Vanilla bean grades explained: A, B, TK, cuts and spent

There is no legal grading standard for vanilla

This is the first thing to understand, and it explains most of the confusion. Unlike olive oil or coffee, vanilla has no binding international grading system. Every exporting country, and in practice every exporter, applies its own scale.

The consequence is direct: two offers both labelled “Grade A” are not necessarily comparable. The label tells you what the seller calls the lot. Only the measured figures — vanillin, moisture, length — tell you what it is.

The grade names below are the commercial vocabulary of the trade. Use them to be understood, not to specify.

The grades as the market uses them

Moisture ranges reflect common industry practice, not a standard. Ask for the measured figure on the lot you are being offered.

Grade A and Grade B: the difference that matters

The real distinction is not quality, it is water.

Grade A beans are cured to retain moisture. They stay oily, flexible and glossy, which is what a pastry chef wants when the bean is split at the pass and the seeds are visible in the finished dish. That water is part of the product.

Grade B beans are cured drier. They look less impressive — shorter, duller, sometimes split — but every kilogram contains more actual bean and less water. For an extractor, that is strictly better: you are paying for aromatic matter, not for moisture you will drive off anyway.

So a buyer who orders Grade A for extraction is paying a premium for an appearance they will destroy, and receiving less usable material per kilogram. It is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes in vanilla procurement.

How to convert both to a comparable basis →

Which grade you need

• You make extract, flavours or compounds — Grade B, or cuts if appearance is irrelevant and you grind anyway.
• You make ice cream or dairy with visible seeds — Grade B for the aromatic base, plus seeds or powder for the visual signature.
• You are a pastry chef, chocolatier or premium brand — Grade A, where the bean is part of what the customer sees.
• You repack for retail — Grade A, and specify length: it drives perceived value more than any other single criterion.
• You formulate cosmetics or need a second extraction — spent beans, at a fraction of the cost.

What to ask before you accept a grade label

Four questions, and the answers should arrive as documents, not as claims:

1. Measured vanillin content, by HPLC, with the analysis date and the lot reference. Not a range from a brochure.
2. Measured moisture, on the same lot. Without it, the vanillin figure cannot be interpreted.
3. Length distribution, not a single nominal figure. “16 cm+” can mean an average or a minimum, and the difference is money.
4. A sample from the actual lot, not from a reference batch. Ask explicitly, because the two are not the same thing.

A supplier who cannot produce these is not necessarily dishonest — small exporters often simply do not test every lot. But you are then buying on trust rather than on specification, and you should price that risk.

Questions we get asked

Is Grade A better than Grade B vanilla?

No. Grade A is selected for appearance and moisture; Grade B is drier and carries more vanillin per kilogram. Grade B is usually the better choice for extraction, and Grade A for uses where the bean is seen.

Are vanilla grades standardised?

No. There is no legally binding international grading standard for vanilla. Each exporter applies its own scale, which is why two offers labelled "Grade A" can differ substantially.

What does TK grade mean?

TK is an intermediate commercial grade between gourmet and extraction beans, generally drier than Grade A and more presentable than Grade B. The definition varies by exporter.