Buy Morocco Vanilla Beans Directly From Exporters & Suppliers - Best of 2024 Market Prices

Morocco vanilla beans are long, greenish-yellow seed pods of a tropical orchid plant, Vanilla planifolia. Vanilla beans are the source of the great vanilla flavour that you get in your favourite yoghurt, milkshake, cake, cookie and other confectionaries. The beans are produced by vanilla vines. Morocco vanilla beans are unique for their exceptional aromatic qualities. They are the only fruit-bearing member of the orchid family.

Before the plants flower, the pods picked unripe and cured until they are dark brown, the process takes up to six months. To obtain pure vanilla extract, cured morocco vanilla beans are soaked in concentrated alcohol. According to law, pure vanilla extract must be 35 per cent alcohol by volume. Vanilla is the most complex flavours in existence with more than 200 flavour compounds.

Different types of vanilla beans were introduced in morocco from different regions, for example, bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar. Other vanilla varieties were introduced from Mexico and Tahiti during the 18th century. Vanilla was used to spice up alcohol and tobacco during the old times, unlike today, where it has different uses.

Varieties of morocco vanilla beans include;

1. Bourbon vanilla beans
2. Tahitian vanilla beans

The Bourbon vanilla beans are long and slender, with a very rich taste and smell, have a thick oily skin containing many tiny seeds and have a strong vanilla aroma. Bourbon beans from morocco are described as having a creamy, hay-like and sweet with vanilla overtones.

Tahitian vanilla beans are usually shorter, plumber and contain higher oil and water content than Bourbon beans. The skin is thinner and contains fewer seeds, and the aroma is fruity and floral. They are often described as smelling like liquorice, cherry, prunes, or wines.

Morocco vanilla beans grow best in warm and humid climate at temperatures between 21 and 32 degrees Celsius. Vanilla beans require soil rich in calcium and potassium and will grow best in the soil, which is light and well-drained. It requires a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. As a climbing plant, vanilla vines should always be provided with another plant known as a tutor tree to provide support and shade. Vanilla beans should be trimmed to keep the vines at a manageable height as when left unchecked they will continue to grow and crowd the supporting tree. Best companions are bananas and arrowroots.

Planting of vanilla beans is done during summer from the months of June to August. Bees naturally pollinate the flowers, but mostly pollination is done by hands to ensure production. Vanilla beans are ready for harvest between six and nine months after flowering when the pods are still dark green, and the tips are beginning to turn yellow. This is in the month of May to August.

Morocco vanilla beans are transported as bundles in tin plate cans of 8 kgs lined in wax papers which are in turn packed in sixes in wooden boxes of 48kgs. Mostly they are exported to the United States, and Europe as others are consumed locally.