Vanilla Beans
Excellent Product! Excellent Service!
I'm a convert
I've been making my own vanilla extract for over a decade and used to buy my beans based on reviews at a Infamous Global seller. Was never sure what I would get. Then I found this company! The beans were beautiful! Fragrant, moist but not too moist, easy to cut open to expose the seeds and each Bean was six to seven inches long. I'm a happy extract maker! 💝💃🥳
High Quality Vanilla - excellent customer service.
Slo Food group team takes great care of their customers. Received a broken bottle of Vanilla and it was immediately handled. Received my replacement bottle within 3 days.
This extract is used to make our Tahitian Vanilla Cakes!
Great place to get your spices
SLO Food group is the best place I have found to buy my vanilla beans, great customer service, fast shipping and very competitive prices. Thank you for helping me with my project, Vanilla extract. Thank you don young
Gourmet Madagascar Vanilla Beans, Planifolia
Grade A vanilla pods from Madagascar, the best vanilla beans online
$8.50
Vanilla Beans
Excellent Product! Excellent Service!
I'm a convert
I've been making my own vanilla extract for over a decade and used to buy my beans based on reviews at a Infamous Global seller. Was never sure what I would get. Then I found this company! The beans were beautiful! Fragrant, moist but not too moist, easy to cut open to expose the seeds and each Bean was six to seven inches long. I'm a happy extract maker! 💝💃🥳
High Quality Vanilla - excellent customer service.
Slo Food group team takes great care of their customers. Received a broken bottle of Vanilla and it was immediately handled. Received my replacement bottle within 3 days.
This extract is used to make our Tahitian Vanilla Cakes!
Great place to get your spices
SLO Food group is the best place I have found to buy my vanilla beans, great customer service, fast shipping and very competitive prices. Thank you for helping me with my project, Vanilla extract. Thank you don young
Grade A Madagascar Gourmet Bourbon Vanilla Beans—the gold standard of vanilla worldwide
Vanilla from Madagascar is the traditional vanilla in ice creams, extracts, cakes, candies, and other vanilla flavored desserts and baked goods. Here at SloFoodGroup, we especially love our Madagascar vanilla beans. They are perfect for flans, gelato, icings, and just about anything that calls for a high-quality vanilla flavor.
Why buy Gourmet Vanilla Beans from Madagascar?
Where does vanilla come from?
How are vanilla vines pollinated?
- The average length of these Bourbon vanilla beans is 14-16cm (5.5-6.2 inches). Looking for a larger vanilla bean? Check out our Extra Long, Grade A Madagascar Vanilla Planifolia.
- These vanilla beans are cured at optimal maturity, which enhances both the strength of the vanilla aroma and flavor. Madagascar vanilla beans are known for high vanillin content and our beans are no exception
- Bourbon vanilla is ideal for custards, cream bases, vanilla extract and so much more
- The moisture content of these beans is 30-35%
- Average vanilla beans per pound is about 110-150 depending on the average length of the vanilla pods.
- Our beans are always sustainably sourced, all-natural, gluten-free, and GMO free.
- These vanilla beans were awarded kosher certification by EarthKosher. See all our kosher certified product here
- Slofoodgroup gourmet Madagascar vanilla beans are grade A vanilla beans, commonly referred to gourmet and black vanilla
*always store vanilla beans in an airtight container in a cool and dark place
Looking at buying vanilla beans and not sure if grade A beans are the right choice of vanilla? Consider checking out our extraction grade b Madagascar vanilla beans here
Mexico is said to be the birthplace of vanilla. In modern times, most vanilla beans available today come from Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia Uganda Comoros and other vanilla production growing regions. The beans themselves come from a vanilla vine, a climbing variety of orchid known commercially as v. Planifolia or v. Tahitensis. To obtain fruit from the orchid plant hand pollination of the vanilla flower must occur within 12 hours of flowering. Once pollinated the flower bears the green vanilla fruit. Over many months of growing, harvesting and curing this green bean will become what most people know as a vanilla bean. Vanilla beans need to mature for around nine months on the vine before being fully mature for curing. It takes a minimum of three additional months for the curing process. During the curing process, vanilla beans are carefully sorted before being placed in a hot water bath to kill the beans followed by series of steps consisting of sweating, sunning, massaging, shade drying, and inbox conditioning. Each step is a critical element to ensure that our vanilla beans are aromatic, stable and premium quality.
It is said, somewhere around 1841 Edmond Albius first discovered how to hand pollinate the vanilla orchid. To do this a small splinter of wood, stem, or tooth pick was used. The tool is used to lift the flap and exposing the male reproductive area of the flower. Once exposed it can be manually connected to the female reproductive area known as stigma. This is how successful commercial vanilla pollination began. This breakthrough moment is what kick started vanilla cultivation in the Indian island countries such as Reunion, Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar. Enjoy authentic Madagascar vanilla beans today or shop any of our other premium quality vanilla beans online.
Still have questions about vanilla? Check out our vanilla bean resource center to find answers to some of the most common questions about vanilla beans.
Our Vanilla from Madagascar is the Bourbon vanilla bean you are looking for
Grade A vanilla beans from Madagascar are commonly referred to as Bourbon vanilla beans. A common misconception is that dishes containing "bourbon vanilla", call for both bourbon and vanilla. While this might occasionally be the case, they are usually referring to the gourmet Madagascar Vanilla Beans. This term is synonymous for the Bourbon Vanilla Beans, named after the islands it originally came from, The Bourbon Islands (now known as the Reunion). Bourbon Vanilla Bean commonly references the specific variety of vanilla produced from the vanilla planifolia species of vanilla orchid. The flavor of grade A gourmet vanilla from Madagascar is rich, deep, and creamy. Madagascar vanilla has undertones that are sweet and buttery, sure to please the palate. Vanilla beans from Madagascar are well-suited for everyday baking recipes, drinks, and desserts. These vanilla beans are easy to split and scrap and obtain all of those tiny vanilla seeds and their flavor. Here's a great recipe for vanilla simple syrup that can be used in all of the above! When you buy Madagascar vanilla beans online from SloFoodGroup, you are receiving some of the best vanilla beans in the world. See for yourself what everyone is talking about and discover just how beautiful vanilla can be. Shop today for the absolute best vanilla beans in the world. Your taste buds will thank you.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Madagascar Vanilla Beans produce the bulk of the world’s supply of vanilla and are expensive due to the highly intensive and lengthy process of producing them. Vanilla beans are the fragrant fruit of the vanilla orchid, which grows on vine-like flora and the vanilla orchid blooms just once every orbit around the sun for only 12-24 hours. This timeframe is equivalent to the amount of time the vanilla orchid has to be pollinated. Vanilla beans are hand pollinated which is another reason why it is expensive. Once the vanilla orchid has been pollinated, it takes up to 9 months before the vanilla beans are ready to harvest. It is important they’re not picked too early. Once the vanilla beans have been harvested, they are killed to commence the enzymatic reaction for the production of vanillin. Finally, they go through a curing process and drying process. After all this, they are stored for about a month until use. Finally, Madagascar Vanilla Beans are expensive because a cyclone decimated most of its crop in 2017 limiting the demand. You can read all about this in our blog Why Are Vanilla Beans So Expensive?
- Madagascar Vanilla beans are grown in the Indian Ocean on the islands of Reunion and Madagascar (accountable for 75% of the world’s supply of vanilla). Tahitian Vanilla Beans are grown on a cluster of islands in the Pacific Ocean. When comparing taste, Madagascar vanilla beans have a very rich, woody flavor whereas Tahitian vanilla beans have light floral overtones. Finally, Madagascar vanilla beans are primarily used in cooking and commonly used to flavor chocolate, baked goods and ice cream. Tahitian vanilla beans are paired with fruit-based items and custards and are often mixed into perfumes and soaps.
- Madagascar vanilla beans are the fruit or seed pod of the orchid species, vanilla planifolia. Yes, that’s right they are not really beans. Grown in the Indian Ocean on the islands of Reunion and Madagascars, they offer a very rich, woody flavor.
- Currently, 1lb. of Madagascar vanilla beans cost $180.00 or $11.25/oz at Slofoodgroup.
- Madagascar vanilla beans are grown on a vanilla orchid involving an in-depth and lengthy process. You can refer to the question “Why are Madagascar Vanilla Beans So Expensive” or read more on how they are grown in our blog Why Are Vanilla Beans So Expensive?
- There is no difference between Madagascar vanilla beans and Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans. Vanilla beans from Madagascar are commonly referred to as Bourbon vanilla beans, named after the islands it originally came from, The Bourbon Islands (now known as the Reunion). A common misconception is that dishes containing bourbon vanilla call for both bourbon and vanilla. While this might occasionally be the case, they are usually referring to the gourmet Madagascar Vanilla Beans.
- Reviews
- Questions
Recent Purchase of Vanilla beans
Overall ~ excellent. When I buy vanilla, I will buy from Slofoodgroup. It's a little early in the process to write a review of the Ecuadorian V~beans. (They are still soaking in the vodka). The Madagascar V~beans are and have been the best I have found.
Vanilla Extraxt
We have been making our own extract for a few years now and sharing a few with family. They all love it. We use Vodka so we don’t distort the flavor of the beans.
Great product
This was a good shopper experience
United StatesVanilla beans to make extract
The vanilla beans I ordered were moist and smelled great. I made vanilla extract, we'll see how it turns out in a few months......
United StatesFabulous gourmet vanilla beans
As always, these vanilla beans were fragrant, plump, long and fresh. Consistent top quality and excellent customer service.