Lochhead vanilla is the best because we use the best vanilla beans.
The vanilla vine is an orchid, and it is the only known orchid with an edible fruit – the vanilla bean. At Lochhead, we grow our vanilla beans on our own plantations, so we can ensure the highest possible quality for each and every vanilla bean. The best beans make the best vanilla, and Lochhead vanilla beans are the very best.
We cultivate our vanilla vines with the utmost care and dedication.
The care with which we cultivate our vines is a rare thing. The vanilla vines will only blossom where the vine stems point downwards towards the ground. For this reason, the vines are typically looped over a support. To thrive, the vines need a very particular climate, with heavy rainfall, warm temperatures, and rich soil. We grow our beans in Tonga, Fiji, Madagascar, and Indonesia.
At Lochhead, only the strongest, healthiest blossoms are pollinated.
Vanilla blossoms must be pollinated by hand, one at a time. Most vanilla bean farmers tend to over-pollinate their vines in order to increase the yield of their crop. This stresses the vines causing inferior beans and harming the vine.
At Lochhead, we always allow the bean to fully mature on the vine.
It is common for farmers to pick the beans green and immature. We wait until the beans have begun to darken. The harvesting is the most critical stage in vanilla production. The beans grow to maximum size within 2-3 months but they are not fully ripened and ready to harvest for nine months.
A fully ripened bean will have a split brown tip and the full length of the bean will turn yellow.
Full ripening is critical to unlock all the latent aromatic compounds within the vanilla bean, and without full ripening. Each bean will ripen at a different time, and it is essential to harvest them just as they finish the ripening process. Harvesting the beans while still green leads to problems with mold and produces weak and inferior vanilla.
At Lochhead we cure our beans carefully and slowly for the finest and richest flavor.
Our methods are tried and true. The curing process is a lengthy procedure that is critical to the flavor of the vanilla beans. Each day the beans are set in the sun to dry and each evening the beans are moved inside to sweat. This process takes up to four months to complete. It is during this time that the beans turn from yellow to a rich dark brown and black color.
Our 87 years of expertise gives us extensive insight into the growing, curing and extracting of vanilla beans.
There is no secret about what makes our vanilla the best. We pour our skill and experience into each and every bean and take our time to ensure that each vanilla bean will meet our standards for quality. Our vanilla is the best, and we do our best to ensure that it always will be.