Spice and Tea Exchange opens on Gay Street, offers variety of custom blends – UT Daily Beacon
The outside of the Spice and Tea Exchange on Gay Street. Wednesday Nov. 30, 2022.
When people go on vacation, sometimes they’ll bring back a t-shirt or a snow globe. For Annette Morejon, owner of the Spice and Tea Exchange, she always brought back spices.
“I’ll always bring home whatever is food related,” Morejon said. “And I’ll say, ‘Oh, I brought you this amazing spice!’ And they say, ‘What the hell do I do with this?’”
For the last 22 years, Morejon has traveled a lot. She was a tour guide and a travel planner, traveling at least once a month varying from 10 days to six week trips.
“You have to stay up to date with everything going on.” Morejon said.
Morejon was from Miami and wanted to slow down a little and relocate. She was tired of how-fast paced everything was and wanted to open another business somewhere else. With the help of her boyfriend, they delved into her passion for spices and started looking around for places that were a little quieter than Miami but still had a city-feel.
“We kind of decided that Tennessee was as far north as we could go without suffering terribly in the winter,” Morejon said. “We came through here (Knoxville) and we just really loved the feel and the people.”
Being that she is so used to moving around and living out of a suitcase, Morejon said she’s ready to stick around for a little while to look after the store but still take trips now and then.
“There’s a lot of things that we sell here that are very international,” Morejon said. “And that’s the aspect I really enjoy because I’m a traveler and I’ve been in the industry for so long. And so, I get to travel the world through these spices and teas, it keeps me sort of feeling at home.”
And after three months of construction, the Spice and Tea Exchange has made its way onto Gay Street.
While getting the store ready, Morejon says that she has found the community to be very friendly and welcoming to a large variety of culture being added to a historic street.
A variety of spices available at the Spice and Tea Exchange on Gay Street. Wednesday Nov. 30, 2022.
From fresh honey to candles infused with the tea sold in store, the minute you walk inside there is an aroma of various scents to be explored.
And there’s lots of ways customers can interact with the store, too. Inside, there are dozens of herbs and spices in jars to smell, free samples for people to try and a recipe rack that shows available ingredients in store as well as what to buy outside.
Morejon says the store prides itself in their custom blends, which are a mix of spices and herbs that are created in house. One part of the room will actually be a “blending theater” so customers can watch employees make their blends for them.
There are many different spice mixes that customers can create for applying on meats, vegetables, pastas and even dips.
The store has way more variety of teas than just the quintessential herbal, black and white. There are some seasonal ones, too, like gingerbread tea.
Samantha Slater, an associate of Spice and Tea Exchange with a teacup tattoo, used to work at Teavana. She was so excited when she heard that Knoxville was finally getting the tea community back.
A variety of teas available at the Spice and Tea Exchange on Gay Street. Wednesday Nov. 30, 2022.
“I just walk in and I’m excited.” Slater said. “The smells hit you and you’re like, ‘Okay, I know where I’m at now.’”
Morejon also plans to incorporate some of what her other businesses hold such as cooking classes and demonstrations with local chefs and breweries.
“We can create sort of these synergies between our different companies and do something fun.” Morejon said.
The Spice and Tea Exchange will also feature a rewards program for regulars. Every dollar spent will be equivalent to one point, and for every 100 points, a customer is rewarded $10 off the next purchase.
Morejon also mentioned any local employee of the Downtown area receives 10 percent off, as well, including to-go teas.
Another promotion is customers can buy five blends or teas and receive the sixth one free.
“‘Tis the season for us to open a tea and spice shop,” Slater said. “It will be absolutely perfect for family meals coming up, people getting sick in the winter. There are literally remedies for everyone.”
“You can’t compare to other places because it’s so… unique. Especially for the stuff that’s going on in the Square already. I feel like it’s a little bit different than things that are here already.”