Walking into The Spice & Tea Exchange in Mashpee Commons, one is immediately greeted with a robust earthy scent and a zealous employee, ready to help you traverse the overflowing shelves of worldly loose leaf teas and spices. 

Opened in 2019, and reopened in 2023 after significant renovations and product development, Bill and Linda Files exude pride and delight in their fourth franchise location. The pair owned three other Spice & Tea Exchange franchises across Florida before discovering the opportunity to bring their spice expertise to the Cape when the existing owner of the Mashpee Commons location wanted to sell.

Florida Sunshine, great for salmon, shrimp, scallops, chicken, and green vegetables, the stores’ bestseller, highlights the citrus flavors associated with the southern state in a flavorsome salt blend. Citrus peels are dehydrated, ground into a zest, and massaged for upwards of 15 minutes into the Brazilian sea salt in order to release the fresh flavor. 

“Our customers realize once they use the blends, or the spices, or our salts or sugars, that these products are really high quality, so they make the food taste so much better,” Bill says.

Business spiked amidst the pandemic as families cooked at home and because the store offers such a wide variety of flavors and products, there are limitless recipes. Bill is eager to welcome a new spice blend in the near future—Zesty Lemon Garlic Pesto. The blend is an excellent accompaniment to seafood but delivers ample versatility, Bill notes. “When you cook shrimp with it, for example, or scallops, you coat the seafood with the Pesto and saute in olive oil, and right at the end, squeeze fresh lemon juice on the top of it. It makes a lemon gravy and it’s amazing.” ...