The vanilla crop grows well in loose and friable soils with any of loamy texture. However, it requires high organic matter content in the soil for better yield. Well-drained soils are important for vanilla cultivation and it prefers lands with a gentle slope.

When it comes to choosing organic vanilla beans, you have a variety of options. The two most common and most readily available are Tahitian and Madagascar Bourbon. The bean you choose should come down to what type of flavor you prefer.

The vanilla orchid originates in Madagascar, where it is pollinated in the wild by bees. Because these bees are not found in Ecuador, the vanilla orchids must be pollinated by hand. Women women labor due to thier delicate hands. The yellow vanilla flower blooms just one day per year, and is typically open for only a few hours

Vanilla pods, also called beans (though not beans at all), are ready nine months after pollination. They are ready to harvest when the tip starts turning yellow. After harvest begins the processing to turn this scentless and flavorless pod into a glistening, oily, fragrant product.

A high quality commercial vanilla product relies on both quality control of the product itself, as well as the vanilla beans from which it is made. Vanilla extracts or flavorings of three-fold or higher strengths are prepared by removing part of the solvent by vacuum distillation.