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The originality and specificity of our vanilla beans

The originality and specificity of our vanilla pods are based on three elements:

- Identity: we sell the largest vanilla bean in the world (up to 22 cm). Its gustatory, aromatic, medicinal and cosmetic qualities never cease to impress the professional world.

- Cultivation: In the Comoros, to allow the vanilla vine to grow well, we use a plant called "Mdri mzungu", the Jatropha curcas, as shade. This cultivation technique is only used in the Comoros. This is why our "Grand Cru" vanillas remain unique in the world, very fresh, buttery, creamy and can remain intact for 5 years with its freshness.

- The harvested green pods are processed with the utmost care for 4 months.

As a reminder, the harvested green pod does not yet give off any aroma. But to obtain our beautiful, fragrant, black pods, we have to prepare them carefully for another three months. This is what we call the preparation or treatment of the pod.

The processing of our freshly harvested green pods is done in four phases:

Step 1. First, the green pods are placed in baskets and boiled in hot water at 85°C for a few seconds. This is the beginning of the transformation. This is called scalding.

Phase 2. Then the green (hard) vanilla bean becomes softer. This is called steaming. "This process causes the vanilla pods to stop growing and triggers a chemical reaction that allows the flavours to develop, particularly vanillin, which accounts for 90% of vanilla's flavour.

Phase 3. Five days after steaming, the beans are dried. The aim is to "stabilise the product to avoid the development of micro-organisms and in particular moulds. The water content of the pods gradually decreases from about 85% to a maximum of 38% to 25% depending on the category" (as stated on the Planet-Vie (ens.fr) website).

Here in the Comoros, farmers prepare vanilla for the food industry. They dry the beans to a moisture content of 17%. This is why our vanilla can be stored for up to 5 years without any problems.

Stage 4. Before packing, we move on to the sorting phase. This involves sorting the vanilla beans according to size, moisture content, flexibility and colour. Each family of our vanilla is stored in a wooden trunk covered with paraffin paper.