VanillaReview.com

This is a quick review of vanilla beans from eBay seller lacey123money. I bought these on a whim for $5 + $3 shipping. The only information I have about the vanilla comes from the listing:

Premium Grade A Gourmet Vanilla Planifolia (Bourbon-Style) Beans from Uganda

Located in the interior of the African continent, Uganda started producing some truly fine vanilla beans several years ago…

This auction is for 1/4 lb of organically grown Bourbon style vanilla planifolia beans from Uganda. They are plum, pliable, and, most importantly, succulent and flavorful. These beans are approximately 7″ - 8″ in length, with 30% moisture content.

update some more info on these beans. According to Rebekah, “these beans were purchased from a wholesaler in France.” If you are interested in some cheap Uganda beans for extract, contact Rebekah — fragasso80(at)msn.com. Replace (at) with @.

These black/brown beans are flexible but not particularly oily. The skin is pliable but not supple or oily, as evidenced by the lack of shine in the photos. I doubt they have 30% moisture as advertised, perhaps closer to 25%. The bundle seems to have a mix of qualities, from two (5%) super nice, giant beans (pictured below), to woody dry beans that barely meet my expectations of grade A vanilla. Overall, pretty disappointing for gourmet beans, but perfect for homemade extract.

The beans have a pleasant but mild raisin aroma, inside and out. The skins are noticeably woody and dry when cut. The caviar is also dry, airy, and light — like good potting soil.

These vanilla beans were advertised as 7″ to 8″ in length. As seen in the photograph below, most of the beans are just barely 7″ (17.78cm).