Let us stay in Central America, where vanilla has its roots. Bourbon vanilla, the star variety we are going to discuss today, comes from Mexico. In the 15th century, the Aztecs made xocoatl\u2014in Nahuatl xoco (bitter) and atl (water)\u2014a drink based on cocoa beans and flavoured, you will have guessed, with vanilla. Yes, this is indeed the ancestor of our hot chocolate! While the Aztecs made the beverage, lacking the climatic conditions to grow vanilla themselves, they sourced it from their neighbours the Totonacs.<\/p>\n\n\n
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In 1519, when the Spaniards set foot in Mexico, the conquistador Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s was welcomed by the emperor Moctezuma, who offered him this drink as a gesture of welcome. Won over, Cort\u00e9s brought back to Spain not only the recipe but also the ingredients needed to make it. Love at first sight in Europe: hot chocolate became all the rage, and attention turned to the little pod with its rich aromas used to make it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fruits That Keep Us Waiting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the 18th century, Andr\u00e9 Thouin, gardener to Louis XIV, tried to grow the very first vanilla plant in France\u2026 but not a single fruit in sight. Fond of the little pod, the Sun King exported vanilla to the island of R\u00e9union (at the time a French colony called \u00cele Bourbon) in the hope that the tropical climate would make the flower bear fruit\u2026 without success. Might the Totonacs have a well-kept secret?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, the vanilla flower is hermaphroditic and cannot reproduce on its own. It needs a helping hand\u2014in this case, that of a small bee, the melipona, found only in Mexico and the West Indies, which is not acclimatised to \u00cele Bourbon. It seems to be a dead end\u2026 well, that was without reckoning on the genius of a young slave, Edmond Albius<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1841, a young slave from R\u00e9union made a discovery that would upend the course of vanilla’s history. Though only 12 years old, Albius discovered that the Vanilla planifolia orchid could be pollinated by hand, and developed the technique: it consists of telling apart the male and female organs of the flower and pollinating them using a wooden spine, by tearing the membrane that separates them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The technique, still used today, bore fruit and propelled \u00cele Bourbon to the rank of leader in vanilla production\u2026 hence the name “Bourbon vanilla”! Madagascar has since taken over.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEdmond Albius’s Revolutionary Discovery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A Botanical and Aromatic Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n