The Rioja - V. Pompona Vanilla Beans from Peru - For Vanilla Extract & Baking (Grade A)
Group buy products are bundled with other orders for additional savings, so they may not ship for 4-8 weeks.
"Wait a little save a lot!"
Retail products ship in just 2-5 days in orders that don't include group buy products.
Learn more about retail vs. group buy.
Get free US shipping on every order for 1 year by joining clubVpura. Click here to learn more. Memberships are limited.
| Best Price: | $55.57/oz when you buy an 8oz group buy pouch. |
| Bean Family: | V. Pompona |
| Bean Origin: | Peru |
| Quality: | Grade-A (pliabile, moist, rich in oils, but usually more oils on the inside of these larger vanilla beans than the outside. The outer skin will often have the feel of dried fruit.) |
| Aroma: | Bold vanilla, dried fruit, figs, molasses |
| Extract Taste: | Dark, earthy vanilla, rich caramel, fruity undertones |
| Best Extract Spirit: | Visit our spirit pairing guide. |
Welcome to Peru and to an entirely new species of vanilla bean. This beautiful Grade-A vanilla bean from Northern Peru is a Pompona bean, which means a few things. First, it's big...really big. Just 2-3 beans/oz normally. Second, it's likely the world's first vanilla bean. Indeed, the popular Planifolia bean today became more popular because of its ability to be transported and grown in new regions, while the Pompona has not crossed global boundaries as quickly. Most of the growing regions are the native growing regions of this bean species, namely Southern Mexico down through the Northern regions of South America. Finally, given its size, this is the only vanilla bean that is often still pollinated naturally by bees, since the orchids are large enough for a bee to move around inside.
(Vanilla pompona orchid)
The Pompona species of vanilla bean has an entirely different taste and aroma as traditional Planifolia and Tahitensis vanilla, but it's still in the vanilla bean family so its primary scent will be familiar to you. It will present a bold, classic vanilla base, but there will be stronger notes of dried fruit like figs, raisins and, is that a hint of a banana? You will also note the presence of molasses, caramel and perhaps a subtile coffee/mocha scent. It's truly a flavor and aroma experience all to itself.
(The country of Peru, right under Ecuador and next to Brazil)
These vanilla beans are not as prolific as the commercially-familiar Planifolia and Tahitensis beans. They don't bloom as many orchids, they take longer to mature, their size makes them more difficult to cultivate in quantity, so their global supply is very low. As such, the price for whole, grade-A quality Pompona vanilla beans is extremely high.
(The tiny, remote town in Northern Peru of Rioja)
After months (or even years) of extraction, your finished Rioja Pompona vanilla extract will present a strong vanilla aroma with earthy and rich undertones of molasses, figs, dried fruit and, of course, a sweet and bold vanilla flavor. This is a beautiful extract to add to your cooking arsenal with applications in pies, tarts, fruit breads like banana bread, zucchini breads, orange rolls, pumpkin spice and for a zingy twist in traditional cakes, cookies and more.
Our Rioja Peruvian vanilla beans are very oily on the inside and rich with vanillin. They are big, usually between 5" - 8" inches long and have a dark brown color. There may be just 2-3 beans in an ounce and, in rare cases, just 1 bean to an ounce.
VanillaPura vanilla beans are all shipped vacuum sealed for freshness and should be stored unrefrigerated in a cool, dry and dark place.
Customer Reviews
These beans are huge and they are covered in rum. I enjoy the extract they made with vodka so now I'm trying rum. Can't wait to try it.
Great beans. The smell is outstanding.
These beans are huge and I’m sure will make a wonderful extract. I put them in Skyy vodka. I got them as part of the VP club. I was surprised that they were dry though for such a pricey bean. No oils in my fingers at all.
Thanks for the great review! The size of the Rioja bean along with the makeup of the outer skin makes them often more dry externally, but rest assured they are full of sweet oils and will make a delicious extract. Thanks for mentioning this important point.
These beans are incredible. I expected something larger than the Tahitian, Ecuadorian, Ugandan and Madasgascan and these did not disappoint. Three very large, impressive beans, with a very dark oil compared to others aswell. My only complaint, coming from someone who also works retail/sells products by weight, my beans were not 28g/1oz. 26.8g may not seem far off, but when dealing with $50+ per oz, that's a little unacceptable in my honest opinion. In my world, I'd do my best to get spot on and if that isn't possible, then you go slightly over. But you *never* short the customer....
Thanks for the honest review! Our apologies for being under weight. We guarantee weights always - so send us an email at support@vanillapura.com and we'll make it right. Sometimes, with the real oily beans, some weight from the oils is left in the pouch which makes up the difference. Also, make sure your home scales are calibrated correctly by doing a comparison of another product where you are certain of the weight. And we couldn't agree more that you NEVER short the customer. We actually fill all of our bean pouches over weight and we calibrate our scales every 4 hours to make sure they are correct. Here's a helpful article to make sure bean weights are accurate. Thanks again for your feedback! We appreciate it! https://www.vanillapura.com/pages/how-to-weigh-my-vanilla-beans
So plump! once shipped, it went quickly!
