From the Mayas to the Aztecs, from the Spanish court to Versailles, the history of Vanilla has marked those of men for millennia. How did this spice, which fascinates us so much, end up in our perfumes? Cultivated today in Indonesia, Madagascar, Mexico, the Comoros, Tahiti and China, its rapid expansion does not taint its culture, which always requires long-term work, and which makes the excellence and subtlety of its aromas, known all over the world.

A know-how born in Mexico

Vanilla is mentioned for the first time in the chronicles of the ruler Itzcoatl (1427-1440), fourth ruler of the Aztecs. It was then called “tlilxot chitl” in the Aztec language, or “black pod”. The vanilla pods were already harvested from vanilla plants, a climbing vine of the orchid family, which once fallen to the ground when they were barely ripe, fermented under the cover of humus, giving off an exquisite aroma. The Aztecs then held the secret of its preparation so that the spice retains its aroma. They had been using it for centuries in the preparation of cocoa drinks, in order to soften the bitterness of chocolate.

Europe discovers vanilla

In 1519, Hernán Cortès, Spanish conquistador, set foot in the Aztec Empire on behalf of Charles V, heir to Spain. The Aztec emperor Montezuma would then have offered him this famous vanilla chocolate beverage. In the decades that followed, Mexico remained the center of vanilla cultivation: all attempts perpetuated outside its natural habitat failed. The reason? Only a species of bees specific to Mexico can play the essential fertilizing role in the formation of its fruit. On his return to Spain in 1521, Cortès introduced this black pod to Charles V. It was in 1664 that she arrived at the Court of France for the first time. Louis XIV succumbed to its aroma and ordered that vanilla plants be grown on the island of Reunion, name given by the first French settlers in homage to the royal family. This attempt ended in failure, the fertilization technique of this magnificent vanilla orchid remaining a mystery. But in 1841, on Reunion Island, a miracle happened…

Edmond Albius and the secret of “black fruit”

In 1841, on Reunion Island, a young twelve-year-old slave from Bourbonnais, Edmond Albius, managed alone to find a way to replace the Mélipone bee. His method is so simple that it is still the one practiced today: you have to manually fertilize each flower, one by one! “I saw (…) on the only vanilla tree I had then, a well-knotted pod. I was surprised and pointed it out to him. He told me that it was he who had fertilized the flower. said Ferréol Bellier, a wealthy botanist, in 1861 on the miraculous discovery of his slave Edmond Albius. In the gourmet wake of the spice route, merchants and adventurers cross the vanilla landscapes to bring back to Europe the pod of black gold that makes the fortune of some and the ruin of others. Vanilla whets appetites, unleashes passions: chocolatiers, perfumers, apothecaries, cooks… All compete to obtain a high quality “black fruit”, long and with a supple and shiny texture. It must be said that it is THE reference vanilla. It is also the most widely used in the world. A dark, oily, supple vanilla with delicate and floral aromas, favoring the strong warm notes of cocoa.

Thanks to its unique know-how as a perfumer-creator, Les Senteurs Gourmandes revisits and draws new olfactory horizons with elegant delicacy. To define the outline of its scented creations, the artisanal brand has built its history around a bewitching spice, as precious as gold: Vanilla. I vanilla, you vanilla, she vanilla, we vanilla… Les Senteurs Gourmandes shapes its most emblematic olfactory combination in its workshops under the epicurean name of “Vanilla” scents. A collection that declines the tawny and amber colors of four varieties of vanilla with exotic gastronomic accents.