Vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world (after saffron) because its production is so labor-intensive.

Vanilla grows as a clinging vine, reaching lengths of up to 300 feet, from which sprout pale greenish-yellow flowers, about four inches in diameter. These-in Mexico, vanilla’s native habitat-are pollinated by melipona bees and, occasionally, by hummingbirds.

Each flower remains open for just 24 hours, after which, if not pollinated, it wilts, dies, and drops to the ground. Frankly, given its sexual proclivities and narrow window of opportunity, the very existence of vanilla seems like an evolutionary long shot.

Grown from an orchid, vanilla beans are one of the world’s most difficult crops to cultivate. After harvest, the beans require an arduous and tricky nine-month process of sun drying to cure properly. Vanilla simply does not lend itself to mechanization or other methods of mass production. From start to finish, vanilla beans are produced by hand.

We pay our producers a premium for premium quality beans.  The best in the world from the Totonaco People directly to you.

By purchasing our products you do your part to protect the environment, conserve indigenous cultures and create ecological economies in marginalized areas.