The plant was discovered by the Spanish Conquistadors in the early 16th century, when they are received by the Aztecs people in Mexico. A hot flavored with drink vanilla and chocolate had been served them at the Aztec imperial court. Although the origin was kept in secret by the indigenous population, the Spaniards eventually discover: it is the vanilla.
Vanilla appeared in the Indian Ocean only four centuries later in Java, in Reunion and Mauritius. Plantations were attempted in these islands, but the results were disappointing, until a slave boy, aged 12, in a plantation in La Reunion, observing the vanilla flowers, had the great idea and the blessed hand to them fertilize manually. And the results have far exceeded expectations. This man called Edward said Albius. Unfortunately, this man as a freed slave could never benefit from his "invention" and died in poverty in 1880.
Plant
Scientific identification:
APG III Classification: Domain: Eukaryota • (unranked): • Archaeplastida Regnum: Plantae • Cladus: • Cladus angiosperms: monocots • Ordo: Asparagales • Familia: Orchidaceae • subfamily: Vanilloideae • Tribes: Vanilleae • Genus: Species • Vanilla: Vanilla planifolia Jacks. eg Andrews (1808)
It presents itself as a climbing vine, and needs a stake, to promote its development by the terminal bud. It requires a warm and humid tropical climate and grows in the shade.
The stem and leaves are "thick", and are waterlogged by a transparent irritating sap.
The vine breaks easily, but it is cutting as easily and facilitates the growth of the plant. At each node appear rootlets that enable the plant to cling to the stake. A vanilla plant can reach 15m long
The leaf is alternate, long, oval and pointed toe. It can be up to 15cm long
The flowers are grouped in spikes 8 to 10, and white to pale yellow. Trumpet-shaped, it must be pollinated manually, unlike what happens in Mexico, where there is a variety of bee that naturally contributes to fertilization.
Fruiting gives brushes of 8 to 10 pods from each group of flowers.
Culture
The plant was first introduced in Nosy Be (1880), Madagascar. But it is in Sambava and Antalaha that the plant is best suited, because of the warm and humid climate, favorable to its growth.
Propagation is by cuttings of the vine. It requires a deep and fertile soil, very rich in organic matter and well drained. It is a shade plant (75% of shade), which requires warm and humid atmosphere.
Choice and preparation of the Vanilla creeper
In practice, a new planting flowers after 3 years only.
The farmer must ensure that the vines are well supported by tutors, and monitors flowering. Each flower can give up to 300g of green pods. It takes 5 to 6 kg of green pods to produce 1kg of marketable pod. Vanilla requires at least 8 months of treatment and preparations between the green pod harvest and its commercialization
Farmer sells mature green pods or makes himself their treatment before commercialization.
Commercialization
Madagascar exports between 1000 T to 1500T vanilla pods per year. In bad years, however, this amount can go down to only 600T.
Trimeta AGRO FOOD works with producer groups for producing high quality vanilla, purchased, still green from farmers. It works with licensed collectors for the purchase of processed vanilla.
It carries itself, treatment and preparations of collected green vanilla. It checks the quality of vanilla beans in bulk, before purchasing and complete treatment.
Trimeta AGRO FOOD participates actively in improving the social and economic life of producer communities
Trimeta AGRO FOOD exports vanilla pod in the USA, Europe and Japan.
Vanilla from Trimeta AGRO FOOD is certified:
in FAIRTRADE by FLO-CERT GmbH - FLO ID 25486.
and ORGANIC (BIO) by ECOCERT as per NOP & CE 834/2007 regulations
Vanilla beans reach maturity nine months after pollination. Picking at state of maturity is the vital condition to ensure the final quality of the beans. A mature pod is characterized by its yellowish color when it is still on the vine. A mature pod contains a high rate of vanillin often greater than 2% and has more immune responses to resist or even eliminate the bacteria and fungi that might contaminate the process. The collection of green pods is between the months from June to September according to pod maturity by the production area. The official opening date for the collection of green pods is set during a national workshop that brings together all stakeholders in the vanilla industry in the presence of competent authorities. After the national workshop, each Rural community decides and communicates to their Regional District authority, the date of the markets for the sale of green pods.
Scalding is to soak the green pods in heated water at 70 ° C for 40 to 50 seconds depending on the level of maturity of pods. This step helps to kill the vegetative life of the pods.
Sun drying is done after 24 hours of drying, and in a gradual manner to preserve vanillin, and flexibility of pods. This process is done every day for one to two hours until the moisture content is reduced in each pod. 
After drying in the sun, the vanilla beans are dried in the shade, inside factory and spread out on a rack. They are progressively dried by air flow. This step lasts 15 to 30 days, according to the water content of each vanilla bean.
After the ranking the pods of the same quality are tied to be stitched according to their size.
Each pod of the same shape, same color and same length is then collected in a handshake and then tied. A bunch of vanilla beans has no standard weight but is about 250 grams.
The measurement boots vanilla is by a "double decimeter" called "gauge". Gauging dissociates the bunches of vanilla according to their lengths that range from 10cm to 21cm. Pods within 10cm are not tied but left in bulk, and known as the "CUTS" or "LOOSE BEANS".
For storage, we use the traditional method: the new tin box with wax paper. This facilitates periodic quality control, and stimulates the development of the vanillin rate, and the aroma of the vanilla pods.
