About a year ago I asked a customer/friend how she liked her vanilla beans that she bought from us. She said they were okay, but not as strong smelling or dark as the prepared vanilla from the store. The vanilla she purchased was “very expensive.” I was really confused, so I started a journey to figure out why this was. I started experimenting by buying several kinds of vanilla beans and was even blessed with several free samples from companies that want us to sell their beans.

After a lot of trials with these vanilla beans, (using different kinds and amounts) I realized that all these beans were very similar in color, flavor, and smell. What could make her vanilla smell and look so different? Could it be that even some of the expensive vanilla is fake? After some research, I quickly discovered that we can’t rely on the price to determine if the vanilla is real. Maybe we are so used to the color, taste, and fragrance of fake vanilla that we believe it’s the real stuff. There are a lot of tricks in this industry to make a product very similar to real vanilla using chemicals or cheaper ingredients. The industry is not well regulated.

So what is a person to do? I truly believe that the only way to know for sure is to make it yourself. You will have control of all the ingredients, and over time, I believe you will be able to start discerning real/fake vanilla. I know I can.

After my all of experiments with different vanilla beans, the ones we have been selling are still my favorite, so I recently stocked up on those again. You can find them on our website (or message me) or feel free to shop around. As far as I know nobody is selling fake vanilla beans.

Save on Making Your Vanilla!

I have been using organic Extractohol for several years. I thought the price was higher than what you buy at the store so I didn’t share this. Recently I learned that you can add distilled water to make a lower proof which works just as good for vanilla beans. As I was getting a link to share with you, I also noticed that they decreased their prices too! Try using the code NEW to save $10 too. The email offer I received expires 1-31-2024 (I’m not compensated for this). This also works great for herbal extractions. Have fun!