Hi – I’m Bryn Berg, and I grow and process vanilla. I’ve been living in Hawaiian Paradise Park since 2005, and have always been interested in producing my own food. I got introduced about ten years ago to the vanilla plant and was gifted starts by Thomas Sharkey, an established coffee, cacao and vanilla farmer in Papaikou. Over the years, Sharkey has been my friend and mentor.

All my vanilla is organically grown, and hand pollinated, harvested when individually ready, dried slowly in the sun or a lightly warm oven over a period of up to two months before resting and finishing for another month. The larger premium beans are sold whole in glass vials – 4 beans for $30, or in glass jars –  glass bottle of beans for $40. All the other beans are used to create pure vanilla extract, aged from 8 to 12 months. Each bottle of vanilla extract is 4 oz. for $20.

Fun facts:

The vanilla orchid is the only orchid used for a food source.
Vanilla is indigenous to Mexico, and was originally pollinated by the Melipona Bee.

 Each bloom lasts only one day, and is optimally viable for only a few hours.
The vanilla bean ripens over a period of 9 to 10 months.

The aroma of vanilla is known to be calming, relaxing, and sensual.

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