Vanilla Bean

Described as an all-around vanilla, our vanilla pods are generally preferred over artificial productions due to their versatility and superior vanillin content. The flavor profile for this variety is described as sweet with soft creamy endnotes. Our vanilla is sourced from farmers and co-ops in Madagascar, one of the top vanilla producing regions in the world.

Vanilla is a spice and flavor derived from flowers of the Vanilla plant, mainly obtained from pods of the Mexican species of flat-leaved vanilla. The word vanilla comes from the diminutive of the Spanish word vaina (vaina itself meaning a sheath or a pod), and is translated simply as “little pod”. Mesoamerican people cultivated the vine of the vanilla orchid, which was called tlīlxochitl by the Aztecs.

Pollination is necessary to make the plants produce the fruit which contains the vanilla spice. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this need for pollination and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unsustainable and was not diffused commercially. In 1841, Edmond Albius, a child who lived on the French island of Réunion, discovered that the plant could be pollinated by hand. Hand-pollination allowed for global cultivation of the vanilla plant. French botanist and plant collector Jean Michel Claude Richard falsely claimed that he discovered the technique three or four years prior. By the end of the 20th century, however, Albius was rightfully recognized the true discoverer.

Three major species of vanilla are grown globally, all of which come from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of what is now Mexico. They are vanilla planifolia, grown on Madagascar, Réunion, and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean; vanilla tahitensis, grown in the South Pacific; and vanilla pompona, found in the West Indies, Central America, and South America. The majority of the world’s vanilla is the vanilla planifolia species, more commonly known as Bourbon vanilla (after the former name of Réunion, Île Bourbon) or Madagascar vanilla, which is produced in Madagascar and neighboring islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and in Indonesia. Madagascar’s and Indonesia’s production account for two-thirds of the world’s supply of vanilla.

Warning: Do not use this product for anything other than its intended purpose. Misuse of our products will result in permanent account suspension and can lead to harm, injury, or death. Professional use only.