I get regular emails from Burlap and Barrel https://www.burlapandbarrel.com/pages/about-us who is a Public Benefit Corporation building new international supply chains that are equitable, transparent and traceable. In a few words they support smallholder farmers and provide some of the most unusual spices such as this wild pompona vanilla. I am a big supporter of the “little guy.”

I quote from the package the vanilla bean came in from Burlap and Barrel, “Pompano vanilla is an incredibly rare species of vanilla, and ours grows wild in the Peruvian Amazon. The vanilla orchids only open for a few hours every year and they can only be pollinated by a single species of insect, the dilemma bee. The pods take several months to ripen before they’re picked and cured by hand. They have a complex fruity and savory aroma and are about 4x the weight of a standard vanilla pod.” Tasting notes are dried cherry, chocolate and dark rum.

For all of my adult life I have used the Madagasgar vanilla bean. You can see the difference in size. I so want to open the Pompano bean package to smell the aroma so many buyers have proclaimed was heavenly, only equaled by its flavor. The bean I received is about 7-inches long and 3/4-inches wide. Well, I have until the “best by 03/2028 – I’m sure I will use it before then!

See https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Dilemma-Orchid-Bee#google_vignette ” These bees are varying shades of metallic green and can grow to a length of 1.3 cm. They are just beautiful!

Only 100 of these pods were available so I ordered one as my curiosity got the best of me. The tube holding this rare bean arrived and I knew the vanilla bean was going to be huge and something special. I plan to use this bean in the future, but I am not sure when or in what recipe(s). I purchased this bean from Burlap and Barrel; Amazon charges an outrageous price in case you’re interested and just as curious as I am.