Every spice and tea ordered was fresh, well packed and lived up to their online descriptions. Watsonville is so lucky to have a company like this in our backyard. The only thing missing is a small store front so locals don't have to place orders online that are mailed to their homes. read more

Rude Customer Service representative and supervisor. False claims on the website : we ship within 48 hours Order was placed on Wednesday before 6PM. On Tuesday next week my order status was still processing When I called, Customer rep couldn't find my order. All of the time when she was investigating, she was interrupting me, extremely rude. I was told that they had computer program doing wrong things and it is my responsability to check my order and call to inform them that something is wrong. I was told that maybe by Friday my order will be delivered. But rep and her supervisor refused to send me email with the results of our conversation. I was told that Friday was hypotetical day. After the order will be processed , packed and ship within may be 48 hours, I will be contacted to provide more information. Customer rep and her supervisor ciontinued telling me that they have no time to resolve my issue (their computer program doesn't work and it is my issue), that I ask too much from them, if I will continue asking for something that they do not want to do, they will never have time to process my order. Of course, this is my LAST time ordering from these absolutely unprofessional people. Was my mistake to go with them. Highly nor recommended! read more

I am profoundly disappointed with their customer service. I was a customer for many years and recommended this company to friends and other professionals in the horse industry. When asked for assistance locating a lost order, I received only a patronizing tone from the customer service representative for making a one digit mistake on the order form. I can no longer recommend them as a vendor. read more

I found this company several months ago and was so happy to find them with their amazing prices. I ordered 5 pounds which is a lot a lot of lavender. And I also ordered 5 pounds of flaxseed. While not Ground. Each bag is definitely different in the way which I will definitely know and keep in my mind for the next time I do place an order. The pricing for shipping is a little expensive but you're also paying for the weight. They have great prices compared to bulk apothecary and other companies I have sought out to find items for my company. I use them to make lavender sleep I pillows. Everything came within less than a week!! I was so happy. It was definitely worth the purchase. Find a company like this it's kind of hard when I sought out to find other companies to offer this but there are three times the price for not quality ingredients. I would highly recommend this company despite some of the reviews. I had a great experience with this company and order again read more

Monterey Bay Herb - a close up of a pillow on a bed - Herbs & Spices Near Me - Watsonville, California

What an awesome company. I was looking for affordable tea and found this place. Tried it and now I'm ordering all my spices and teas from here. Of course you have to pay shipping, but as every consumer should know, the company has to pay shipping costs, so I'd rather pay for shipping (they don't charge a mark-up) pick the carrier and speed and have the products cheaper. The "free shipping" companies don't make sense to me, as everyone knows that the products are just so much more expensive. Thank you Monterey Bay Spice Company for having a sensible policy. And all the teas and spices I have tried so far are great. One suggestion: I would add either on the website or on the teas how long they need to steep for, but that's only a short google search away. Thank you! read more

I worked for a company called Ameriherb for 4.5 years. In the beginning of January 2022 we were informed that Monterey Bay was buying our company. The head of the Monterey flew out to have a special meeting with us! He promised us NOTHING WOULD CHANGE, and he promised us that he would make sure we all got to keep our jobs. These statements would turn out to be the furthest thing from the truth. Immediately they fired all part time employees. We were then asked to do what basically amounts to contractor work for the next three months. Instead of hiring professionals to turn the warehouse around into a new business model, they used us. We ship herbs. We don't paint. We aren't certified to use scissor lifts for commercial purposes, and we sure weren't given the proper PPE to clean the YEARS of dust and debris that had build up (until we asked, you shouldn't have to ask for safety materials). Then as soon as the warehouse is ready for the new business model they fired several employees including myself. Why? So they could save money on wages. Instead of keeping employees that had dedicated years to this company they threw us away like trash just to pay slave wages. That was last July. Over the last months they have slowly fired each and every last original employee that dedicated time and hard work. Today I got word they fired the last two employees and the rest walked out. This is not the kind of company you want to support. Ray if you're reading this I hope you have trouble sleeping at night. read more

If I could give this place 0 stars, I Would. I am from Texas and spend hundreds of dollars with this company, every couple of months. I ordered an Irish moss powder which I usually do, and they sent me the wrong type. A good business would at least cover the cost of shipping, but their rude ass representative (Sarah) told me that they can't cover shipping costs and it didn't matter if I was a returning customer or not.... like can you imagine?????? I just wanted to send the got damn package back so I could RE ORDER THE SAID "RIGHT ONE" You are seriously better off finding another company that values their customers. These people are money hungry and could care less. Take a class on customer service a holes! read more

I've ordered herbs and spices from this company, although it's been a while, and was very pleased. I'm an avid cook and worked with a spice company years ago, so I'm happy to see so many spices from a company close to home. All items have been fresh and of a high quality. I only wish they had a store front. Nothing like the smell of fresh herbs and spices. read more

Their herbs are very good as far as quality and potency. Reasonable prices, too.

So, this is not a review of any of their products, as I have not yet ordered anything from there. I looked at the shipping costs after I placed items in my cart... a little steep. So, I decided to see if I can head out to the facility to check it out. I called the local phone number and SOMEONE PICKED UP. The phone only rang 2 times (that's already a PLUS!). They don't have a storefront. :( I can't remember who I spoke to, but she was very nice. I asked her if orders have to be placed strictly online, I live locally and I wanted to come by instead of paying the shipping fee. She said I can place the order by telephone and pick it up at their location (will-call). PERFECT! IF they DID have a storefront, I would be in trouble, as I know I'd come out with more stuff than I planned on buying! If you're local, call their local phone number and place the order for pick up. If I understood correctly, you can place the order between 8:30am and 4:30pm, and pick up between 9am-3pm. Orders must be placed at least 2 days in advance. BTW, for those who are COMPLAINING about the "best by" date, I have teas from Teavana that I got 2 years ago that I drink... If you store things PROPERLY, you shouldn't have an issue. PLUS, it says BEST BY... it doesn't say "MUST BE USED BY..." or "MUST BE CONSUMED BY"... To me "BEST BY" means "use it by this date or the flavor might not be as good as it is supposed to be". Hell, I still even use expired medication. If I have no bad reactions, I'm using it until its gone!!! read more

sorry customer service rude people sorry shipping time if you have a complaint they will not elevate the call to a supervisor or owner they tell you that's not possible! the solution to getting your package is trying to charge you extra $20 to redirect it! DO NOT BUY FROM THES PEOPLE! read more

Order your bulk herbage and spices for cheap. Teas, essential oils, potpourri, and, ahem, Poppy Pods, are all shipped from Santa Cruz directly to you door. If you love tea with that extra "spice" as much as I do, become intimate with these masters of flavor (and krunkness) and you shall never go wrong. read more

See all

Do not purchase from them!!! I found plastic in one of my bag of herbs! This is a choking hazard! I could have died because of this company. The quality is extremely poor, and the customer service is horrible. It's a reason why they are so cheap. read more

Love this company! I couldnt believe how inexpensive their herbs were. I ordered 20 herbs three days ago from Arizona and already delivered today. Love the packaging too read more

Since moving to Santa Cruz, I've missed buying herbs and spices in bulk. Winco has a nice assortment, but I can't find one near me and the freshness of the selection is sometimes questionable. I came across Monterey Bay Spice Company via Google. Since I live close by, I visited their location hoping to browse and take home my selection. Unfortunately, no one answered the door. I did some googling and soon learned that they don't have a local store. I placed my first order on their website. It's really well designed, user friendly and there are many, many options. The order arrived and I could not believe how good everything tasted and smelled. The onion powder alone is worth an order. Seriously great stuff. My second order, just a few days later, was equally fantastic. The mustard powder was a bit bland tasting, but other than that...fabulous. Since herbs and spices die a horrible death after six months, I try to replace them on a regular basis. The smallest package is a bit more than I need for six months, so I shared with a friend. And lastly, I love their newsletters. Beautiful to look at and delightful to read. I don't mind their shipping costs, but if they ever opened a store front, I'd be a super-happy girl. read more

Horrible customer service, rude people that lack company knowledge. And the return process is horrible. I've been waiting for a return label for over a week. After waiting for the "manager" to get off vacation for a week. What a disaster. So frustrating buying herbs from lack luster people. And don't get me started on the quality of herbs. PISS POOR read more

My wife and I have drank nettle leaf tea for many years. When the organic nettle leaf sold by FGO run out of stock, I found the organic nettle leaf sold by Monterey Bay Spice Company. I bought 5 bags (1 lb each) to avoid the shipping cost. After I opened the first bag, I noticed the strong smell from the nettle leaf. I also noticed that their organic nettle leaf was certified by QAI, not USDA. After we started to drink that nettle leaf, we started to have minor diarrhea. We ignored it because it's not very serious. We took a 2-week vacation last month when we didn't drink the nettle leaf. Our minor diarrhea stopped completely during the vacation. We therefore convinced that the nettle leaf sold by Monterey Bay Spice Company had caused the diarrhea. Because the company has a 2-week return policy, we had to through away the 4 lb unopened bags of nettle leaf. What a waste of money! My wife and I have drank organic nettle leaf sold by FGO and Mountain Rose Herbs, both are certified by USDA. We didn't have any problem. We will never buy organic nettle leaf from Monterey Bay Spice Company again. read more

Right after ordering I needed to change something and they completely refused. Horrible company to work with. Find another company to buy from. There are many other businesses that are willing to work with you on fixing your order. Even if I refuse the shipment at the door, it cost me double shipping. Chalk it up to a lesson learned. Read reviews on a company before you do business with them. If I could I would give them 0 stars. Customer service people. Your losing out on repeat customers. read more

Very pleased with MBSC! Priced very well for products. Customer service is always good and product delivery is spot on. Thank you. read more

I was really happy to have stumbled across, this Company. The School Faculty was so happy and googly eyed! When they saw all 23 Bags Of Teas... AWESOME PRICES and GREAT SELECTION of Teas... read more

Monterey Bay Herb - a list of ingredients - Herbs & Spices Near Me - Watsonville, California

I placed my order at 5/13/2011 12:29:53 AM and received it the next day! For $15 ($30 Groupon!!) plus around $7 shipping, I got: 3350-OUNCES Citrus Chamomile Herbal-Per 1/4 Pound 1 $4.80 $4.80 2060-OUNCES Chamomint Tea-Per 1/4 Pound 1 $2.76 $2.76 868-OUNCES Jasmine Tea-Per 1/4 Pound 1 $3.16 $3.16 672-OUNCES Ceylon tea, broken orange pekoe-Per 1/4 Pound 1 $3.20 $3.20 922-OUNCES Black tea (China)-Per 1/4 Pound 1 $1.60 $1.60 3353-OUNCES White Tea-Per 1/4 Pound 1 $7.20 $7.20 1837-SAMPLE Blackberry Fruit Tea blend-SAMPLE (4 servings) 1 $1.00 $1.00 1879 Jamaican Jerk Seasoning spice blend-Per pound 1 $6.50 $6.50 read more

Monterey Herb Co has the fastest packing ever! placed my order 24hrs ago and already have the tracking # that it's already on its way! The selection and quality are incredible for both powders and C&S. All of my products taste and smell fantastic. And the prices are below the other bulk prices elsewhere - You've made my first year in herbalism a breeze! My go-to for the best quality and prices! read more

I was sorely disappointed in the Dill I purchased for my small business. I had products on back order because I was waiting for the Dill. I ordered a large amount expected it to be good quality. I couldn't even SMELL that it was dill. When I added it to my product, there was NO hint of dill in the taste. It was an extreme waste of money. I will be returning the product tomorrow. I hope I will be reimbursed. read more

Poor customer service. Google reviews are met with hostility if they are not positive. The customer service is pointless here anyhow as there is no way to alter orders. Website shipping selection is set up so that if you use the arrow on a laptop to down scroll the page it will change your selection. If you have it selected on USPS priority it will change it to UPS next day air... please be careful when ordering online there is no recourse with them for making adjustments from a $300+ shipment to a $15 shipment. These people are A-holes and checking google reviews will show that several others have had similar interactions with them. Please avoid this company. read more

i can't sum it up in one word right now unless overpleased is one word. i haven't even tried the products yet, this is just based on everything else. if i don't come back to edit, then enough was said. read more

Fresh Tea received, pleasantly surprised with this Company. Their Website was easy to navigate. Products were widely varied and well described. The prices for their products competitive. Shipping was a breeze. I have blended my own tea concoction for years so I have experienced the Good and Bad of ordering tea. There Tea is Fresh!! read more

I have been looking for the tea I buy at my local tea shop off and on for quite a while. I think I found it with the Summer Ambrosia black. I am still going awaiting the shipment(I placed my order late Friday night, I'm not even expecting it to be shipped until today), but I found the website easy to use, and the descriptions and pictures look exact to the tea I buy. The tea at my local shop is $4.50 an ounce, so imagine my surprise when I found a pound of it for $7.50. I also ordered a bunch of herbs to try out. I usually go to Penzey's here in St. Louis, so I'll give these a shot and try out the quality. I can tell you that the pricing is considerably lower than what I pay locally, and it's even cheaper than the crap spices sold in my local grocery. I've seen complaints on here about expiration dates. I have never once had an expiration date on bulk loose leaf tea nor on bulk spices. The only time I have seen a date is when I get tea bags or a fill in McCormack spice at the supermarket. Once again, I haven't received my order, but I expect to be happy if the product looks anything like the pictures. I love the variety of spices offered on the website, and the variations on varieties (Ex. The sage comes in a few forms). Payment was easy, I just used my paypal. The only thing I would possibly change a shipping costs. It stayed the same whether I had 1 pound in my cart or 20 pounds. Either way, if the tea is the one I'm looking for, it's still far cheaper to pay $7.50 a pound plus the $25.00 shipping, versus the $72.00 per pound I pay locally. Since I consume about 3 pounds a month in black tea, I can really save a mint in cost if I order all 3 pounds at the same time. I will edit this review if I find the quality lacking on the spices, otherwise I will leave it as it stands. Seriously though, the variety of spices and herbs on this site is mind blowing. The detailed descriptions on each was a trip. I spent hours looking at descriptions on herbs and spices I hadn't heard of. I don't do herbal remedies, I only cook, so I did not know what a lot of these things were used for. Thank you for the helpful descriptions, I learned a few things! *********Edit on 3/1/19********** Everything arrived! It also had a fancy little booklet enclosed. Everything was well packed (I loved the double bagging on the chili powder btw, kept it from contaminating the more delicate spices), everything I ordered showed up and, most importantly, everything was of great quality. I sat and crunched on peppercorns like they were candy. Low quality peppercorns are not nice to just crunch on. Unfortunately the tea is not the one I was looking for. It's a good tea, but it isn't my vineyard sangria. I can't be too disappointed though, I may not have found what I was originally looking for, but I did accidentally find a place for high quality spice at an amazingly low price. Some of my friends and I are already planning another order. Even with shipping added in, it is still far cheaper to buy a pound of spice here than 2 ounces of comparable spice at Penzeys. Thank you for having such a wide selection to choose from. I'm a bit sad that you don't carry the extracts for baking, but I can still pick those up locally while buying the bulk of spice here. read more

I have used Monterey Bay Spice for years. They have everything that I need in various forms and quantities. Easy to order from, delivery fast and correct every time. read more

I ordered some garlic powder from this company and the service was great. The garlic powder was fantastic. I can't say anything bad about this company. They are first class in my book. I highly recommend this company. I'm a gourmet chef and I am all about quality. I just wish I lived close to them. read more

Love this place. Always get excellent products and quick service. No better place to get spices for that big batch of rub or loose leaf teas. Just wish they had a store front or if they do I don't know.. read more

****1/2 The spices get a four and half star.... The customer service and delivery get two stars, sorry...I have never heard Sorry from someone so many times with out making it right before in my life.. Again very decent spices, herbs...just don't be in a hurry almost $40.. to ship and took 12 days...HUM ..no one answers the phone at customer service. Had to leave message... they did call back after I got the package.... HUM. SO if you're not in a bind or hurry and don't need to speak with a person at the company ... go ahead. BTW this was not my first purchase and it wont be my last.. I must have gotten a bad seed. read more

I have ordered herbs, clays, salts, and so forth from numerous bulk-order type companies. Honestly, Monterey Bay Spice Company also known as Herbco.com is phenomenal. They offer high quality products. When you open the bags for each carefully packed item, you can see and smell the purity/quality. Plus, many products have an option to buy certified organic. In addition, the prices are fantastic. And, since I have many other buying experiences with varying companies, I must reiterate, again, that Monterey Bay Spice Company is an excellent choice. Furthermore, the shipping is not excessive based on my ordering experience. Example, in one shipment, I ordered 20+ products, and the shipping was roughly $15.00. I don't think that is high at all. Basically, if you plan your orders well, the shipping is reasonable. Finally, I will give one criticism..........I wish the product packaging was "reseal-able" bags. This isn't a deal breaker by any means, as I can easily place my opened herbs into individual Ziploc bags. And, I am super, super grateful for Monterey Bay Spice Companies cost effective pricing; thus, I am fine with overlooking this one issue. However, this is a "review" so I figured that I should mention it. That's my two cents. I hope this review is helpful to others. Cheers! read more

I really love how easy their mobile site is to navigate and their very reasonable herb prices! I put my order in around 7am (I live 2 hours ahead of them, so 5am their time) and it was shipped the same day! My only complaint is that shipping costs are extraordinarily high, unless you are ordering a lot of items that can be stuffed into the medium flat rate box. The shipping cost really makes me hesitate to place an order unless I really need it! I saw a reply on their Facebook page to someone complaining about shipping and they said that the costs were out of their hands, as these are generated by UPS and the USPS. But I have ordered many online things and haven't had to pay a minimum of $12 no matter how small of an order I had! Please fix this, as I would really love to be a regular customer. :( read more

i ordered 200lbs of damiana leaf c/s very poor product it is full of large sticks there are so many sticks i cant even use the product !

I have been a customer of this company for a few years. I have always loved their product and had good experiences with them. My most recent order however, went awry. The wrong address populated even though it was updated and correct in PayPal. They were unwilling to help. I will never order from them again or recommend them to anyone. Horrible way to treat long-term customers. read more

I was very thrilled and excited when I found this company. I use herbs regularly for medicine, and I wanted to find a reliable retailer for clearing respiratory congestion and for aromatherapy. I was looking for mints, and so I ordered Eucalyptus, Spearmint and Lavender, I also ordered a few of premade blends. I spent over $100, including $35 for shipping with this company but I was content because I believed I was receiving quality product. My order arrived a week late and again I was content because I thought I had finally received what I paid for, WRONG. I noticed immediately that one of the teas I purchased was missing. It was a Cold & Flu blend; given the global pandemic I assumed that they had ran out. Ok, disappointed but ok. The rest of the tea seemed to be fine until I examined the Eucalyptus I had ordered. I noticed that they had sent me green tea leaves instead and figured it was a mislabeling mistake. (Eucalyptus is a mint with a distinct smell, this was not eucalyptus) I called as soon as I could and spoke to a man who claimed to be the owner of the company. He answered the phone sounding tired or as if he had something better to be doing. I noticed this and decided I'll be as quick as possible. I told him the issue and that I believe they made a mistake labeling my Eucalyptus, and instead of admitting that a mistake could have been made he decided to debate me. I was appalled! He argued that there's no way it could have not been Eucalyptus, he was so sure of himself I ask if he was the one bagging the orders. He responded NO, they had machines to do that for them but he could have one of his workers bring him a bag so that he could prove me wrong. At this point I'm frustrated because I'm very familiar with what Eucalyptus and I have a person on the phone who doesn't even interact with the herbs he is selling people telling me I am wrong. He had absolutely no solution for this problem other than essentially saying "we're way too busy to deal with this issue right now and sorry you have to deal with this mistake we made." He gave me one option: 1. Send it back and get a refund. When I asked to be reimbursed for shipping after I had already paid $35 to have the wrong order shipped to me, he declined. I would have been spending more money sending it there than I would have received back as a refund. I expressed this and he said that that was not their problem. Honestly, its sad. I felt robbed and disrespected. I would have been content if he had agreed to just send another shipment of Eucalyptus or another aromatic herb in its place but he allowed his ego to show as stubborn, disrespectful and unprofessional. Shopping with this company was the ghetto. I'm not sure how they expect to remain in business when the customers that they do have are being treated like they are disposable. Good luck to this company but I'm shopping with Mountain Rose herbs from now on. They're a bit pricier but customer service goes a loooooooong way with me. read more

I've only tried two of their loose leaf teas but all I can say is, I'm impressed! Not only are the prices on bulk loose leaf teas incredible (better than Rose Mountain Herbs which I thought wasn't possible), but shipping was fast and the teas are great quality. I'm very happy I decided to try them out and will be buying more. read more

I decided to give them a try after reading positive reviews about them on various forums/message boards. i found a small discount code so that helped to compensate with shipping costs. I didn't realize you get so much herbs and spice for the price, maybe it was a special. Regardless, fast shipment and good quality herbs and spices. I personally thanked them and they were very responsive and appreciative. I highly recommend them. read more

Well, you can buy teas, spices and herbs direct from these guys -- or you can buy from the guys these people wholesale to, for twice the price. You know Mighty Leaf tea? It comes from here; it's even packed here, for Mighty Leaf. I live in Santa Cruz, so it's very convenient but a little weird -- order by phone, pick up after 4 PM the next day. You can't just walk in cold and buy something -- this is a mail order operation. Just, they'll let you pick up your order on a will-call basis if you're in the area. read more

Not sure why Me S. is bothering to complain about this on Yelp when MBSC seems to be extremely quick with great customer service. I too bought the $15 for $30 Groupon, but didn't realize they had moved to Watsonville until I drove over to the previous location and found they were gone. I emailed them explaining my predicament and they got back to me within an hour, and offered me free shipping with the Groupon. This saved me the hassle of having to drive so far out of my way to do a pick up order in Watsonville. They resolved everything in a fast and friendly manner, and my order will ship out shortly! They have great prices -- especially on their essential oils. Looking forward to using their products. read more