The Yucatan - Mexican Vanilla Beans - Grade B, Best for Extracts (Retail)

Once gone, this product will be stocked out until December 2022

Try our Veracruz Mexican Vanilla Beans for a wonderful Mexican vanilla experience.

We are pleased to offer the finest and the original, Mexican vanilla beans. Buy just one or several to make your own vanilla extract or other vanilla creates from scratch in your own kitchen.

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This is our original, Mexican vanilla bean that we have always offered. We recently added the name "Yucatan" to indicate its origin within Mexico. Product labels for this bean may only say "Mexican Vanilla Beans" and exclude the word "Yucatan" in print. 

Mexico is where the story of vanilla beans begins. These beans are rich and dark, with spicy and smokey tones, perfect for baked goods, sauces and other desserts. It's also fantastic when a teaspoon is added to seared or glazed salmon or chicken. 

Almost every vanilla bean in the world is, sort of, a Mexican vanilla bean. Here's why...

The Totonacs of Veracruz Mexico are the first people in the world known to have cultivated vanilla beans. By the 1400's, the Aztecs had begun using vanilla beans to enhance the taste of chocolate. 

When Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez discovered the spice, he brought a large supply back with him to Spain and introduced it to the King and Royal Court. It's popularity grew and vanilla bean plantations quickly began to spread across Europe, into Africa and into Asia. 

Virtually every vanilla bean grown in the world today is directly related to the Mexican species of vanilla bean, Vanilla Planifolia. In fact, the largest exporter of vanilla beans today is Madagascar. And what vanilla bean to they harvest? You guessed it, the Vanilla Planifolia. 

Though much of the DNA may be similar, the climate, the soil and the methods used for harvesting, curing and extracting all contribute to the taste of the vanilla. 

Today, very little of the world's global vanilla cultivation comes from Mexico. The Mexican Revolution, global warming, competition from Madagascar, drug cartels desiring land for drug production, etc. all contributed to a decline in Mexican vanilla bean production. But that trend is changing and in 2016 Mexico had its largest vanilla harvest in decades. 

These are grade-B Mexican vanilla beans are grown in the tropics of the Yucatan Peninsula, home to some of the most nutrient rich and diverse soils in Mexico. These factors make a real, Mexican vanilla bean one of the most delightful and elegant vanilla beans on the planet. 

These Vanilla Beans are of the highest quality and have a rich, dark aroma. They are very oily with a strong vanilla scent.  Grade B Mexican vanilla beans are usually between 6" and 7" inches long and have a dark brown color. They are often more dry than our Grade A vanilla beans and are perfect for making homemade vanilla extract. Given their brittle nature, they often cannot be cut and seeded prior to submersing them in spirits. Instead, simply break them into multiple pieces or leave the whole. Though they are dry, their essential oils are still locked in and they will produce a tasty, sweet and beautiful extract at a much lower cost.

VanillaPura vanilla beans are a regular choice for professional chefs and are used in 5 star restaurants around the world. We proudly offer some of the most sought-after vanilla beans on the market.

VanillaPura vanilla beans are all shipped vacuum sealed for freshness and should be stored unrefrigerated in a cool, dry and dark place.