Made in the "Vanilla Islands" being big Madagascar, plus the tiny Indian Ocean islands of Mayotte, Comores, Reunion and Mauritius. The best chefs in the world and the food industry all agree: The best Vanilla in the world. Still - there is a huge difference between bad Bourbon, and good Bourbon Vanilla!
35-38% humidity and appears juicy, but inferior quality - more water weight and hence more profit for the vendor. Gourmet beans can be vacuum packed to appear juicy - a time-bomb as they dry out or mould up - use immediately for brewing extracting or baking. Usually, these beans have not expressed their full flavor, are nice in appearance, but unstable, in critical need of vacuum to biologically and aerobically stabilize, and carry a risk of mould as a near certainty within a month.
TK Vanilla is a name used to describe beans around 30% humidity, with a balanced Vanillin-tomoisture ratio and lab analyses match, and a fully developed aromatic expression and flavor. Good Vanilla at this level and as it ages and dries may also have off-white or sugar-like Vanillin crystals on the surface, or spiking from the skin like ice (not
to be mistaken for mould).
22-25% humidity, which begins to appear "fox-coloured" red in contours and surface. These are beautiful and while
you must get closer to smell the flavour, the flavour when used in cooking baking etc. is just as potent as TK quality!
Beans around 15-20% humidity, being very brittle and hard and shrunken - but bursting with flavour! These beans may
be deceptively empty in smell because they have dried and closed all of the pores on their skin and cannot "breathe,"
so it can be difficult to tell before using, if they are good Vanilla with lots of Vanillin per weight, or if they are very
old, or even worse, extracted or low-quality Vanilla.
