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'''Whether one is exploring a national park in the SAVA region or happen happenning to travel through Sambava, the de facto capital of the world's vanilla, a tour of one of the many vanilla plantations, combined with a visit to a preparation and export facility, will give visitors an insight into the lenghty and labour intensive process of transforming wild vanilla orchids and with their green fruits into the familiar fragrant black vanilla bean that everyone appreciate appreciates as an ingredient in ice cream creams and countless sweet treats.'''

What can be seen experienced depends the time of the year and the activities that are happen to be ongoing during a visit. Between May and June, the plucking of green vanilla beans happens are done across plantations along the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha and Vohemar as well as further afield into the countryside, while at higher altitudes around Andapa and Marojejy, the harvesting usually takes place in July or August.

The green vanilla beans are thereafter traded at brought by the farmers to organised green vanilla markets across the vanilla producing regions where buyers will place competing bids for the yearly harvests from farmers and various cooperatives. A minimum price is set by the farmers and in cooperation with the government, which in 2022 was 75,000 Ar per kilogram of green vanilla.

The green vanilla is mostly sold to local will be bought mainly by exporters who thereafter manage the months-long transforming process of the green beans into black vanilla beans. For every six kilos of green vanilla, approximately one kilo of black vanilla beans will can be producedas the bens shrink and lose moisture during the drying process.

Througout the transformatio processnentire transformation, also known as the curing of vanilla beansprocess, the beans are graded and grouped into classifications based on suitability for different end-uses: Grade A being Gourmet Quality, Grade B Extract quality and Grade C which are known as Cuts & Splits. The classifications are not indicators of overall quality but of suitability for different end-uses and their levels of himidity. Low-humidity beans are simply suitable for large-scale food processing purposes, since they can easily ground into powder and mixed into various food products. Grade B, or Extract grade vanilla beans, is a definition of the vanilla that is typically suited for the production of vanilla extracts, while Grade A beans, or gourmet quality beans, are selected in part for their appearance.

These classifications are defined by the level of humidity, and should not be taken as an indicator of overall quality. Low-humidity beans are simply suitable for large food processing purposes, since dry beans are easily ground into powder and mixed into various food products. Grade B, or Extract grade vanilla beans, is a definition for the vanilla beans that are typically suited for the production of vanilla extracts, while Grade A beans, or gourmet quality beans, are selected in part for their appearance. Grade A beans are usually preferred by chefs and for home bakingpurposes, especially by end-consumers. Yet, all grades can be used in cooking and baking. While grade A may have a stronger scent and a better overall appearance, the drier Grade B or even C with their relatively low moisture levels will offer the greatest volume per kilogram, effectively giving providing more vanilla and flavour for a the same weight and perhaps even likely a lower price.

In Madagascar, vanilla is rarely used in cooking or home baking and is almost exclusively intended farmed for export. Since the price of black vanilla peaked at around USD 500 per kilo in 2018 and 2019, countless farmers have invested their time and effort in cultivating specifically vanilla as their main cash crop.

Historically, the type of vanilla bean species grown on Madagascar is of the Planifoliaspecies, also known as Bourbon vanilla or simply Madagascar vanilla, the . The "Bourbon" part is owed dues to the history of a French owned slave on La Reunion, then known as Bourbon Island, who discovered the hand-pollination method since in their original environment, natural pollination occurs ony by a bee native to Mexico.

 Apart from flavouring sweets from countless deserts to ice cream and drink products, vanilla is also used in essential oils, cosmetics, toiletries, perfumes as well as in medicines.