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 The History of Vanilla
The History of Vanilla
Although vanilla dates back thousands of years, the first known growers were the Mexican Totonaca Indians in the 1500’s, who were conquered by the Aztecs, who soon discovered the beautiful fruit of the Tlilxochitl vine, today known as the vanilla pod. In turn the Spanish defeated the Aztecs and their leader, Hernando Cortez, returned to Spain where they created a special vanilla flavored drink, which became the rage of the bureaucracy. By the early 1600’s, Hugh Morgan, apothecary to Queen Elizabeth I, started to use vanilla for flavoring, and the wonderful world of vanilla spread around the globe to be used as a premium flavor source.
The early cultivation of vanilla took place on the French Island of Reunion, which is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. Reunion was also known as Bourbon Island and hence the term Bourbon vanilla was created and became the common name for the Vanilla planifolia, which was also grown in the nearby Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar and The Comoros.
Another species, Vanilla tahitensiswas mutated from Vanilla planifolia beans in Tahiti and our stock was introduced to small family run organic farms in Papua New Guinea via the Philippines and Fiji in the 1960’s where it has been carefully nurtured and ultimately flourished in the more fertile soil to be recognized as the world’s finest for this species. The common name of this species is Tahitian Vanilla.
Estimated Worldwide Vanilla Production (in metric tonnes)
| Country |
Tonnes |
Species |
| Madagascar |
800 |
Planifolia |
| Indonesia |
500 |
Planifolia/Tahitensis |
| Papua New Guinea (PNG) |
150 |
Planifolia/Tahitensis |
| The Comoros |
100 |
Planifolia |
| Tahiti |
50 |
Tahitensis |
| Tonga |
30 |
Tahitensis |
| Mexico |
20 |
Planifolia |
Vanilla Beans are also grown in India & Uganda
Worldwide Production
The majority of vanilla is grown in Madagascar where a sophisticated industry has evolved and some of the finest Bourbon Vanilla is produced. Saplings from this area have been successfully transplanted to other parts of the world where they have mastered the cultivation of this species.
In time, Tahitian Vanilla was also transplanted to Fiji, The Philippines, Tonga and Papua New Guinea. Therefore, like “Bourbon”, the term “Tahitian” refers to the species and not necessarily the county of its origin or where it is grown.
Most vanilla in PNG is cultivated in small family farms, unlike the large industrial complexes found in Madagascar. Consequently, production figures are hard to quantify exactly. Furthermore, large quantities of PNG vanilla are smuggled into neighboring Indonesia where it is mixed with the inferior local crop in an attempt to upgrade the quality. Consequently, the better quality product from Papua New Guinea inflates the Indonesian production numbers.
PNG production now runs at about 150 metric tones a year, making it probably the world’s third largest producer, and is one of the few regions in the world that grow both the Planifolia (Bourbon) and Tahitensis (Tahitian) species.
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