Artisanal Teas & Stone-Ground Spices in Portland

Spanish Paprika

Spanish Paprika

Warm a spoonful in olive oil for thirty seconds and flat, forgotten pantry paprika turns into something you want on nearly everything. That is the secret of Spanish paprika (pimentón), the earthy, sweet-edged pepper at the heart of Spanish cooking. Bloom it in warm oil, then pour it over crispy roasted potatoes, fold it into the Spanish almond-and-pepper sauce (romesco), or spoon the red oil over marinated olives, chickpeas, and eggs. We stone-grind ours fresh in small batches in Portland, so it holds the potent, fruity depth that grocery-store paprika loses sitting on a shelf. Spanish paprika leans earthier and more savory than sweet Hungarian paprika, and unlike our oak-smoked jar it carries no smoke, letting the clean pepper flavor come through. Single ingredient: Spanish paprika. No salt, no sugar, no preservatives. Naturally gluten-free and vegan. What is the best way to get flavor out of Spanish paprika? Bloom it. Warm the powder in olive oil or butter over low heat for a few seconds until the fat turns red and smells sweet, then build the dish on it. Add it raw at the end and it tastes flat. Keep the heat gentle, because scorched paprika turns bitter quickly. Is Spanish paprika the same as smoked paprika? Not quite. All smoked paprika is Spanish-style pimentón, but not all Spanish paprika is smoked. This jar is the unsmoked kind: earthy and sweet with clean pepper flavor. For the oak-smoked, barbecue-style flavor, our smoked paprika is the one to use. How is Spanish paprika different from Hungarian? Both are sweet, unsmoked paprikas, but they lean different ways. Hungarian tastes brighter and fruitier and defines goulash and chicken paprikash. Spanish pimentón runs earthier and more savory, the backbone of Spanish potatoes, romesco, and chorizo-style rubs. How much should I use? Start small. Spanish paprika is potent, so a rounded teaspoon bloomed in oil flavors a whole pan. Taste as you go and add more, since a heavy hand turns a dish muddy rather than deeper.

Chai Lover Collection

Four comforting chai blends filled with warming spices and bold tea. Brew with milk for a rich cup or enjoy strong and aromatic on its own. Perfect for slow mornings and cozy evenings. Includes Masala Chai Vanilla Chai Farmers Market Spicy Chai Rooibos Chai

Chimichurri Seasoning

Fifteen minutes in red wine vinegar turns this into the green, garlicky sauce you spoon over grilled steak. Stir three tablespoons of the blend into two tablespoons of vinegar, let the herbs drink it up, then whisk in olive oil. It goes on steak, chicken, pork, shrimp, fried eggs, roasted potatoes, and charred cauliflower. Use it dry as a rub too, worked straight onto meat before it hits the grill. Parsley and Mediterranean oregano carry the herb backbone, with garlic, onion, thyme, and lemon peel behind them for brightness. Smoked paprika gives it the warmer, sweeter character of the red style (chimichurri rojo), and Tellicherry black pepper sharpens the finish. The Peruvian yellow chili aji amarillo is here for its fruit rather than its fire. It tastes of passion fruit and dried apricot, and we keep the blend mild. Chimichurri belongs to the open-fire barbecue of the Argentine plains (asado), where it is often the only condiment on the table. One story traces the name to the Basque word tximitxurri, roughly "a mixture of several things in no particular order." That suits a jar of ten dried herbs and spices. We blend ours in small batches in Portland with no salt, so you set the salinity yourself. Salt-free blend. No salt, no sugar, no preservatives. Naturally gluten-free and vegan. How do I turn this into chimichurri sauce? Stir 3 tablespoons of the blend into 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and let it sit for 15 minutes. The dried herbs need that time to soften and open up. Then whisk in about a quarter cup of olive oil and salt to taste. It keeps in the fridge for several days and tastes better on the second day. How hot is it? Mild. There are two chilies in the blend, so the ingredient list reads hotter than the jar tastes. The red pepper flakes bring gentle warmth, and the aji amarillo is carried at a level where you taste its fruit rather than its heat. Is this traditional Argentine chimichurri? It is the dried pantry version, and we would rather say so plainly. The classic green sauce is fresh parsley chopped by hand with oregano, garlic, oil, vinegar, and chili. Ours leans toward the red style with smoked paprika, and the Peruvian aji amarillo is our own addition. Same job on the plate, a different route to it. Do I need to add salt? Yes, to taste. The blend is salt-free by design, and chimichurri usually lands on meat that has already been seasoned, so salting at the end keeps the two from doubling up. Adding it after the oil also lets you taste as you go. What else does it go on? Fried eggs, roasted potatoes, cauliflower, grain bowls, shrimp, and grilled chicken all take it well. Work it into softened butter for a finishing butter on steak or corn. As a dry rub, coat the meat and let it sit an hour before cooking. For a foundational all-purpose rub rather than a finishing sauce, that is the job Adobo Seasoning does.

Mace - Whole

Whole mace blades are the form you steep and remove: drop a blade or two into a pot of béchamel, a milk-based curry, a rice pilaf, or a pickling brine, let the warm, savory aroma infuse, then lift the blade out clean. The whole blade is also the one to grind yourself when a recipe wants fresh mace powder at its brightest. Whole is the form that keeps. Ground mace fades within months, but sealed whole blades hold their fragile oils far longer, so you grind or steep only what you need. We pack ours fresh in Portland. Snap a blade and the clean, sharp aroma tells you the oils are still there. Mace and nutmeg come from the same fruit: mace is the lacy red aril that wraps the nutmeg seed, dried into flat blades. Whole blades have flavored slow-cooked meats, cream sauces, and spiced rice for centuries, and they remain a prized note in many curry and biryani masalas. Single ingredient: mace. No salt, no sugar, no preservatives. Naturally gluten-free and vegan. How do I use whole mace blades? Steep them whole in a simmering sauce, milk, stock, or brine, then fish them out before serving, the way you treat a bay leaf. For a smooth dish where you want the flavor throughout, grind the blades to a powder first. Whole mace or ground, which should I buy? Whole blades for steeping and removing, and for grinding fresh to order. They keep their aroma far longer. Ground for baking and blends where the spice needs to disappear into the mix. Many cooks keep whole and grind small amounts as needed. What is mace, exactly? It is the bright red lacy web that grows around a nutmeg seed inside the same fruit, peeled off and dried on its own. It tastes like nutmeg but sharper and more savory. It has nothing to do with the pepper-spray that shares the name. How do I grind whole mace? A spice grinder makes quick work of it. A mortar and pestle takes a little more effort, since the blades are papery and tough. Grind small amounts fresh, since a pinch of mace goes a long way.