Tahiti, an island that is part of a chain of islands in the South Pacific, has a tropical climate that makes it an ideal location for growing vanilla. In 1848, French admiral Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin brought aromatic vanilla plants to Tahiti and, two years later, French admiral Louis-Adolphe Bonard imported Vanilla fragrans plants. These two species were skillfully crossed over the following decades, resulting in the plump Tahitian vanilla beans we know today, known as Vanilla tahitensis. Tahitian vanilla is cured differently than vanilla grown in Madagascar or Mexico. Ripe beans are stored in a cool place for five to ten days until they are completely browned. They are then rinsed in clean water, a process unique to Tahiti. For the next month, growers expose the beans to mild morning sun for three to four hours a day. In the afternoon they wrap the beans in cloth and store them in crates until the next morning, to promote transpiration. Little by little the water evaporates causing the beans to shrink. Throughout this phase, the bean pods are smoothed and flattened by hand between thumb and forefinger. After a month, when the vanilla has been filled with sunlight, the beans are left for 40 days to dry in a shaded and ventilated place, which reduces their moisture content.
