Vanilla discovery tour

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Whether you're a visiting tourist to a national park in the SAVA region or just passing through Sambava, the de facto capital of the world's vanilla trade and production, a visit to a vanilla plantation and a preparation facility offers a memorable take-away experience from this part of the island.

What can be seen depends on the time of the year and and which activities are ongoing, which can change slightly from year to year. During May and June, the harvesting of green vanilla beans take place close to the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha, Vohemar as well as further inland. At higher altitudes, around Andapa and in mountainous regions, harvesting usually takes place in July/August.

After harvesting, green vanilla is traded at market places around where vanilla buyers compete with each other at auctions where farmers are usually represented by various cooperatives. These markets are regulated whereby the minimum price is set of the the year's harvest, which in 2022 was 75,000 Ar per kilogram. The price is set based on anticipaded demand of the global trade as well as polituicaal influences. The harvests are bought by local exporters that manage the curing process, the months-long transformation of the green beans into the black pods vanilla as they are better known among consumers.

At this stage, the beans are graded, meaning they are classified in into suitable end-uses: Grade A being Gourmet Quality, Grade B being Extract quality and Grade C which are so-called Cuts & Splits. The classification is partly defined by the level of humidity and demand, not necessarily quality.

Low-humidity becomes more suitable for large processing purposes since the dryer beans can more easily be ground into powder and mixed in various food products. Grade B or Extract grade, is a lose definition for vanilla beans that is typically suitable for the production of vanilla extracts, while Grade A being gourmet quality, which are usually the black unsplit pods that consumers are familiar with, selected in part based on their appearance.

The above being said, all grades can be used in cooking and baking. While grade A may have a stonger smell of vanilla and better appearance, the dryer Grade B or even C with lower moisture which lack visual appearance, will always offer greater volume (and flavour) per kilogram.

Following a peak price of black vanilla at around USD 500 per kilo in 2018/2019, many more farmers have invested their time in vanilla cultivation, which in Madagascar is almost exclusively a cash-crop. Barely any of yeild is used locally.

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.