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'''Whether exploring a national park in the SAVA region or travelling through Sambava, a visit to a vanilla plantation and preparation facility will offer visitors offers an insight into the long process of how the vanilla orchid plant is transformed into fragrant black vanilla beans.'''
What can be seen depends the time of the year and the activities that occur at the time of the a visit. Usually, between May and June, the plucking of green vanilla beans happens across plantations along the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha and Vohemar as well as further into the countryside, while at higher altitudes, around Andapa and Marojejy, the harvesting usually takes place in July or August.
Following harvesting, green vanilla beans are traded at organised market places markets across the vanilla producing regions where buyers place competing bids for the yearly harvest harvests offered by farmers and cooperatives. A minimum price is set by the industry and the government, which in 2022 was 75,000 Ar per kilogram of green vanilla.
The green vanilla is are bought mostly by local exporters who threafter manage the months-long transforming process of green beans beans into the black vanilla ready for exportbeans.
Througout the transformation, also known as the curing process, 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 also known as Cuts & Splits.
The classifications are defined by the level of humidity. Low-humidity beans are suitable for large food processing purposes, since the dryer 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 intended for the production of vanilla extracts while Grade A beans, or gourmet quality, are selected in part for their appearance. Quality Grade A beans are usually preferred by chefs and for home baking purposes.
In Madagascar, vanilla is rarely used in cooking or home baking and is almost exclusively sold as cash-crop for export purposes. Since the last peak price of black vanilla at around USD 500 per kilo in 2018 and 2019, countless farmers have invested their time in cultivating specifically vanilla.
Vanilla beans grow best in light but shaded conditions. Partly and fully grown green vanilla beans can be seen at many plantations between March and up until harvesting time.
Apart from adding a certain its magical flavours to sweets from craft ice creams and cookies and countless deserts to drink products, vanilla can is also be found used in essential oils, cosmetics, toiletries and perfumes as well as in medicinal usesmedicines.