FAQ & Policies

Storefront & Pick-Up

Yes! Place your order online and select Pick-Up in the shipping portion of the checkout process. Pickup orders are processed within 1-7 business days. Orders placed before Wednesdays at noon (12pm EST) will usually be ready for pickup on Fridays. We will email you when your order is ready to pickup. 

Pickup hours mirror shopping hours (Tu-F 11-7, Sa 10-6, Su 12-6)

We will hold pickup orders for two weeks after sending a notification that the order is ready. After 14 days, the order will be considered abandoned and subject to cancellation without refund.

Online Orders & Payment

We do not include prices with any shipped packages. All orders are shipped with a packing slip so the recipient can see who the order is from and how to contact us if there are any issues with the order. You can leave a gift note in the 'Comments' box when viewing your cart before checking out- this will be printed on the packing slip.

Yes! All of our gift sets come in gift boxes. If you would like us to box up individually purchased spices (in bags, jars, or tins), please add this Gift Wrap option to your cart.

If you need to make a change to your order, please CALL US at (617)945-1888, option 3, as soon as possible on the weekend, and email us at support@curiospice.com on weekdays. While we are unable to add items to your order, we are happy to assist you with canceling and re-placing your order with the additional item(s). We are however able to remove items from your order for a refund as long as we have not begun processing your order for shipping. We can refund you in-store for items removed from pickups.

Yes! Gift cards can now be used both in-store and online. 

Use the help feature on our website (bottom right), which will submit an email ticket to our support team, or send us an email at support@curiospice.com. We'll do our best to return your inquiry within 24 hours. Inquiries submitted after hours on Saturday or all day Sunday will be answered on Monday.

Yes, you may call us at (617)945-1888 x3 Mon-Sat 10- to place an order for shipping. Calls on Sunday will be returned Monday. To place an order for in-store pickup, call (617)945-1888 x2 Tues-Fri 11-7pm, Sat 10-6pm, Sun 12-6pm. Note that the shop is closed on Mondays.

Yes! We accept all express checkout methods, including ApplePay, ShopPay, PayPal, and Google Pay.

Yes, for most spices. Many have a bulk jar/bag option available on the product page - you can see a complete list of bulk offerings here. If you don't see what you're looking for, email us with as much information as possible about your needs and we’ll send you a quote, or email wholesale@curiospice.com for foodservice pricing.

Curio values your privacy and looks to protect your data. You can read the details of our privacy and data policy here: https://curiospice.com/policies/privacy-policy

Shipping & Receiving Orders

We offer USPS Priority Mail Express for online orders. You can select that option at checkout. Priority Mail Express is next-day to 2-day with delivery by 6pm from when USPS received the package. We do our best to process these orders as quickly as possible within our 1-3 day turn-around for shipping orders. The availability of products can impact how quickly your order is shipped, so please call us if you need your order to arrive by a certain time and we can assist you with your order.

If your order subtotal is at least $65 and is shipping within the U.S., we'll cover the cost of shipping, and the discount will apply automatically at checkout — no discount code required. We will choose the most economical carrier for shipping your order. Usually that will be USPS Priority, or UPS Ground.

Please email us at support@curiospice.com to let us know. Many carriers mark packages as delivered prior to actual delivery, which triggers the system to notify you too early. Usually these packages will be delivered within the next 5 business days. Sometimes they may have been left in an unusual place, or delivered to a neighbor.

Email us right away (within 30 days of receiving your order) and include your order number. Photos are helpful. We’ll get a replacement or the missing item shipped out promptly.

Yes, as long as the order has not already been shipped out . Please CALL US with this information as soon as possible for the best chance of being able to redirect your package. If the order has already been picked up by the carrier, unfortunately there is not much we can do to redirect it. You can try calling the carrier’s local annex to have it held or redirected, or you can try to make arrangements to have it refused/sent back to us from the address where the package is headed. We are happy to reship the order once it makes its way back to us, but will pass on the shipping charges to you.

Yes! Select your shipping country at checkout and choose your preferred international rate. Please note that we are not responsible for reshipping international packages returned to us; we will contact you to purchase a new shipping label. Additionally, customers are responsible for paying any duties or import taxes. Incorrect or damaged items will be refunded if we are notified within 30 days of delivery, as we cannot ship replacements internationally. Please check your country's import rules before purchasing bulk sizes of any spices, as there may be size restrictions for food items. If you have any further questions, please contact us at support@curiospice.com.

All sales of consumable items and gift cards are final. If your order is damaged or incorrect, please let us know within 30 days of delivery by emailing support@curiospice.com. For select unused, unopened, non-food retail items (e.g. pepper grinders), returns or exchanges may be possible. Customers are responsible for all shipping costs for returns or exchanges.

Products & Packaging

Yes! Our pure spices and Classic Blends come in various sizes of glass jars or resealable bags. (The options for each item are shown in a pull-down menu under packaging type on its product page). Our Signature Blends are packed only in vintage-inspired tins. You can purchase our empty spice jars here.

Signature blends come in METAL TINS that are infinitely recyclable – simply pop off the plastic lid (insert a spoon into the widest opening and pry the lid off) and recycle with other aluminum cans. You can also upcycle your empty tin by glueing a magnet on the back and using it as a pen holder on the fridge!

Most other spices come in GLASS JARS with metal lids. You can REUSE your jars or simply separate the lid and jar and recycle.

 Some spices like bay leaves and whole chilies come in flat plastic bags. These can be REUSED just like other sturdy ziplock bags. Simply rinse and reuse.

 Bulk containers are clear plastic and can be recycled with other plastics.

The current spice bags are actually a little more eco-friendly than our old bags, which were neither recyclable or compostable. The old bags were shipped from overseas to a US distributor, and then shipped to a silkscreener to print the backs with our branding, and then shipped to us to be stickered and labelled in-house. The new bags are digitally printed right here in Boston, so the carbon footprint is a lot smaller, and we've now removed the waste associated with silkscreening and stickering. We're also now supporting a local business with our packaging purchases!

The quality and purity of our spices is important to us. We work diligently with our producers and suppliers to perform testing for microbes and other contaminants to ensure we’re supplying the safest and best quality spices possible. Heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium), which occur naturally in plants in levels that vary depending on origin, can be harmful in significant amounts. Curio Spice Company periodically tests our spices, especially those prone to heavy metal uptake from soil, using third party laboratories.

We make sure to source the freshest and most aromatic spices we can, and it is important to us to pass that along to our customers. While spices don't really go bad, they can lose potency over time. The date on the jar indicates the timeframe for optimal freshness. In the spirit of limiting food waste, we chose 'Better By' to communicate that the spice is at its best within that date, but still perfectly useable after it has past.

Yes! All of our packing peanuts are corn-based and 100% compostable.

Click here to learn how to return your boox!

If it’s easier for you, you may bring your boox boxes back to one of our retail locations in Massachusetts and we will return it for you.

We offer refills on certain spices in our Cambridge, MA retail store location. While we cannot refill jars brought from home, due to health codes, we can sell you a “bulk” amount (2-8 oz) packed in a compostable paper bag of select pantry spices.

 Our line of Pantry Pack spices are meant to act as an economically priced “refill” pack for the glass spice jars in our Classic blend line. Select from the packaging dropdown for Classic Blends that offer that option.

 We also sell IN BULK! (and you can SAVE $$) If you have a favorite spice you use a lot, choose our bulk option from the dropdown list.
Available for almost our entire collection.

Curio Spice Club Subscription

We're adjusting our subscription schedule and offerings to better align with our mission and your requests. Rest assured, your price won't change, but you'll receive even more items in each box!

Yes and no. Our subscription is still $14 per month but is billed once every 3 months at $42. For 6-month subscriptions, it is $84 ($42 every 3 months). For 12 months, it is $168 ($42 every 3 months).

In short, more flavor! Each box will have 4 spices, a NEW zine, and an extra gift. Over a year (4 boxes), you'll get 16 spices plus additional goodies. Previously, a yearly subscription was an average of 14 spices and the occasional bonus item.

Not only that - our new zine allows us to give more information about our suppliers, the spices you've received, original artwork, and printed subscription-exclusive recipes!

Fewer shipments also means lower emissions from shipping and more sustainable packaging, better aligning with our mission.

Every three months, members receive:

  • 4 Spices or blends: A curated, themed collection (including a subscriber-exclusive blend!)
  • NEW Subscriber-only zine: Meet the farmers, cultures, and origins behind your new spices. Plus, receive printed recipes, original artwork, and additional educational content!
  • Bonus item: Each box will have a complementary gift!
  • Exclusive offers: Enjoy discounts and other subscriber-exclusive offers

Subscriptions are available on a rolling, 6-month or 12-month plan. Subscriptions are paid at time of purchase and billed subsequently every 3 months in tandem with your next box. Orders placed today will be charged today, with the first delivery arriving shortly after. All subsequent deliveries will be billed in the last week of March, June, September, or December, dependent on timing of first box’s purchase.

Yes! We carefully curate Curio Spice Club's boxes in advance to make sure it remains fun and interesting regardless of how long someone has been subscribed. 

Additionally, all the types of subscriptions are sent the same thoughtfully selected spice and recipes each release - the only difference is the duration of the subscription.

You can pause or cancel your rolling subscription any time from the subscriptions page in your curio account, or by emailing us at support@curiospice.com, or responding to your most recent subscription order confirmation/shipping notification. You can always sign up again in the future. 

Gift subscriptions for 6- or 12-month durations are fixed and will automatically terminate after the 6th or 12th charge. Please feel free to let us know why you canceled your subscription! We value customer feedback to help us continually improve the Curio Spice Club.

Curio Spice Club only ships domestically at this time.

We have replaced the previously-used Boox box with a fully recyclable cardboard box made from FSC 100% recycled wood pulp.

While Boox boxes were reusable and recyclable, many members found that returning them was a logistical hurdle. We understand that folks are busy, but still want to reduce their environmental impact, so we decided to put more spices in fewer boxes, all while having recycled and recyclable packaging!

Secret Spice Society Subscriptions

Click here to learn how to return your boox!

If it’s easier for you, you may bring your boox boxes back to one of our retail locations in Massachusetts and we will return it for you.

We recently changed the name of our subscription to Secret Spice Society! It is still the same subscription you know and love, but we decided to go back to the name we used originally.  We think it has a great ring to it!

We have three subscriptions you can chose from: 6-month, 12-month, and rolling.  The 6- and 12-month gift subscriptions automatically terminate after the 6th or 12th charge. Rolling subscriptions continue indefinitely and can be cancelled any time.  All types of subscriptions charge monthly on the 25th and deliver in the first week of the next month.

Yes, you can have multiple active subscriptions at the same time.  If you want them to ship to different people, then you must purchase them separately, in separate transactions.  If you have purchased multiple subscriptions in one transaction, they will all ship to the same address and cannot be separated.  Please get in touch with us at support@curiospice.com in this case, to let us know that this was your intention so we can note that in our system, or so we can assist you with creating subscriptions with separate shipping addresses.

All versions of the Secret Spice Society charge $14 a month, on the 25th of the month and ship out during the first week of the next month. First time orders bill immediately and ship during the first week of the next month. The 6- and 12-month subscriptions automatically terminate and will not renew unless you take action to purchase a new subscription.  The rolling subscription will charge monthly until you cancel it.

We ship each month’s spice during the first week of the next month.  So when you initially purchase a subscription to the Secret Spice Society, you will be billed immediately, and the order will ship between the 1st-7th of the next month.  For example, if you order on April 14th, you will be billed immediately and the first shipment will go out in the first week of May. After the first month your subscription will bill on the 25th and ship during the first week of the next month. Orders for a subscription and other items will be split- the subscription will ship separately on the schedule outlined above. Please feel free to email support or call us at (617)945-1888 x3, with any questions.

Yes! You can change the shipping information by creating or logging into your curio account, and navigating to the subscription page.  You can also call or email support and we will assist you.  Any address change that happens prior to the day your subscription charges you each month will be effective immediately.  Any changes that happen after you have been charged will effect next month's shipment.  If you have been charged, need to change the shipping address, and have not yet received your shipping notification, please call us ASAP at (617)945-1888 x3.  We may be able to catch your order before it is shipped.  Please note that we cannot guarantee this.

Please email us at support@curiospice.com, or respond to your most recent order confirmation email and we will send you a link where you can securely update your payment method.  If your card has been declined and you need to change it, the system should email you a link to update.  You can also call or email us for assistance. 

You are able to skip a month by contacting us, or logging into your curio account on our website and navigating to the subscriptions tab.  Additionally, we are able to change the shipping address, recipient, or ship date for your subscription.

You can cancel your rolling subscription any time from the subscriptions page in your curio account, or by emailing us at support@curiospice.com, or responding to your most recent subscription order confirmation/shipping notification.  You can always sign up again in the future.  Gift subscriptions for 6- or 12-month durations are fixed and will automatically terminate after the 6th or 12th charge.  Please feel free to let us know why you canceled your subscription!  We value customer feedback to help us continually improve the Secret Spice Society.

You can purchase a new gift subscription the month after the previous one expired on our website.  This will make sure there is no gap or overlap between the two subscriptions, since we send the first month immediately.  You can also email or call us to extend a 6 month subscription to 12 months if your subscription has not yet terminated. We can also change a gift subscription to be rolling in the same way.

Yes! We carefully curate the Secret Spice Society 12 months in advance to make sure it remains fun and interesting regardless of how long someone has been subscribed.  Additionally, all the types of subscriptions are sent the same thoughtfully selected spice and recipes each month- the only difference is the duration of the subscription.

Get in touch with us at support@curiospice.com within 30 days of receiveing the damaged item so we can send you a replacement. Once you realize your order has been lost or never delivered, get in touch with us right away.  Please include a photo of the damaged item, and any details you have.

Because the subscription cost is a flat fee, we can only ship subscriptions within the continental U.S.

PROMOTIONS

Refund Refresh Sale available online and in-store. Can be combined with free shipping offer. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Products are available online and in-stores for discount while supplies last. Supplies/availability may vary depending on location. Ends online 04/14/2025 at 11:59pm and in-stores at time of closure.

Spice Swap incentive available in-stores only. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Does not stack with Refund Refresh Sale product discounts. Supplies/availability may vary depending on location. Ends in-stores at time of closure.