Burlap & Barrel Nyanza Vanilla Extract Kit

Category: Spices

Our Nyanza Vanilla is grown in the hills around Nyanza (aka Lake Victoria) in Tanzania, where the altitude, rich soil and temperate climate produce an especially rich, sweet vanilla.

The DIY Vanilla Extract Kit contains chopped-up, vine-ripened split pods, perfect for making your own vanilla extract. We have 10 grams of chopped vanilla and room to add 100ml of your favorite spirit.

Fill the jar with the vodka, whiskey or rum and let it infuse for at least a month, but it only gets better with time. Top off frequently, and use as you'd use any other vanilla extract.

Origin:

Kagera, Tanzania

Process:

Sun-dried during the day, cured in wooden boxes overnight

Ingredients:

Vanilla planifolia, chopped pod

Tasting notes:

Toasted Hazelnut • Dates • Tannins

Sourcing:

Vanilla is the fruit of a flowering vine. It takes as long as a decade for a vine to begin to produce fruit, and the white orchid flowers must be pollinated by hand. The pods grow in small bunches like bananas, and they take 6-9 months to ripen. After harvesting, they're cured in wooden boxes, where they turn from green to brown and develop their characteristic rich, complex aroma.

In a climate and terroir similar to that of Madagascar, they develop a deep, rich aroma and flavor. We prefer the vine-ripened pods (standard pods are often picked slightly underripe as a shortcut) for their stronger, sweeter, more concentrated flavor.

In the photos, you can see the nearly-ripe vanilla pods, the vanilla flower, and the vanilla vines.

$12.99

10.00 grams

PRODUCER

Burlap & Barrel

Burlap & Barrel is a Public Benefit Corporation building new international food supply chains that are equitable, transparent and traceable.

A single origin spice company, Burlap & Barrel buys spices from farmers around the globe, who they call partners. They’ve eliminated the intermediaries who have traditionally bought and sold spices multiple times before any jar of spice lands in a U.S. customer’s kitchen cabinet. This means their spices are fresher than what you can find from the big spice companies. Spices so potent that they suggest new customers use just half a serving at first, as they sometimes get feedback from customers that the spices are too strong. It's not that the spices are too strong, but rather we are just accustomed to cooking with old spices! Did you know that supermarket spices sometimes have been in transit for three years?!?!?

Another benefit to eliminating spice brokers is that Burlap & Barrel can pay the farmers more for their crops while offering quality spices to the public at affordable prices.

SUPPORTING SMALLHOLDER FARMERS

Burlap & Barrel is working towards ending inequality and exploitation in food systems that disenfranchise skilled farmers.

They do this by:

Connecting smallholder farmers to high-value markets
Educating consumers about the impact of product traceability on human rights
Sourcing unique foods with terroir that are grown biodynamically and organically using traditional techniques

REDEFINING SUSTAINABILITY

Mainstream conversations around food sustainability rarely consider the people involved in growing, harvesting, transporting, processing and cooking food. Sustainability is discussed in terms of environmental impact, or the comfort of livestock providing meat, dairy or eggs.

The folks at Burlap & Barrel believe that the standard measures of sustainability must evolve to consider the conditions in which the farmers who drive global food supply chains earn their livelihoods. Single origin ingredients draw attention to the unique environments in which incredible ingredients grow and to the farmers with the expertise and commitment to grow them well.