Christmas season is rapidly getting closer. Some of us can't wait, the others might not be so overwhelmed with it. Personally, I can't wait. In my opinion, Christmas is not just about the presents and the lights, it's about the scents as well, and where better to get all sorts of different beautiful smells and tastes then from teas you can drink and spices you can put in your food. While going to one of these shops I'm going to write about in this blog, my colleague told me she always liked consumable presents such as teas and spices better than souvenirs such as magnets from traveling friends, which I agree entirely. Spices and teas can bring you thousands of different flavors from all over the world, through the cooking pot and into your home. But where to get them in Zagreb?

Photo Credit: Tibor Trupec

Harissa

Photo Credit: Tibor Trupec

You can get spices and teas in a supermarket of course, but once you use these to prepare a snack, you will never go back. The first spot to spice up your life is undoubtedly Harissa. Besides having a couple of stores, Harissa is also one of the first stores of this kind in Zagreb. Their offer consists of an array of spices and teas. My personal favorite is the tea called "The Grandma's garden." It's actually unbelievable how much different tastes you can get in these kinds of shops. I'm personally a cooking lover, and you wouldn't believe how much different tastes you can get by mixing your food with quality spices. The best thing of all is that you don't have to be a professional cook and taste mixer. These kinds of shops tend to have labels which give you directions on the food you can use the given spice with. One of my favorite things to do while cooking or baking is to add a dash of strong spice like curry powder to some plainer white meats such as chicken or turkey. Besides different spices, Harissa offers all sorts of teaware, as well. For instance, I found those small metal tea filters with small figurines on top. A pink flamingo caught my eye. If you are a true tea lover, you probably know what special teas like "Mate" and "Macha" are, and Harissa is a place where you can find the equipment for preparing those, as well. It's definitely a spot worth visiting, especially with the upcoming holidays and you can do so at one of their three locations: Jankomir 33, Masarykova street 3, Vice Vukova 6 and Šubićeva street 64 which is where I went.

Photo Credit: Tibor Trupec

Chefica

Photo Credit: Karlo Pobi/Chefica

Thanks to Chefica, the part of Zagreb near Arena Zagreb got its spice and tea store as well. Their mission is to induce the creativity of people in cooking and to make tea lovers even bigger ones. Their business is undoubtedly going well if we take in consideration the novelties they introduced in their shop such as the category of premium teas with attractive names like "Beauty Queen, Baby time 9 months, Women's Power, Night tea" etc. They are also cooperating with a lot of restaurants and bars that use their spices and teas. To compete with the needs of professional chefs, they've added a bunch of spice mixtures such as "China wok, Chilli con Carne or Smoothie powder."  So if you're not near any of three locations where Harissa is, and you happen to be near Lanište, be sure to stop by Chefica.

Photo Credit: Karlo Pobi/Chefica

La Chocolate

Photo Credit: La Chocolate Zagreb

What is there more to say about the place that has the word "Chocolate" in its name? You simply know that once you step inside the showroom of this small shop in Masarykova, some magic awaits you. Although teas and spices are not their core business, I don't want to state this as their downside, because, let's face it, chocolate pralines are! Besides all kinds of wonders derived from the cocoa tree, La Chocolate will present you with the possibility of choosing among the excellent selection of herbal, fruit, green, black and other types of tea.

Photo Credit: La Chocolate Zagreb

One thing is sure, whichever place you choose out of these three, you won't miss. On the other hand, teas and spices in Zagreb can be bought on markets as well, and in this, Advent season, I'm sure you will stumble upon a stall on some of Zagreb squares, where more shapes, smells, and tastes await you.

Header Image Credit: Tibor Trupec

Author: Tibor Trupec