Our Vanilla — V comme Vanille

Intense and singular

The vanilla plant is an orchid. There are over 60 species in the world. Its flowers shine like yellow trumpets along dark trailing vines.

These flowers develop into long, green beans, which mature into darker seed pods, filled with thousands of minuscule black seeds – which we call the ‘black gold’. Each vanilla-producing region has its own cultivation, preparation and curing techniques to guarantee the richest flavour.

Treasure Islands

The Polynesian islands are home to a rare treasure: Tahitensis, a fragrant hybrid vanilla genus.

Vanilla beans are prepared using valuable ancestral Polynesian know-how. We work with dedicated producers who know the plants' natural cycles. They pollinate the flowers by hand. It's an arduous process and the vines only bloom for a short time. The beans are harvested at their peak ripeness, exposed to the sun during the day for organic browning, and wrapped in natural cotton muslins at night to create conditions ideal for fermentation. Beans are massaged by hand every day in order to check for quality and to give the pods their enticing shine.

Over time, these processes develop a richness in flavour unique to Tahitian vanilla.

(16° 44' 00" south, 151° 27' 00" west)
Island of Raiatea⁽⁰¹⁾
Fr. Polynesia
(17° 40' south, 149° 28' west)
Island of Tahiti⁽⁰²⁾
Fr. Polynesia
(14° 27' 00" south, 144° 58' 59" west)
Atoll of Takaroa⁽⁰³⁾
Fr. Polynesia