About Mette Ravn Vanilje

Brand sustainability

Processing vanilla is extremely labour intensive, as each vanilla flower is pollinated by hand. After being harvested, the green pods are heated in warm water, fermented, frequently massaged during the drying process, and finally sorted. When you invest in a vanilla bean from Mette Ravn Vanilje, they promise it’s of the highest quality. This means, among other things, that their vanillin content is of at least 1.7%. Vanillin is the substance that gives the taste of vanilla, so the higher the percentage, the more flavourful the vanilla. The water content of their vanilla sticks is also at an optimum level, of either 30% or 35%. If the content of water is too high, the vanilla then waters down, but if it’s too low, the vanilla becomes dry.

They are extremely transparent on the country of origin of their vanilla variety, detailing how each impacts the flavour profile and consistency. They carry four different types of vanilla origins: organic vanilla beans from Madagascar and Uganda, as well as conventionally-grown vanilla from India and Tahiti. They guarantee that all the vanilla they sell, regardless of origin, is grown and produced without the use of pesticides, herbicides or any other kind of chemicals. A good vanilla, like wine, gets even better with age. If stored correctly, everything that Mette Ravn Vanilje sells has a shelf-life of several years, and they provide extensive care guides on how to look after your vanilla sticks.

Mette is also the founder and director of Lake Victoria Vanilla – a certified organic vanilla farm in the north-western part of Tanzania, overlooking Lake Victoria. The area has perfect climatic conditions for vanilla cultivation, as it’s not plagued by tropical storms, floods or droughts. Vanilla harvested there earlier has been of a superior quality, where within a year of curing, vanillin crystals formed on the outside of the pod as a result of high vanillin content. The farm is expected to be able to harvest for the first time in 2022 and be in full capacity by 2025.

You can tell Mette Ravn Vanilje is deeply passionate about vanilla in all of its glory – from the distinctive taste and smell, to its journey from orchid flower to vanilla bean we know and cherish. In order to pass on that knowledge and enthusiasm, Mette provides vanilla lectures varying from as short as 30 minutes to 5 hours, which can include tastings and kitchen demonstrations. Through her lectures she also inspires through the many different ways to use vanilla, not only in the kitchen, but as a fragrance too.