Vanilla discovery tour
Whether you're visiting a national park in the SAVA region or just passing through Sambava, the de facto world capital of vanilla, a visit to a vanilla plantation and a preparation facility offers a take-away experience from the region.
What can be seen depends on the activities that are ongoing at the time, which changes slightly from season to season. Generally, during May and June, harvesting of green vanilla beans is happening close to the northwest coast around Sambava, Antalaha, Vohemar as well as further into the countryside. At higher altitudes, around Andapa and Marojejy, harvesting usually takes place in July or August.
After harvesting, green vanilla beans are traded at market places where buyers place competing bids with farmers and cooperatives. These yearly markets are regulated whereby a minimum price is set by the government, which in 2022 was 75,000 Ar per kilogram of green vanilla.
The green vanilla is sold mostly to local exporters who manage the months-long transforming of the green beans beans into the black pods that are familiar to consumers.
Througout the transformations, known as the curing process, the beans are graded and classified in into different end-uses: Grade A being Gourmet Quality, Grade B being Extract quality and Grade C that are so-called Cuts & Splits. The classifications are defined by the level of humidity.
Low-humidity beans are most suitable for large processing purposes since dryer beans are more easily ground into powder and mixed into various food products than the moist black beans. Grade B, or Extract grade, is a loose definition for the vanilla beans that are typically suitable for production of vanilla extracts, while Grade A beans, being gourmet quality, are selected in part based by their visual appearance, being the black unsplit pods usually preferred by chefs and anyone home baking.
The above said, all grades can be used in cooking and baking. While grade A may have a stonger scent and better appearance, the drier Grade B or even C with their low moisture level, although lacking visual appearance, will however offer greater volume per kilogram, giving more vanilla and more flavour for the weight.
In Madagascar, vanilla is rarely used in cooking and home baking and almost exclusively sold as a cash-crop for export purposes. Since the last peak price of black vanilla at around USD 500 per kilo in 2018 and 2019, many farmers have invested their time in cultivating 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.
