Olives & Epices

A wide variety of spices and oils and sauces from all over the world. This is a very clever little shop as it is the only specifically dedicated spice shop in MJT. Definitely you can find most of these spices at various grocery stores for less than you can get here but the selection and specialty spices is pretty incredible. Why I rate this place 3 stars is because it is substantially pricier than other spice places. For me it’s an overall 3.5. Some I bump up some I bump down. I imagine their rent is not cheap at Jean Talon and so for them they need to elevate prices to make a go at it here.
Nothing purchase on this visit however I have previous bought some specialty seasoning here and they do carry lots of items of higher quality. They do have an excellent selection of mixed seasonings that you can flavour up that meal. We season our food with lots of spice so it’s interesting to see what’s new or different here from time to time!
If you want cheaper seasonings than search elsewhere but if you late hard pressed for something then it’s a good place to spice up your life.

Location: Inside the Jean-​Talon market. The closest subways are Jean-​Talon (orange line) and de Castelnau (blue line). It’s a quick walk from either stop. Street parking is available (but it’s a sh*t show on weekends) — some is metered, some is not. There is parking available at the market as well but spaces are limited. I’m not sure if you have to pay to use the indoor car park.
The place: Tiny, with limited room for walking around. You need to keep your eyeballs peeled otherwise you’ll bump into other patrons (or they’ll up into you) and/​or knock things over (don’t go in there wearing a backpack, people. I mean, come on).
The goods: The place may be small but they have a wide variety of spices and herbs, as well as olive oils (I think that’s what I saw???). The staff is really knowledgeable — just tell them what you plan to cook and they’ll make suggestions. Looked to me like they’re importing their herbs and spices from various places and based on the smell tests I did, everything seemed fresh. I would imagine that these guys have a pretty good turnover so many items probably don’t stay on the shelves for very long — at least this is my assessment. I left with ground coriander from India, and an herb mix that smells so good, that I wanted to go home and start cooking immediately.
Service: Good. The staff knows their stuff.
Price point: Obviously it’s not going to be cheap, but considering that one tin will last you several months (maybe longer depending on how much you use the spice/​herb), I don’t think pricing is too bad. The ground coriander was about $ 13 for a decent size tin, and the herbs were about $ 7 — those are a little spend considering the small size of the tin so I guess I’ll use them sparingly.

Cette boutique est ma caverne d’ali baba.
Je vais souvent au Marché jean-​talon uniquement pour cette boutique alors que c’est à 45 minutes de chez moi.
D’un côté de la boutique se trouve les huiles d’olives et quelques vinaigres. Une bonne huile d’olives est souvent 15 – 20 $ la bouteille et si vous avez déjà faites des dégustation d’huile d’olives, vous savez qu’elles sont bien différentes les unes des autres… Il est facile de né pas aimé une huile… trop amer, trop piquante, trop corsée, etc. C’est pourquoi il y a une petite table ou un commis se fera un plaisir de vous faire déguster celles qui vous font de l’oeil ou de vous faire découvrir des produits selon ce que vous aimez ou non. C’est merveilleux!
Sur l’autre mur, les épices. Il y a en tellement qu’on a du mal à s’y retrouver. C’est pourquoi, encore une fois, un commis est là pour vous. Dites-​lui ce que vous aimez ou non dans un mélange d’épices ou l’utilisation que vous voulez en faire et il vous fera sentir une tonne d’échantillons jusqu’à trouver celui qui vous plaira!
Petites astuces: pour ceux qui ont l’habitude d’acheter des gousses de vanille, cessez tout de suite à rendez-​vous chez Olives & Épices et demandez le caviar de vanille. Qu’est-ce que c’est? Une entreprise productrice d’essence de vanille n’utilise que les gousses pour leurs produits et pour né pas gaspiller les graines (ce qu’on veut finalement!), en font des petits pots. Pour 10 $, vous avez l’équivalent de 12 – 15 gousses.

Spectacular and unique variety of olive oils and spices from all over the world. The staff was so friendly and knowledgeable. I could’ve spent hours in this shop sniffing and tasting. What a magical little place! I think that you can find any kind of spice here! I was able to find my favorite chilies from Korea and Abruzzi!

I am impressed with the selections of Olives & Epices inside Marche Jean-​Talon.
So many different kind of olives oil from around the world. There is also tasting available just need to ask those friendly staffs for some help.
On the other side of the store, you can find all kind of herbs/​spices and even varieties of whole dried vanilla. I was eyeing the black truffle infused sea salt until I saw all the different type of dried chili they carries even includes Bhut Jolokia chili pepper ($ 6/​10g).
I think you can find any herb/​spices you need here at Olives & Epices. I wish there is something like this in Toronto as I would be spending hours just to smell everything!