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BEHIND THE BOTTLE
The air is warm and humid . It ’ s the early hours of morning in Madagascar — in the distance , you can see the sun ’ s rays beginning to peek above the horizon . The soft light reveals luscious green vines in front of you , dotted with pale yellow flowers . These are vanilla vines .
Vanilla is a species of orchid and its vines creep up the supportive tree trunks around you . These plants prefer partial shade , which is why this farmer has wisely used tree trunks as a scaffold for the vines to climb on . As you continue walking through the field , you reach out and cup one of the small blossoms in your hand . You lower your face to it , close your eyes and inhale deeply . Its scent is light and fresh .
You hear a rustle and open your eyes . Women and men have entered their family gardens and are winding their way through the vines around you , carefully pollinating the blossoms by hand , one by one .
The History of Vanilla
Vanilla is originally native to Mexico , the Caribbean , northern South America and Central America . The Totonacs and Aztecs used vanilla for ceremonial purposes and in their beverages . When the Spanish conquered the Aztecs , they took vanilla back with them to Europe .
Vanilla became quite popular , but the Europeans discovered it could only be naturally pollinated by a specific Mexican bee species . Outside of Mexico , there ’ s less than a 1 percent chance that the vanilla flower will be pollinated on its own , which made it incredibly difficult to cultivate outside of its native region .
This challenge was resolved in 1841 , when Edmond Albius , a young slave , learned how to pollinate vanilla blossoms by hand . The discovery allowed vanilla to be grown in tropical areas around the world .
Cultivating and Harvesting Practices
Even though vanilla can be grown outside its native land , it ’ s still a labour-intensive plant and process . It takes three to four years for a vanilla plant to begin producing vanilla beans . The vanilla flower only blooms on one day in an entire year . It is fragile and must be pollinated in the morning — during the cooler hours of the day . If it ’ s not