DIRECT SOURCING
1- The number one rule is to source Vanilla pods directly from the Vanilla Farmers, rather than from resellers, as far as possible. It guarantee the origin and you have much more chances to source high quality Vanilla. Possibly you may even choose your vanilla pods. Click HERE if you wish to learn about the added value Sylvanilla® bring to Agroforestry Vanilla Farmers.
HOW WORTH IS FARMERS' WORK?
2 - The number two rule is to pay the correct price. Too often the cheapest price is overall what most resellers are looking for, rather than the quality of the vanilla, and it's exactly how low quality vanilla reach on the market, which is counterproductive for vanilla farmers.
UNSCRUPULOUS RESELLERS
Beware of non-specialist resellers when purchasing vanilla pods, it is essential to ensure their quality and traceability. Some resellers, who do not have expertise in this field, may offer products that do not comply with hygiene and conservation standards. Improper handling (lack of gloves, repackaging in inappropriate conditions) can compromise the quality of the vanilla and lead to contamination. Mold is often the result of poor storage, improper handling or packaging that does not meet hygiene standards.
Unlike specialized producers, some retailers lack knowledge about refining and preserving vanilla, which can lead to fungal contamination. The legislation imposes strict standards for hygiene and food traceability. Before purchasing vanilla, it is recommended to ensure the quality of the product and compliance with health standards. In some cases reported by consumers, vanilla pods unfit for consumption have been sold without any possibility of a refund.
In addition, some commercial practices can be misleading, such as reselling pods at excessive prices without adding value or without a quality guarantee.
Being passionate about vanilla is not enough to have real professional expertise in vanilla. Studying and learning vanilla in all its aspects, from the cultivation of the vine, the pollination of the flowers, the harvesting of the fruits, the curing, the storage, the marketing, the packaging, the export and import, the inspection and certification documents, customs clearance, and transport of the pods to the final destination, requires years of work and investment.
HIDDEN COSTS
Many additional costs must also be taken into consideration: packaging, marketing, transport, insurance, certificates, export licence, custom clearance, inspections and analysis, are all the costs involved in a glass tube of vanilla pods.
AROMAS AND FLAVOURS
3 - The number three rule is the powerful aromas and flavours the vanilla pods must have, supple and thick appearance, slightly shiny and more or less oily but not sticky and not brittle, and they do not open when rolled up, unless they are split vanilla pods which are the late harvests that actually contain higher vanillin from 2.5% up to 5% and may crystallise when properly stored. Note that our criteria is 2% minimum vanillin content for Vanilla Planifolia and anything below is low quality vanilla Planifolia. Each specie have different components recipes and content, vanillin is not necessarily the most relevant in Tahitensis, V. Pompona, V. Bahiana, TsyTaitra, V. Cribbiana, V. Chamissonis and V. Costaricensis.
APPROPRIATE STORAGE
Not in the fridge, and not in alcohol! Properly stored means in glass tubes, glass jars or airtight organic containers, well protected from the light, heat and frost. These are the optimum conditions to keep your vanilla pods intact for couple years and even bonifying with age. Glass allow micro-air circulation, not the airtight vacuum packs which also transfer chemicals on vanilla pods, supposedly organic. Air-tight vacuum packs are also often used to hide the mold and low quality vanilla. It's impossible to detect the low quality vanilla when the pods are compressed and until the package is opened the pods will look ok. Once opened the resellers blame you and refuse to refund. To give no other choice to all resellers but to implement professional standards and practices we must systematically report the ones who don't have any.
DIRECT CONTACT TO FARMERS
If you want to directly order from the farmers and provided that the farmers agree, according their production and minimum order policy, we shall share the contact details and introduce you to better support the agroforestry vanilla farmers around the world.
MANDATORY CERTIFICATES
4 - The number four rule is the set of documents which shall always be provided together with the vanilla pods: the shipment tracking number if any, an invoice and a phytosanitary certificate from the origin country are the minimum requirements; a certificate of origin and analysis are strongly advised too, especially if it's a first order, or new species of Vanilla. If the reseller cannot provide you with these certificates it is because the vanilla has neither been inspected nor analysed.
NO STORAGE IN AIRTIGHT VACUUM
The packaging is also important and we do not advise to purchase the vanilla packed in airtight vacuum bags since it can well be vanilla pods contaminated with mold that yet won't be visible for as long as the vacuum is airtight, unopened.
EMPOWERING FARMERS
The current lack of transparency regarding vanilla quality, origin and prices is common practises which betrays the lack of rigor and professionalism of resellers who purposely exploit farmers. The creation of a price index together with a benchmark price set by the world producers is one of the leverage which makes it possible to avoid these excesses and speculation. By paying growers the same price as retailers, they can invest in their farms, create training centers, and develop themselves their own vanilla markets all around the world.
CONSUMERS RIGHTS
Under the French Consumer Code (Article L 121-8) and the Swiss Federal Law against Unfair Competition (Article 241), consumers are advised to check certain elements before purchasing:
Require a certificate of analysis, a phytosanitary certificate and certificate of origin, guaranteeing the traceability and conformity of the products.
Preference producers who can demonstrate their expertise and provide quality guarantees.
Report any non-compliant or suspect product to the competent authorities, in order to preserve the quality of the market and protect vanilla farmers.
By choosing transparent and qualified suppliers, consumers can ensure that they are purchasing authentic and quality vanilla, while supporting producers and health standards.
FINE FOOD AND SPICES STORES ***
Following positive experiences and feedbacks we highly recommend the negociants: ♡ Monde de Vanille ♡ Roellinger ♡ Oranessence ♡ Vibration Epices ♡ Colibri Vanille ♡ Vanillas of the World®
QUALITY AND RESPECT OF A RARE FRUIT
From the cultivation of the vanilla vines to its flowers blooming and the vanilla pods well crystallised in their glass tubes, it's a 2 years process - at least - and every year bring its specificity and changes, impacting vanilla pods production and quality. Whether it's unaware resellers who know too little about vanilla to source high quality pods, or companies that willfully sell low quality in vacuum bags, here is what you must pay attention to when buying vanilla pods:
MOLD - a white, brownish and black fungus that grows and spreads on vanilla beans as white fluffy, cottony starcher looking like fuzz or dry bleachy foam matter - is the worst enemy of vanilla farmers. It happens on vanilla pods that have too much moisture and too little vanillin content, that aren’t mature enough or improperly cured and prepared, and are the result of bad practices.
According the specie and refining method, there is an exact ratio of humidity content to vanillin percent that can scientifically guarantee the quality of the pods. Vanillin is the natural expression of the benzenoid crystal that matures inside the vanilla pods, which can create an odd acidic smell if prematurely harvested or not properly cured, or a delicious vanilla fragrant smell when the processes are perfectly handled.
Mold-proneness and susceptibility usually cannot be stopped, and even if cleaned from a pod, due to its natural molecular composition, even if dried, will always come back. Mold creates mycelial networks that can actually communicate from one pod to another in the same package through thin air. Since the fungus can learn which way to move and expand, pods generally remold at the same places even if they have been washed, unless they are further dried and sunned to crystallize enough vanillin. If any mold exists and it has not enough anti fungal biological mechanism in the pod it will remember the paths the mycelium took, and repeat the mold bloom on the same spots again.
BAN AIRTIGHT VACUUM STORAGE
When vacuum packed - which is very often used to hide moldy pods - the pods literally suffocate and this create ideal conditions for the mold which finally bloom and destroy the whole batch of pods once opened. In general, sellers knowingly sell moldy pods as they can very well appear in perfect condition inside the vacuum bag. The mold will start to grow after few days or weeks only after opening the vacuum bag, and sellers will blame it on the customer and refuse to replace or refund.
Despite mold vanilla pods are illegal to export - more over to sell - it recently became a common problem with inexperienced or dishonest exporters and sellers in America, Asia, and Europe. Some of the largest companies have been themselves perpetrators of such malpractices to get rid of their stocks.
If you find mold on vanilla pods, you are entitled to replacement or refund since it's non compliant goods ; and do not believe that they can be cleaned with alcohol. Moldy vanilla pods do not have enough mature flavor profile and not high enough vanillin content at the first place, and too much moisture and the mold will always regrow within the husk, skin, and plant matter.
OVERDRIED VANILLA PODS - breaking when you bend them, lack of oil on the surface and weak aromas are the signs of overdried vanilla pods. Happens when the pods have been too exposed to the sun, as well as on pods which have been too scarified, or when the pods have not been properly cured or stored. Poor vanilla cultivars quality and cultivation malpractices, premature harvests and improper curing and refining methods due to financial pressure, poor packing and shipping conditions, exposure to humidity and heat as well as warehouses poor storage conditions, has resulted in moldy and overdried vanilla scandals after taking on moisture content in the stocks in transit from many buyers and producers since the past years.
TERROIRS AND ORIGINS - in addition, vanilla farmers are also facing thefts inside their plantations, the export market have to deal too with many malicious buyers swapping foreign pods in order to attempt fraudulent returns. Every year there is vanilla seized by customs worldwide and these mold-bombs are driving the prices down to the bottom.
TRACEABILITY
As a preventative measure, the returned beans are now lot-match checked, farm-pegged, or traditionally tattooed and tracked to ensure the returned pods are actually the same exported. Tracking technology and ISO standards have made it easier for vanilla professionals and, together with basic low-tech tattooing, are helping to eliminate mold, overdried and low quality vanilla pods as well as unscrupulous exporters, buyers and resellers malpractices.
HOW TO STORE VANILLA?
In a well closed glass tube, a glass jar or a glass pot or bottle, according the number of pods and their sizes, well protected from the light, from the heat and from the frost. Avoid corks and avoid mixing differents terroirs. You may also scrape the seeds only of the pod, or cut an inch or two of it to use in your recipe, and keep the rest of the pods intact inside the glass tube for later use.