The word Vanilla comes from Vanilla in Spanish which means “Bean”. Indeed Herman Cortés led his first expeditions within the Aztec empire in 1519 and brought it back to serve the kingdom of Spain. She then entered the European royal courts. Conquered by Vanilla, Louis XIV ordered that vanilla be produced on Reunion Island. But all attempts ended in failure, because only the Melipone bee endemic to Mexico could fertilize vanilla.
In 1841, a slave and only 12 years old, Edmond Albius discovered a manual pollination technique for Vanilla that would cause Vanilla production to explode.
In Tahiti between 1845 and 1848 different plants from different countries were introduced (Vanilla Planifolia from Reunion, Vanilla from Mexico, Vanilla from the Philippines brought back by Admiral F. Hamelin which would define the base of Vanilla Tahitensis) . Vanilla Pompona in 1850, then in 1874 from Mexico again. All these imports will give birth to the hybrid Vanilla Tahitensis and its 14 cultivars.
Botanical origin:
Vanilla Tahitensis (Vanilla Tahitensis) prized by great chefs is a botanical variety different from Bourbon Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia). This is a remarkable vanilla .
Cultivated mainly in the Pacific, Vanilla Tahitensis is found in French Polynesia in the Leeward Islands (Raiatea, Tahaa, Huaninée) and Windward Islands (Tahiti). The origin of this vanilla is not clear. It appears to be a cross of Vanilla Planifolia and Vanilla Odorata . Vanilla Odorata is a very rare wild vanilla found in the forests of Belize and Guatemala, not commercialized.
The Vanilla genus belongs to the Orchid family and has over a hundred species. These are lianas growing on a stake (natural or artificial). Only a few are marketed for taste purposes: we note Vanilla tahitensis and Vanilla pompona and Vanilla planifolia . (Vanilla Bourbon)
The origin of our vanilla:
Our Tahitensis vanilla is grown by Sylvain our producer and preparer in Tahiti. He does the work of a goldsmith.
Cultivated only with natural means, processed with care for 5 months. He manages to obtain exceptional aromatic power for this variety. One of the keys he masters is to manage to get down to 45% humidity (an unusual rate in this genre) in order to promote an explosion of flavors. A captivating vanilla with scents of prune, cocoa, anise, caramel, wood and finally vanilla.
“A vanilla preparer magnifies the work of the vanilla grower, like a cellar master who magnifies the work of the winemaker” this is how he describes his job. We liked this.
The aromatic development passes entirely through the hands of the preparer. Thus its vanillas will go through several stages to reach the aromatic quintessence. He harvests his ripe vanillas from lianas. This is a first point of differentiation. The majority are harvested when they are still a little yellow. Then they will go into a dark room to perfect their maturity. Once again exposed to the sun, they will then find themselves in faraoti (airtight, opaque box) so that they can "sweat" and then exposed to the sun again. This process repeated over several weeks allows aromatic development.
Having lived in Tahiti for 32 years, Sylvain stands out in the preparation of his vanillas. He chose perfume and not water. Tahitensis vanillas on the market commonly have a humidity level of around 60%, here they are between 45 and 50% humidity in order to promote all the aromatic richness (and not weight by water )
Its vanillas are regularly tested for aromatic compounds (Vanillin, anisic alcohol, vanillic acid, isovanillin, p-anisic aldehyde, p-anisic acid, phB aldehyde, phB acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, protocatechuic acid). It gets exceptional rates.