Tahitian Dreams are made of Vanilla Beans!

Tahitian Vanilla Orchid with flower and bean pods getting ripe

Our family just came back from an amazing trip in Tahiti -- first sailing on a catamaran for 10 days, stopping in pristine snorkeling spots and reefs in Raiatea, Huahine, Bora Bora, and Taha'a -- followed by some time in over-water bungalows in Huahine and Mo'orea. Simply, magic!

A typical afternoon moored in a beautiful reef...snorkeling anyone?

View from the boardwalk to our bungalow on Mo'orea

On a day trip around the island of Huahine, one of our stops was at a vanilla farm. I had visions of bringing back the maximum allowed (1 kg)...but then reality hit when I learned how intensive and hands-on the process was to grow, pollinate, harvest and dry these precious pods...which supported the cost! A full story can be found here: https://tahititourisme.com/en-us/travel-planner/tahitian-customs/tahitian-vanilla-the-flavor-of-paradise/

So when I say intensive and hands-on....I...am...not...joking! The vanilla plant is actually an orchid, when it flowers, it's only for a few hours, in which time it needs to be pollinated by hand since there are no bees around to do this. The vanilla bean farm we toured was like many located on the various islands: a large shade cloth greenhouse where they nurture these plants along from small plant, to bloom, to harvest. It could take a plant 3 years to produce a vanilla bean -- that's a lot of nurturing!

And it doesn't stop when you have a pod -- the vanilla pod has to be the right color in order to harvest (yellow and brown) and it is then hand picked and placed on a metal sheet to sun dry. The drying process could take 3+ months and the pods or massaged by hand every day (yes, you heard right, every day, by hand!), sunned for several hours each day, covered and stored, then brought back out the next day to do it all over again until the pods have achieved beautiful, plump, vanilla goodness.

Vanilla beans drying in the sun, waiting to get their daily massage!

if you are thinking this vanilla bean is just for baking, think again! We experienced flowery vanilla cream sauce, hand made vanilla yogurts, and a variety of infused rums. Tahitian vanilla beans are larger, plumper, and have more notes than your average vanilla bean. Couple that with the time and care needed to get you one vanilla bean, and you understand why these pods command such a high price point!

So I'm working on some recipes incorporating the dreamy Tahitian vanilla bean -- I can't wait to share it with you!

Thank you, Tahiti, or as they say in French Polynesia "Mauruuru"!

Sunsets never got boring in Tahiti -- I mean, come on, right?!