Paradise in French Polynesia, alongside the dazzling local colours he must have come across this orchid-like plant and its long seed pods. Dark, sticky, delicately perfumed…”
Native to Central America, the Vanilla plant belongs to the orchid family. It was a popular aphrodisiac in Mexico. In Peru and Ecuador, women would spread it under their arms as a balm. Vanilla Tahitensis is the most precious of the many varieties of vanilla.