20 Planifolia Vanilla Bourbon from Mayotte

Natural Vanilla Planifolia Bourbon
Origin and Terroir: Mayotte
Harvest: 2023
Curing: scalded and sun dried, *some pods might start to crystallise 
Refining: > 9 months
DDM: 31.12.2028
 
Mayotte vanilla is a little similar to "Bourbon" vanilla, and notably awarded with the silver medaille at the 2022 salon de l'agriculture de Paris. The beans are quite large, fleshy and oily, with light spicy pepper flavour and orange flowers notes harvested at full maturity like it's done in Polynesia with the Tahitensis. This is one Planifolia we love too as it offers a larger range of aromas and flavors and tend to crystallise* with age.
 
* Vanillin crystals is the natural end expression of the benzenoid crystal that matures inside the pod. Within properly cured vanilla pods vanillin functions as an important conservative, and its content should be high enough before curing and refining in order to stimulate natural immune resistance to mold and create delicious dark fragrant vanilla smell and flavours.
 
Vanillin crystals are a natural concentrate and a sign of excellent quality of the vanilla pods. You can recognise them as they shine in the light and look like white spines or literally shiny sharp glass-like tiny “diamonds” of vanilla, such as the THC residue on excellent marijuana plants.
 
When vanilla pods have this high vanillin content they can be kept for years under excellent storage condition, in glass tubes or glass jars well protected from light. Crystalline beans also have an amazing and powerful smell and tend to dry out over time so the smell and flavor packs into the plant matter but does not diffuse aromatically through the air without interaction or extraction. The flavor literally soaks deep into the skin and seeds and retains inside the pod.
 
Indicative pod length: 14–20 cm; as a natural product, pod length, width and individual weight may vary from pod to pod; the stated quantity corresponds to the exact number of pods in the lot sold; the exact net weight is stated separately when packed and invoiced. A kilo is about 250 pods.
Moisture: 35%
Vanillin: +/- 2.2%
Packaging: 2 pods or more in glass tubes or glass jars or in sachets
Mayotte origin certified