Vanilla is not graded the same way by every exporter, which is why two quotes that look comparable often are not. Below is what each grade actually is, who buys it, and the figures to request before comparing prices.
Black vanilla · Bourbon Black · Gourmet grade
Grade A gourmet vanilla beans are fully cured, oily, flexible pods with a high moisture content, selected for direct use where the appearance and the seeds of the bean matter.
Typical buyers: Pastry chefs, chocolatiers, premium food brands
Specifications →Top Kitchen · Black TK
TK grade vanilla beans sit between gourmet and extraction grades: presentable enough to be shown, dry enough to be processed, which makes them the usual compromise for kitchens working at volume.
Typical buyers: Professional kitchens, bakeries, food processors
Specifications →Rouge Europe · Grade B Europe · Extract grade
Red EU beans are extraction-grade vanilla cured to a moderate moisture level, the European market standard for extract and flavour production.
Typical buyers: Extract manufacturers, flavour houses, ice cream producers
Specifications →Rouge US · Grade B US
Red US beans are cured drier than the European standard, which concentrates dry matter per kilogram and suits the moisture ceiling of the US extract standard of identity.
Typical buyers: US extract manufacturers, flavour houses
Specifications →Variété Mexique · Long beans
Mexique variety beans are long, slender pods cured to a high moisture content, bought where length and appearance carry the product.
Typical buyers: Premium retail, gastronomy, gift packaging
Specifications →Vanilla grains · Vanilla Seed
Vanilla seeds are the black grains separated from the pod, used when the visual signature of real vanilla is required in a finished product.
Typical buyers: Ice cream producers, dairy, premium desserts
Specifications →Vanilla paste · Scraped vanilla
Vanilla caviar is the soft paste obtained by scraping the inside of cured pods, combining the aromatic strength of the bean with the visible grain of the seeds.
Typical buyers: Pastry, chocolate, premium dairy
Specifications →Ground vanilla · Micronised vanilla
Vanilla powder is milled whole cured beans, used where a dry, dosable ingredient is required and where liquid extract would alter a formulation.
Typical buyers: Food manufacturers, supplement and cosmetic formulators
Specifications →Grade C · Cuts · Splits
Vanilla cuts are short or split pods that carry the same aromatic value as whole beans but do not meet the length grading used for gourmet sales.
Typical buyers: Extract manufacturers, grinders, industrial buyers
Specifications →Double-strength extract · Two-fold extract
Vanilla extract is the aromatic solution obtained by macerating cured beans in an alcohol and water mixture, sold at a stated fold that expresses how many beans went into a given volume.
Typical buyers: Beverage and dairy manufacturers, bakeries, ready-to-use buyers
Specifications →