A Sweet beginning
Grown in the Australian Rainforest
It all started with a vanilla vine that grew up an avocado tree in our father's backyard. This made vanilla an interest in our family and brought about a lot of talk on how we could create a family business that educates customers on the quality of Australian Vanilla and only sell 100% Australian grown premium vanilla products.
Making it happen
The Relocation
We had started our own orchard in the Rainforest and were given a unique opportunity to work with a local grower to expand our farm. Over six months, many weekends and a lot of help, our new vanilla planifolia vines were successfully relocated to their new homes in the Atherton Rainforest.
A Family Affair
The Farm Construction
Taking advantage of the natural clearings in the rainforest, our vanilla rows integrate amongst the trees to take advantage of that beautiful organic renewable mulch.
Getting in the Groove
The Finished Product
After many months, trial and error, de-bagging the vines and an incredible amount of effort from friends, family and our staff, our farm is finally taking root.
Learning Lessons
Storm Warning
Growing in the rainforest is not without its hazards! Thankfully the fallen tree branches are great for edging the rows.
Our First Flowers
Hand Pollination
Patience, resilience and a lot of love makes it all worth it as we get our first flowers. All of our flowers are hand pollinated within a very short window of 5 hours from opening. Vanilla has no natural pollinators in Australia so each vanilla pod is a labour of love.
9 months later
The Vanilla Pods
After 40 weeks on the vine to maximize the production of vanillin, we harvest our pods, wash and sort them and take them offsite to a separate processing facility where they are graded for quality and then cured.
The fun part
The Cured Product
Through much research, trial and error and modern techniques, Wild Vanilla have developed a proprietary curing process that gives consistency, reduces the moisture content to a level suitable for maximizing shelf life and results in our unique flavour profile of a rich and velvety vanilla with undertones of raisin and chocolate.
To our customers
A Big Thanks
We are so thankful to our customers for allowing us to do what we love. By supporting us, you are supporting the development of the Vanilla Industry here in Australia as we also partner with other smaller Australian growers to provide coaching, support and market reliability.