Reply #19: Tropical storms and how the bean is produced

[lukasahero]

Vanillan comes from orchids (as someone above noted) which means they are not just expensive, but rare. Orchids can take a long time to produce seed so you're paying partially for the growing time of the plant as well as the ultimate product.

Also recent storms in the tropic have seriously damaged crops.

FYI - I just happened to be reading an article about vanilla in Cook's Magazine yesterday. FWIW, their tasters suggested that artificial vanilla extract worked a better in baked goods than real vanilla extract. (But nothing beats the bean itself.)