Piquant Post Review
In the name of my love for every subscription boxes, I decided to see if there is a service for ordering spices. I am obsessed with spices. I buy them every time I travel somewhere, so when I come home from Europe every summer, at least 1/3 of my luggage is full of dried home grown herbs and spices from various organic stores. My pantry is stocked with spices, but I truly use a lot of them, so I can always benefit from buying even more.
I normally buy spices at Whole Foods, because I like organic choices they have there. Some European spices are also available at International Farmers market, but they rarely have organic kinds. Buying spices in physical stores is fine, but when corona hit, I tried to do my part and stayed home more doing my shopping online. This prompted me to look into various spice delivery options, and none sounded as good as Piquant Post.
Piquant Post is a monthly delivery service of spices that are freshly ground and packaged in small batches to ensure freshness. A few recipes are also included for inspiration to use the spices you get in the box. I like experimenting with spices, but I don’t particularly enjoy searching for new recipes, so this combination works perfectly for me.
The spices and blends from Piquant Post come from around the world and are created by chefs. There are no fillers, preservatives, sugar, or even salt. You can sign up for monthly boxes, 6-month, and 12-month plans. Plans offer discounts. Each monthly box costs $11.99, shipping is included. For this price you will get 3-4 spice blends from a different region each time, two recipes to be used with those spices, shopping lists, and online access for substitutions and alternative uses.
What I got in my first Piquant Post box was Trinidad Curry, Cuban Mojo, and Jamaican Jerk seasoning blends. You can easily guess the region recipes like Trinidad Chicken Roti and Cuban Mojo Carnitas, which is shredded pork, came from.
My second box was inspired by Eastern Europe with Garam Masala, Kashmir Masala, and Turkmen Sultan blends for BBQ Fish Skewers or Shashlik and Afghan Chicken Pulao.
All the meals that I made with those seasonings were great.
The step-by-step directions were easy and the shopping list very convenient.
Overall, I’d say that Piquant Post is a great idea. It’s not expensive and can be inspiring in the kitchen. On the other hand, for $12 I can go to Whole Foods and pick 2 packages of seasoning that will last me for a long time. Sure, the blends will be different, but nothing stands in my way of mixing something piquant myself. I can also think about regions I would like to travel to and find some great recipes online.
At the end of the day, I think I will order something from Piquant Post from time to time, but I don’t see needing it all the time. The good thing is that this service can be cancelled and picked back up any time. In the meantime I will continue to frequent Whole Foods in person and order spices and seasoning blends from them online.