There's One Born Every Minute...

Times are tough right now, and that's even being reflected in the food press with stories about 2009 being a year for comfort foods, more cooking at home, and more economizing in the pantry. And that makes me wonder how an outfit like TSP Spices can stay in business.

TSP's name pretty much says it all. They sell organic spices in single-teaspoon pouches which in turn are packaged in fancy little tins. The tins retail for $9.00 and up, and each of them contains a dozen pouches.

Yeah, you read that right. 12 teaspoons - a quarter of a cup! - of herbs or spices for nine dollars.

TSP claims that their single-teaspoon pouches keep their organic product fresher, and that having pre-measured spices are more convenient. I'm sorry, but I just can't swallow such a huge chunk of bullshit. Tightly-sealed jars in a dark cupboard will keep bulk packages of herbs and spices fresh and flavorful, and annoying little rip-open pouches will never be more convenient than a handy set of measuring spoons.

There is also a distinct odor of hypocrisy here, what with all the cozy speech about "organic" foods and "supporting local farmers." One of their pages says, "but if you trace your food back to its source, you get a sense of what it really means to be good global citizens and conscientious stewards of environmental resources" Somehow, I doubt that putting tiny dabs of spices into petrochemically-manufactured tubes and then further packaging them into tins with paper inserts, labels, boxes, and shrinkwrap is an example of good environmental stewardship. I'm sure all that industrial crank contributes to the astronomical price tag, too.

"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."

-- H L Mencken

Link:

TSP's Website. Check them out and make up your own mind.