I have been shopping at Penzeys Spices in Clackamas (there are three stores in the Portland area and one in Seattle — find a location near you here) for years, and I am one happy customer. At first, the store is easy to miss. The one on SE 82nd Avenue in Clackamas, Oregon is tucked in an unappealing little strip mall with a nail salon on one side and WinCo’s shadow on the other. Don’t let the outside fool you, though. The store is very clean & nicely organized, the employees are incredibly friendly and helpful, and the spices…
Oh, the spices. They are arranged in alphabetical order so you start out sniffing jars of ground anise or cloves and move down the line to rosemary and thyme. You can compare four different cinnamons or six different curries, four different paprikas or two different basils.
One of the employees warned us that their spices are so much fresher than the run-of-the-mill grocery store variety that you often only need to use half of what is called for in a recipe. The spices look & smell fresh; it’s easy to tell the difference. The employees are knowledgeable and eager to point you in the right direction. They also sell a wide variety of soup bases, mixes, seasonings, extracts, peppers, and salts.
After we were done sniffing our way through the store, I headed over to WinCo to compare prices. The contrast was pretty obvious: Penzeys products were strong and vibrant; WinCo’s bulk spices were weak and faded and have been in the bins for awhile. Also, the way WinCo’s smaller spice bins are set up, you pull the handle and the spices pour out of the end. The new product always gets added to the top so you’re buying the stuff that’s been in the bin for the longest time.
WinCo’s bulk section prices blow everything else out of the water. However, Penzeys’ prices (sold by the jar or the bag, which is cheaper) are actually cheaper than the closest comparative (McCormick’s) that you can find on the grocery store’s shelves. Combining sales & coupons around the winter holidays is the best time to buy spices, but during the rest of the year a spice store can be a great alternative with competitive pricing.
If you live in the greater Portland area, now is a great time to check out Penzeys Spices for yourself.
Signing up for their catalog is a great way to get high-value Penzeys coupons mailed to your home. Check them out and tell us what you think!
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Love Penzey’s. I miss living close to one. Maybe some time they will open a location here in Southern Oregon.
I’ve been a big fan of Penzeys for awhile now! Love their Seattle store! Their blends are nice, vanilla is way better than the usual grocery store stuff. I found cream of tartar to be twice as much in the QFC/Safeway. Love Penzeys!
JMO; I personally am a fan of Winco spices. I don’t think that most of them sit in the bin for very long. I have watched the traffic there–especially for spices for Mexican, middle east and Indian foods. I see people coming in and buying cups full at a time.
I found Penzie’s quite expensive and since it takes me a while to use a bottle of spice, I feel I am getting a much fresher spice when I go to winco and buy a tablespoon of spice *when* I need that spice–or 4 oz if it is a spice I use regularly. In contrast, I have some bottles of Penzie spices that are at least a year old and should be thrown out–because I needed that particular spice for a dish and then did not use the rest of it.
Pardon, I am extremely confused after reading this article and the comments. The article is posted today, and some comments are from today, but there are comments also from February 2013, June 2011 and September 2010.
Something important to consider; Penzey spices are grown “ethically”. Most of the grocery store spices are grown in China where heavy pesticides and polluted water are used (Never buy any consumables from China. Even pet foods; which have been proven to be toxic/cause cancers).
Check those labels on McCormick, etc. Look for “grown in” not “Distributed by”.
Mountain Rose Herbs is in Oregon and only offers organic spices in addition to teas, essential oils, personal products, and much more. They have an impressive client list who use and trust their products.
I do love Penzey but try to support local companies.
There is a Penzey’s near Fred Meyer and Trader Joe’s in Beaverton at 11787 Sw Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy, Beaverton, OR 97005. You can receive their catalog which offers detailed descriptions of their spices, and recipes from their readers. Often there is a promo card inside it as well. Sometimes it’s a free sample size of some spice, or a discount.
I give Penzey’s an average rating. Working in a busy kitchen is easier with quality products. Unfortunately, Penzey’s has seriously dropped the ball because of their cheap packaging. I am cautious about spices in bulk bags, because they require transfer to AIRTIGHT containers very soon after being opened, so you have to “byo.”
Then there is the issue of their jars, which are very stout, but just drop a jar of high priced spices and see what happens. The stout jar is OK, but the incredibly flimsy cap shatters so easily you cannot use it again and once more you’ve overpaid for a spice, lose some when dropped and now have to procure your own conatiner. How a business can sell a product with such a flaw is beyond me. There is no shortage of tough plastics in this world. It seems they just hope an accident happens, and you have to go to the store again. I feel that my money is being taken do to a planned failure.
We will contact this host provider to offer our coupon and selection as not to steal Penzeys Spices thunder here as they are an inspiration to us as a leading spice provider which we see as a great asset to everyone. If the host provider desires please remove these posts as we will contact you for our own listing as we didn’t realize this is a review for penzeys but a general topic of spice stores. Thank You
Our website is http://www.organicspicetraders.com located in Tacoma, WA.
We are happy with the selection at Penzeys as they offer good spices at decent prices. We also know the value of Winco and their bulk selection which is ok and I still believe better than whats in most bottles available.
We are also in the spice trade however our spices are organic which we guarantee are from the latest harvests. Our quality is alway A grade which we source from various importers and suppliers which allows us to choose the best as sticking to a single source can result in great and not so great. Look us up as we will offering smaller sizes soon instead of 1lb bags. Good Day
What great news that there is another Penzey’s in Portland. Only a block away from the Gerding Theater which is only a block away from Sur La Table and Powell’s…I may never go home! Except to cook of course. Love it that I can try news stuff in small containers. Don’t forget that the catalog also has several good recipes each issue featuring new and/or really interesting Penzey’s products.
I LOVE PENZEY’S! They are always so helpful and there spices are fresh and flavorful. Don’t forget to sign up on their mailing list. It’s free and they will mail you a catalog full of recipes and there is always a great value coupon in EACH catalog! If I remember correctly, they mail it out every other month. Coupon can be for a free specific spice or sometimes a dollar amount. AND the one on 82nd will accept expired coupons from their catalog. I tend to forget mine and sometimes come in with more than 1, no problems. Sooooo customer friendly.
My MIL swears by them and is thinking about giving them as gifts for the “kids”…aka: US!!! I’ll make sure to grab that coupon! Thanks!
We are also devoted to Penzy’s. Who knew shopping for spices could be so fun!
We’ve been Penzey’s addicts since 2005, when we received a “Wedding Crate” filled with spices as our very first wedding gift. It was even packed with bay leaves and cinnamon sticks, rather than just regular packing material! Since then, we’ve converted many family members and friends to Penzey’s lovers 🙂 We live in Eastern WA, so we stop by the Portland locations whenever we are back visiting family, and also sometimes order online or from the catalog. The catalog routinely has a coupon on the cover, usually a free spice with purchase. Also, if you do mail order rather than shop at the store, they always include a free sample, a 1/2 size plastic jar of spices!
Buy good spices as a little goes a long way. Fresher spices have more oils and thus more flavor. I haven’t been to Penzeys yet but I do buy from World Spice Merchants in Seattle and LOVE their stuff. Thanks for the coupon heads up, I’ll be taking a trip now 😉