A Pinch of Spice & A Whole Lot of Family
While variety may be the spice of life, for the Nachio family of Parkland, spice is the variety of life.
Last December, they opened The Spice & Tea Exchange at 520 East Atlantic Ave., in Delray Beach, directly across from the historic Colony Hotel. Even before you open the door, the aroma of spices greets you and entices you in.
The shop is family‑run by Joey and Diana Nachio and their two grown children, Joanne, a practicing civil defense attorney and Joseph (Joe), who holds an MBA from Notre Dame.
“We’ve been warmly welcomed by the City of Delray Beach, the Downtown Development Authority and all the other local businesses,” says Joanne Nachio. “They’ve been very inviting.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Tea & Spice Exchange to the downtown district,” says Laura Simon, executive director of the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority. “Small businesses are the heart of our downtown, creating the energy, character and sense of place that make this community so special.”
She says that locally owned businesses add to the character of the city and is something both residents and visitors value.
Headquartered in St. Augustine, the franchise offers teas, spices, exclusive hand-mixed blends, naturally flavored sugars, gift sets, accessories and an array of salts from around the world geared mainly to home cooks, chefs and lovers of tea.
With more than 100 custom blends and seasonings — harissa, Malaysian ginger curry, Mexican mole, Korean BBQ, herbes de Provence, Chinese five‑spice, there is just about every combination you can imagine.
Joey Nachio opens a large, marigold-colored jar of paprika from the shelf and a bright, pungent aroma erupts.
“Smell this,” he says, explaining that fresh seasonings are nothing like what most people buy at a supermarket. “Most people know the orange color of paprika, but they don’t realize how intense the fragrance can be,” he says.
The shop also sells a wide variety of peppers and chiles. A sampling of the basics they carry include black and green peppercorns, habanero, jalapeño, Mexican red and green chiles, Hungarian sweet and smoked paprika, Szechuan peppercorns and chipotle.
All seasonings and blends are mixed and packaged in‑house – something Joey Nachio takes great pride in. Spices such as allspice, anise, butterfly pea flower powder, cardamom seed, cinnamon stick, coriander, cumin, ginger, and lemongrass are just a sampling of the extensive list.
One of their most popular blends is Florida Sunshine, made from lemon, garlic, and peppers. Joey Nachio peels the lemons by hand to create a fresh zest, which is dehydrated and added to the mixture along with ginger, rose petals and green peppercorn. “It’s so flavorful,” he says. “It’s great on scallops, tuna, or other seafood.”
They source their products from more than 40 countries, including Japan, China, India, South Africa, and Sri Lanka and have developed relationships with tea farmers in Kyoto, Japan, from where they buy their ceremonial grade matcha tea.
The shop also carries an extensive selection of loose teas, including the Japanese matcha, pu‑erh specialty teas plus Joe Nachios’s favorite — a banana nut muffin tea made with African honeybush, marigolds, cocoa nibs, chestnuts and bananas. There’s even a tea called Ginseng Hippie and another coffee-flavored tea called Roasted Coffee – a gentle way to wean off coffee and transition to tea.
Joe Nachio draws a comparison between tea to wine. “The world of tea is as large as the world of wine,” he says.
Shopping in the store was Delray Beach resident Nina Liebson, 66, a retired financial advisor. She was browsing the shelves looking for spices “with a kick.”
“The Spice & Tea Exchange is unique to the Avenue,” she says. “It’s fun to come in, smell all the fragrances and browse the shelves.” She previously purchased a tea infuser and left this day with hot peppers for cooking and mushroom tea to help her relax.
Joe Nachio, a longtime fan of the Food Network who grew up watching Alton Brown and Emeril Lagasse, says fresh spices can transform home cooking. “With our freshly dried spices, you’re only a couple of shakes away from a chef‑curated meal,” he says. “When spices and peppers are fresh, they make all the difference.”
He loves sparking that passion in others. Visitors are encouraged to browse freely and open jars to smell the contents.
For the Nachio family, running the shop together is a joy.
Joey Nachio paraphrases an old Arab proverb about the stages of raising children. After playing with them when they are young, teaching them as they grow, the last stage of relationship is friendship between parents and children.
And while variety may be the spice of life, for the Nachios, the best spice is family.
“Working together is like working with our best friends,” he says. “We wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The Spice & Tea Exchange is located at 520 East Atlantic Ave., in Delray Beach. Tel: (561) 266-3338.