Costa Rican Farmers to Learn the Complicated Process of Vanilla Production.

Vanilla will soon be added to the ranks of Costa Rica’s agricultural exports thanks to a new business plan to produce the long bean organically in Guanacaste. Vanilla is well prized throughout the world and it is far from easy to produce. Farmers from La Cruz, Carillo and Canas will work together with the Foundation for the Promotion of the Research and Transfer of Costa Rican Agricultural Technology (Fittacori) and the National University (UNA) on this ambitious project, with the goal of producing 10,000 kilos a year.

Two farms are already prepared on large pieces of Costa Rica Land and are ready to start the production with 13,500 capsules of Class A vanilla, each containing a minimum 2.5% of pure vanilla essence. The final product is destined for export to the United States, the largest consumer of the spice, and various European countries.

Local workers will benefit greatly from this project as well, and several women’s groups have been incorporated into the planning process. In the largely agricultural region of Guanacaste, much of the work force is in the form of seasonal workers who come from Nicaragua and live in marginalized conditions. The vanilla farms will provide more work, with the potential of paying more for harvesting a more profitable product.

The vanilla pod comes from a variety of Orchid found in the tropical rain forests as it can only grow if the conditions are right. Vanilla was first cultivated and used by the ancient Totonaca people in the Gulf coast of Mexico. They taught many other indigenous people how to grow vanilla during the Meso-American period, and they considered the pods to be a gift from the Gods.

Vanilla now grows within the 20-degree band on either side of the Equator. Vanilla planifolia (also known as Fragrans) grows on the Atlantic Gulf side of Mexico from Tampico around to the northeast tip of South America, and from Colima, Mexico to Ecuador on the Pacific side, and it now also grows throughout the Caribbean. There are a total of 150 varieties, however only two types, the Bourbon and the Tahitian, are used commercially.

Vanilla was completely unknown in the Old World before the arrival of the “Conquistadores”. When the Spanish explorers arrived on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the early sixteenth century they discovered the flowers and they were to ones who gave it its name, “Vanilla”, meaning little pod. They soon discovered that this little pod had a wonderful and strong flavor and scent. Later on in the 16th century, the Spanish and Portuguese sailors and explorers brought vanilla into Africa and Asia where it caused a sensation.

In spite of this, Mexico remained the main producer of vanilla until the mid-19th century, but in 1819, French entrepreneurs shipped vanilla beans to La Réunion and to the Mauritius islands with the aim of producing vanilla there. In La Reunion, a 12-year-old slave discovered how to pollinate the flowers quickly by hand. The bean began to thrive and spread to nearby islands. By 1898, Madagascar, La Réunion, and the Comoros Islands produced 80% of the vanilla in the world. Today Madagascar and Indonesia grow the majority of the world’s crop. Other countries that grow vanilla include Guatemala, Costa Rica, Uganda, China, India, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti, and the Philippines.

Vanilla is the world’s most labor-intensive agricultural crop, and for that reason is the second most expensive spice, after saffron. It takes three long years of waiting once the vines are planted for first flowers to appear; the fruits, which resemble big green beans, have to stay on the vine for another nine months in order to completely develop their signature aroma. Interestingly enough, when they are harvested, they have neither flavor nor fragrance. A long specific curing process is needed for these properties to develop fully.

Once harvested, the beans are treated with hot water or heat and are then placed in the sun every day for weeks-to-months on-end, as they need to shrink until they have lost 20% of their original size. Next they are sorted according to size and quality. Another couple of months is needed to finish off the curing process, as they continue to develop to reach their full flavor and fragrance. By the time they make their way into the world, they have acquired their unmistakable, wonderful, distinctive flavor and scent that is instantly recognized.

Vanilla is used to flavor ice creams and other dairy products. It is sometimes added to chocolate, caramel and coffee, and it is widely used in pastry and cake making. Designers prize it as it is used to make some of the most expensive perfumes and it is also in great demand in aromatherapy for the treatment of depression. It is also considered to be a mild aphrodisiac and it is able boost the immune system.

It is good news therefore for Costa Rica as it starts the production of this old and mysterious flower. Indeed Costa Rica is one of the top exporters of Orchids in the world, so it is embarking on somewhat familiar ground, which will hopefully lend a hand to the success of this business venture for this little Central American paradise.

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Filed under: Business on September 29th, 2008