simplespecialties web store FAQ section

Yes! Place your order online and type LOCAL in the special instructions. You can pick up your order on Saturday at the Old City Farmers Market in St. Augustine, FL, OR our other market in Nocatee, FL. See you there!

When stored properly spices retain their potency for quite a long time. Whole spices generally last 4 years or more. Ground spices last 2-3 years. And 1-3 years is the shelf life for leafy herbs. Other spices: Whole peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and cream of tartar will generally outlast their owner!

Yes, some of our dips and teas are made with organic ingredients and some are 100% organic. However, we do not market any of our products as USDA certified Organic or use the USDA logo on our products due to federal licensing requirements (which involves a lot of paperwork and thousands of $$$ annually). As a consumer, if you would like to know in which or our products we use organic ingredients and what ingredients those are, please feel free to email us and we will gladly send you a list. As for our spices, we are not able to meet our price points utilizing organic ingredients at this time. However, we are always adding new products so please keep checking!

All of our products arrive to our packaging area Kosher certified, however it is currently not economically feasible for us to maintain this certification while offering competitive pricing. Hopefully in the future this will be an option for us.

We are proud that our products are packaged in the US, in a state-inspected and licensed facility. Our teas are packaged in foil bags with zip reclosure and are designed to keep teas away from the elements. Even better, our foil bags consist of multiple layers to ensure you receive the freshest product on the market! All of our spices and herbs will arrive to you in a food-grade plastic spice bottle with tamper seal. Please recycle your bottles after use. Our dip mixes are packaged in reclosable, foil bags similar to those of our teas, for ease of use and to ensure maximum freshness.

Yes! Simple Specialties regularly supports non-profit organizations with goals in alignment to ours, such as FFA (Future Farmers of America). We also proudly support vocational classrooms and instruction, especially for those targeting underprivileged students. Also, with certain products- such as "Read Africa Rooibos"- we donate a portion of our profits to a worthy cause that is given back to the community where our product originated. If your group or organization is interested in soliciting donations or fundraising sponsorship, feel free to email us and we will work to meet your needs to the best of our ability. Preference will be given to local interests.

Not at this time but we would like to in the near future so please keep checking back. Currently we are unable to ship our food products across the border without appropriate licensing. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Nearly half of the teas we carry are naturally caffeine-free. This includes ANY of our Fruit blends, Herbal blends, or Rooibos selections. Additionally, we stock a few decaffeinated teas such as our Sencha and our Orange Pekoe, both of which have been CO2 processed to removed the caffeine. We believe that CO2 processing is the most natural way available to remove the caffeine in tea and thus we stock only teas that are 100% naturally caffeine-free or have been decaffeinated using the CO2 process.

As airtight as possible. The foil bags we package your teas in are specifically designed and provide excellent barrier protection to temperature changes, moisture, and air. Here at Simple Specialties we advise storing your teas in their original package (using the Zipper seal) OR transferring your tea to an airtight tin. Contrary to a popular myth: Do NOT store your tea in the refrigerator. The moisture will cause rapid deterioration of the oils in the tea.

When stored properly (away from light and air) your tea should last 1-3 years. We recommend storing tea in air-tight tins OR, if using within the year, in our foil, zippered bags.