizzying array of flavored salts and I couldn’t resist. I bought a smoked salt which was very strong and exciting. My BF surprised me a couple of weeks later with a salt gift selection and the merlot salt is divine on prime rib.
Next time I am in town, I shall try out the herbal teas.

I am a big fan of spicy and zesty dishes. I was so happy when I discovered this place in Kerrytown. They have all flavors covered. They have some very spicy spices and some that will make some dishes more flavorful.
You can get most spices in small packets that are under $ 5. Great gifts and great to try out. Of course you can buy larger quantities and the staff that I’ve interacted with have been helpful and never condescending or made me feel out of place (I don’t know that much about spices aside from the spicy ones I like).
I recently gave a spice of the month club gift to someone and he was very happy to receive it. They offer different durations that you can gift and they will send the recipient the spice or spices of the month or they will let the recipient choose from a select group of spices of the month for the one they want to receive that month.
Definitely worth checking out — especially if you are near Kerrytown.

My wife and I frequent the Ann Arbor farmers market and often stroll through the before heading home to cook. Being in the «gatherer» sort of mood while there, we are often tempted by this Spice Merchants — looking for ideas on preparation for our recent veg/​meat score. I always regret going in this store. It is both expensive for what it is, and there is pervasive holier than thou -«is that all your getting» attitude that gets in the way of liking this place. It would be great to have a relationship with Spice Merchants, it has an good location and selection and I can imagine buying small amounts of fresh/​fragrant spices (small amounts so my reserves at home aren’t ancient) — justifying the slightly higher price by the service and location. However the oft-​putting attitude gets in the way of this. I strongly recommend Bombay Grocers on Packard, By the Pound on Main Street, or even Sparrow Market for your spice needs.

Among one of the better tea sellers in Ann Arbor. I’ve tried nine of their teas so far, most being being good-​to-​great quality. Although I’m not sold on the taste, I think Spice Merchants is one of the better sellers in Ann Arbor because of the time and consideration they pay their customers, the cost and variety of teas and the fact they use decent small sealing bags with labels. I’ve also tried some of their normal cooking spices, which are excellent.

Spice Merchants is expensive, but that’s the only bad thing I have to say about it.
It’s a fun store – wall to wall and ceiling to floor spices, teas, salts, sugars, coffees, pastas, peanut butters, etc. Mostly spices. It has a local flavor – there are three stores in the chain and they’re all in Michigan. It all smells, as far as I can tell, fresh. They have holiday treats. They have gift sets. They have apparatuses (tea infusers, e.g.). I love to come here for spice rubs that are more complex than what I’d make, myself. And these also make for cool Ann Arbor presents.
SUMMARY: If you want cinnamon, don’t go here because you’ll just pay a lot for something you could get in Kroger for a quarter the price. If you want a raspberry chipotle spice rub for meats and fish, this is your place.

I enjoy getting my teas here. I’ve been a little disappointed recently because they haven’t had green tea pearls in stock. I must admit I don’t purchase many spices here for myself but I have purchased several gifts for friends. They have excellent blends in convenient bottles that make great gifts for my fellow foodies. It is so easy to run upstairs after purchasing fresh fish or meat downstairs and grabbing a new tea to try or a small bottle of a different spice.

I love this place! Maybe it’s the perfectly neat rows (upon rows) of square glass jars filled with goodies that appeal to the slightly OCD in me… or the smell of spice blends … or the overwhelming array of loose-​leaf teas to peruse. It’s all of the above. Everything I’ve bought here has been a hit and has made my cooking all the more interesting. I could while away an afternoon just smelling all the different teas alone! (One of them smells like CUPCAKES. Cupcake tea! Sign me up!) The staff here is ultra knowledgeable and will help you find just the right spice or spice blend to help you give your dishes that little extra somethin’-somethin’. I’d give five stars, but it’s a little more expensive than By the Pound, which is also easier for me to stop by on my way home from work. Sometimes paying a little extra is worth it, though! Spice Merchants is awesome for that special-​occasion dinner or treat-​yourself bag of cupcake tea. =)

I very much agree with Mae here. I have purchased several sets of spices for gifts, and they’ve all gone over well. They come together, like in a «bbq» spice set, with different rubs, and they’re in a nice box. But they’re pretty expensive. So are all their knicknacks… you can find them elsewhere for MUCH cheaper.
Spices do go bad after awhile, and this store has lots of them and not many customers. I really highly doubt that they’re going to throw out thousands of dollars worth of spices because they’re old. I just don’t believe that they will. I’ve never asked about this, but obviously if I did they’d say they replace them.
I haven’t asked because they can never answer any of my questions. I got the same thing Mae did «they all go together.» Uh, no they don’t. They didn’t know what kind of grater I’d need for my nutmeg, or what different spices might be used for, or what the difference was between crushed and whole, etc.
Why do these people have a spice shop?

A spiffy new addition to the Kerrytown gourmet shops and City Market. The store looks teriffic, smells great, and is very inviting. The spice selection is reasonable, but not extensive, but they do have a lot of custom blends to try. You can buy by the ounce or by a prepared packet (usually the blends). The herbs and psice that we’ve sampled were of superior quality.
As for the downsides: business is slow so far, and there has only been one person on staff at any one time — even on Market days. For a spice shop, turnover is critical for freshness, and when you portion spices by hand, you need enough hands so people don’t have to wait too long. The prices seemed to vary quite a bit — or perhaps didn’t vary where appropriate. Things like powdered onion, garlic, and everday black peppercorns seemed to be somewhat high, whereas other items — like the amazing cinnamons and peppercorns — were right in line with ordering from the best national vendors. All of these things are probably the product of a new store that hasn’t yet achieved full market penetration.
Even if some of the common items are high, the selection and, especially, quality beats the highly limited selection at Whole Foods or the second ot third grade product at most Asian and Indian markets. If you buy your spices at the gorcery store, you definintely are not familiar with *good* or *fresh* spices. They are fantastic, and in places like the Ann Arbor Spice Merchants, you can just buy a little to try! DO yourself a HUGE favor and pick up some Vietnamese cinnamon for your apple pies, and some fresh cloves, ginger, and mace for your Christmas gingerbread cookied. You’ll never go back!
(And as a rebuttal: the selection of dried spices at Whole Foods is poor; the volume of the Spice Merchants containers is smaller than you think; and most people already know what they want and/​or need, and don’t use store clerks as culinary experts. Further, Ras El Hanout is excellent on pork (and chicken and fish), even if it isn’t traditional. :D)

I LOVE this store! They have every spice imaginable, and only sell top grade. The spices in the jars are for display — they sell you only fresh spices. And their spices are all-​natural, nothing artificial and have no anti-​caking agents, silicone dioxide, etc.
I especially like that you can buy only one ounce of a spice blend (good for almost 8 steaks/​chops/​chicken breasts, and try it out for less than $ 4. How can you beat that?
Everything is extremely clean and easy to find and they’re also very knowegable. I don’t think you can buy stock in the company since it’s independantly owned.

Ann Arbor Spice Merchants is a lovely store to look at, and it smells wonderful. I do wonder how they can stay in business, though. I wonder how they can compete with other places like Whole Foods or the many small but excellent ethnic markets in town that sell spice in bulk.
I don’t believe I’d do much spice shopping here since I know I could get most bulk spices cheaper at Aladdin’s Market or Whole Foods, but Spice Merchants would be a nice place to buy gifts for the foodies on your shopping list. For instance, they have tea strainers, tea cups, tea «buds», a variety of decorative wooden spoons and nutmeg graters. They also have starters for making various dips. You just take the packet of spices and dried fruits and veggies and add them to sour cream or cream cheese.

Local journalists relate that the owner took her customers’ advice and opened a branch of her Saugatuck store in Kerrytown. At first glance, it’s appealing. I’ve talked to a couple of friends who also were intrigued, though the clerks couldn’t answer their questions.
I have some doubts about this new business:
First, there are over 100 large jars of spice and spice blends on the shelves. This is far more than in the less pricy bulk spice dept. at Whole Foods, which has more customers by far. In a year, the contents of these large jars will be getting stale. Will management throw them all away and start fresh? If not, will people keep buying them? Ultimately, the repeat customers will probably have to be really discerning users of spices — who won’t stand for stale. Alternately, maybe the spices are just for decoration and the store has another profit center. Their call.
Second, there’s an authenticity problem. Neither the staff nor the little tags on the spice jars show ANY idea of how to use them. Sure, they have a few very general suggestions. The middle eastern and arab spice blends, for example, suggest that they are good with pork. OOPS — there’s no Moroccan dish that calls for the exotic ras el hanout and also pork: it’s taboo for Moslems. Another downer for discriminating cooks seeking authenticity and help following unusual recipes. The clerk told me that everything goes together. Again, their call.
I doubt if I’ll shop here much — I can go to Whole Foods with a list of ingredients including spice for an exotic dish and find all in one place.
If I were an investor, I’d NEVER buy stock in a place with these problems!