Spice · Ingredient
Vanilla bean
Vanilla planifolia
Glossy, near-black pieces of cut vanilla pod, supple and speckled with tiny seeds. They bring a rich, creamy sweetness and a perfume like warm custard to black tea, rooibos and dessert blends.
Blend with vanilla bean →The benefits
Why we love vanilla bean
Dessert in a cup
Real vanilla brings a creamy, custard-like sweetness that makes any blend feel like an after-dinner treat.
The real thing
Vanilla pods naturally contain vanillin alongside many other aroma compounds, for a deeper, rounder flavour than essence alone.
Naturally caffeine-free
Vanilla contains no caffeine and is as happy in an evening rooibos as in a breakfast black tea.
Good to know
No special cautions for most people in normal tea amounts.
Vanilla is the pod of a climbing orchid from Mexico, first cultivated by the Totonac people of Veracruz, and the Aztecs flavoured their chocolate drinks with it. In 1841 Edmond Albius, a twelve-year-old enslaved boy on Réunion, devised the hand-pollination method still used today. The pods are then sweated and sun-dried for months to develop their perfume.
Found in these tales
