Vices & Spices From Around the World

I love this little shop, and it’s where I buy all of my bulk teas and spices. I am obsessed with the Dr. Ackerman’s blend (peppermint, chamomile, skullcap and yarrow) which is like Sleepytime tea on crack! The berry patch and jasmine rose green are also very good, and make awesome homemade iced teas. I also buy a lot of the spices here (they have a lot of options, but nothing too exotic or crazy) and they are a good price (typically $ 1 – 3 for an ounce). They also sell coffee beans, candy, drinks, pastries, and tons of random gifts (jewelry, soaps, lotions, scarves, etc.).

A wonderful place to get your loose tea and really great coffee. I highly recommend the chai and the optimistic Obama blend! This place has a wonderful atmosphere and plenty of board games and curios to peruse.

More of a knick knack shop with a shelf of bulk spices, a shelf of bulk teas, and a cute little seating area. It’s quaint, and the tea was good. Like that you can buy some harder to find spices. No way of knowing how fresh /​not fresh the spices are. It’s okay, but likely won’t return.

Always good coffee and good service. Also have a bunch of interesting stuff you can buy (like Buddha boards). Highly recommend.

I wouldn’t recommend this place. The service wasn’t warm and fuzzy (and when I’m un-​caffeinated I’m overly sensitive about this). They had a large selection of coffees which included organic fair trade which I was stoked about. I had their Ethiopian organic fair trade and it wAs one of the weaker coffees I’ve had in awhile. I tasted basically the water and the cup.

This place smells great. It’s the selection of teas they have. Lots of people in there chatting and playing board games. Good atmosphere.
Got the Obama Blend brew. Well I initially got the brew of the day but didn’t know or ask what that was, and the coffee was self-​serve so I just went for the Obama Blend because it had my favorite president’s face on the label. It was a mix of Hawaiian, Indonesian and Kenyan optimism.
I drew a little smiley on the Buddha board as I waited for my change. It faded before I was able to show anyone my masterpiece.

Lovely merchandise and good coffee all under the same roof! Today I bought my first Christmas gift and a latte. Unfortunately I won’t be back as the counter person who took my order and money shouldn’t be working with the public. She’s miserable and it shows. Not a ‘Hi’, no smile, and an ‘Is that all bark in place of the ‘thank you’ pleasantry she and I would both have shared at the end of my transaction. What a pity

Sad. This place used to be so nice. They still have super cute merch and all but the service? Atrocious. After placing the order for my first drink, the woman who helped me immediately asked, «is that all?» No. That’s not all. I ordered my second drink after making it clear that I was hungry. «Is that all?» Well, that wasn’t going to be «all» but I’m feeling pressured to finish. Then, as I stood waiting, the other girl working verified I was being helped, then made it clear I was to get out of her way. Now, had there been anyone else, I could «sort of» understand this but I was the only one there. I won’t buy coffee at a chain if I can help it, but I won’t be coming here again. Sad.

I love Vices and Spices… and have gone there for years! The candy selection is awesome, they have cute cards and gifts and perfumes. It’s a cute, awesome coffee shop. Some of the staff, on the other hand, seem like they hate people. There is one girl who works there with longish, lighter brown hair who I’m pretty sure literally can not smile. She always seems pissed off and is just not a friendly person. I’m not sure what is up with that, but if you hate people, you should not be in customer service. I’ve been in customer service for about 15 years, so when I see people in customer service who appear to hate people, it makes me crazy. Get a different job if you don’t like people!!! It’s really unpleasant to go somewhere and feel like the staff are irritated you came in.

Interesting boutique coffee, spices, and teas shop. We got some of their herbal tea and their mango tea smoothie, both of which were tasty. They have a nice selection of unique teas to try, and their spices are fairly inexpensive as well. A great local gem!

This is a great boutique coffee and tea shop. If you want the opposite of a chain coffee house, this is it.
The staff is very educated and can give great advice on all their coffee and tea offerings. The quality is very high and the teas are amazing as well as vacuum sealed when you purchase.
One plus for that I really enjoy is they’re the only place I’ve seen that sells Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee by the cup and brew it several times a day. It’s about 50c-​$ 1 more per cup but considering it sells for $ 45 per pound, it’s worth it when you want a great cup of medium, mellow but great tasting coffee. It’s one of the rarest and priciest beans on the planet so worth a try without shelling out for a whole pound.
Parking in the back always and a much more personalized feel to the place. Very happy I now live within a block of their location.
Of course they also sell spices but I’ve not purchased any of those.
As far as tea goes, love their oolong, oolong and peach blend (great for iced too), green and mint, and several other blends. They have varying degrees of quality and price accordingly but fair priced and try buying an ounce of each to try new flavors.
Their setup and knowledge has got me interested in tea again and I’m enjoying it.
There is also some outdoor seating in the back by the parking and a small amount of indoor seating but there generally aren’t more than a few people in this small shop at any given time. They open around 7 I think and close around 7pm most nights.

The tea selection is not huge, but they’ve got loose leaf and fair prices. The coconut pouchong oolong is what I picked out and it’s pretty damn good. It can take 3 resteeps before it gets weak. I can’t speak for the rest of the store since I just popped in for that.

Cute shop where you can buy spices inexpensively! I bought an ounce of rosemary for $ 1 and ten bay leaves for $ 0.50. They also sell and serve loose leaf teas and decent coffee drinks, as well as sell snacks like chocolate covered gummy bears ($ 1 an ounce) sold by weight.
While you are sipping or waiting for your tea/​coffee you can look at the various gift items available for sale, ranging from nice tea/​coffee cups to purses to handmade jewelry to cards and other novelties.
The staff and owner are nice and make you feel welcome.

I have been going to V&S for years. For the most part I like it, I really do. Just about all of the girls that work there have been super nice. The tea is great and it is a nice vibe. There are a bunch of regulars and I am sure that some go every single day. The place has no wifi which is OK but it would be nice if they did, then I could slam them with this review while I sit there enjoying a nice cup of Earl Grey.
Why two stars? Because there is one male employee who is an absolute jerk! He is rude, rude, rude. At first I though he just hated girls but I have watched him and he seems to hate everyone. The funny thing is that he has been there forever. When I go there if he is working I just turn around and go somewhere else. He must have some kind of ownership or something, otherwise I am sure he would have been fired a long time ago.
If you go and he isn’t there, I am sure you will like the place.

Cute lil shop with knick knacks and any type of tea of coffee you might imagine.
I think the AC was either not on or not working cuz it was sweltering in there which is why I only ordered a Matcha frozen Latte (which was legit and delicious!) to go.
The barista was pleasant and there wasn’t any sense of pretension here, which would be easy with a place like this.
All in all, enjoyed my short, sweet, and sweaty visit. Will def check out more in depth next time I am in town and they have that AC blowing!

A likable place with a fantastic selection of teas and coffees. The staff is always friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. The coffees I’ve sampled have always been a step above Starbucks. The pastries, which come from other sources, aren’t always the best, but they’re adequate.
The seating area is rather small but there is a communal table where it’s easy to meet people in the mornings. A positive crowd comes in here then.
I wish they had wifi. I suppose they have their reasons, but I’d be here a lot more if they did.
Overall I likable relaxed shop.

So, we were across the street at the car wash, saw this place and remembered that it got great reviews. Went in for some coffee and were met by a really odd old guy that served us our brew. Coffee was decent but the guy hovered over us while we looked around… it was weird. I asked about one of the cool things in the store and he barked that it wasn’t for sale.
Funky, grungy, Santa Barbara «charm» but it really wasn’t very welcoming. We like giving local biz money but we won’t be back.

I always pass this place on my way to work. It’s not convenient to stop in as I get free tea and coffee at my office. However, I was with a friend, and we were in need of something warm. Luckily, we stopped in about 30 minutes before they closed.
Despite it’s small size, this place has a lot of tea and coffee selections. They also have a lot of assorted trinkets and random merchandise. There’s plenty of parking in the back.
The employees are super nice and turned us on to the coconut pouchong tea. So delicious and smooth! I’ll definitely be back to try something new and buy some of that coconut pouchong tea!

The cute thing about tea shops is that they come in all shapes and sizes. Sure you can get your generic Teavana in any mall, but the good ones have a unique quality to them that you can’t help but love.
I discovered Vices and Spices over the weekend when I was in SB and I was charmed by the place. The atmosphere was part coffee shop, part hippy store you might find along the beach, and part random knickknacky pitstop store you’d find along the road on some cross country road trip. All in a good way, of course :).
It looked like they had an intriguing coffee selection, but I was there to grab some tea before I headed back to the Bay Area. I have yet to try the jasmine oolong I bought, but I’ve been obsessed with the coconut tea I got. It’s kind of like drinking boba tea, except minus the tapioca pearls, the milk, and the knowledge that you’ve spoiled your diet. (I’m sure I just offended someone with my untrained tea pallet).
Anyway, I have random shops that I always end up going to when I visit my grandparents in SB. This is definitely going to be one of them.

Here’s the Deal…
Coffee shops may be the only thing Santa Barbara has more of than banks and foreign exchange students.
But only one is a magical gateway to an extra-​dimensional space.
I’ve been drifting in through the back door of this small, cozy, and inviting shop for almost twenty years. Waving to the familiar faces, and petting the dogs of the regulars who seem to either always be there… or always seem to be happily back on their way out into the bustle of Santa Barbara life.
I see so many friends, near-​friends, and ex-​students And every once in a while… a local celebrity looking remarkably part of the scene.
A very happily married man, I’m not sure how many of the lovely young girls who work there I’ve fallen in love with over the years… But how can’t you fall for a charming, competent and artistic beauty who gives you a cup of coffee with a smile?
Oh, and what coffee! I actually have had dreams about a cup of Vices and Spices coffee. Some of it even organically grown on Blue’s (one of the owner’s) plantation in Hawaii.
Laurel fills the shop with some of the coolest and most beautiful; jewelry, art, cards, clothing, books, and so much more.
Glass jars lining the shelves with teas, spices, and candy…
Pastries, or maybe even a cookie…
People playing Chinese checkers, or solving all the world’s problems over a hot chocolate on a rainy day…
Thank you Vices and Spices for being one of my favorite nooks in one of the world’s most beautiful cities.
Cheers,
Bob