Paulette Callender

The Spice & Tea Exchange of Sarasota 

Paulette Callender lived most of her life in Tampa, but she spent a few years in Sydney, Australia. The southeast Asian, Australian, and New Zealand culinary world she experienced there proved so inspiring that when she returned to Florida back in 2005, she opened The Spice & Tea Exchange in St. Armand’s Circle.

Paulette’s store quickly became a favorite stop for food lovers, chefs, and tea enthusiasts. Part of its charm comes from how it looks and feels like an old trading post. Everything’s in apothecary-style jars, and the store simply smells amazing!

“We make all of the custom blends ourselves,” Paulette says. “Each day, we’re grinding peppercorns, we’re dehydrating fruit to make zest, and we’re handmaking everything for steak rubs, fish, seafood, pastas, and curries.” A lot of local executive chefs get hard-to-source supplies from her for good reason.

One popular choice is the Tuscany spice blend, an Italian seasoning that really livens up pasta or chicken, though it’s great with bread and olive oil, too. Another favorite is Florida Sunshine, a citrus blend that takes three hours to make. “We peel oranges, lemons, and limes, then dehydrate them and turn them into a zest prior to making the blend!”

Spices used to outsell teas, though that trend has reversed over recent times. As a result, Paulette opened a tea bar three years ago so people could order iced or hot tea to go. Now The Spice & Tea Exchange offers more than 80 teas and brews them hot or serves them iced, as customers wish.

“Every year,” reports Paulette, “we support nonprofits such as Florida Wine Fest & Auction, which raises millions of dollars for local charities. We’re happy to give back to this wonderful community.”

Paulette Callender
The Spice & Tea Exchange of Sarasota 
345 St. Armands Circle,
Sarasota, Fl 34236 
941.388.1411
p.callender@spiceandtea.com
spiceandtea.com/sarasota