INDIAN OCEAN, La Réunion, Bourbon Vanilla

BOURBON VANILLA FROM REUNION – Vanilla is the only edible orchid. Its flavour has been known and used for a long time. As early as in the 14th century, the Aztecs from Mexico used it to flavour their favorite drink of cacao. Vanilla first left Mexico in the early 1500s on ships bound for Spain.
In 19th century some lianas of Vanilla Planifolia were introduced to the plantations of Réunion( formerly Bourbon). In 1841, young slave Edmond Albius invented the technique of artificial pollination of vanilla. The cultivation of vanilla spreads all over the island. Today the Bourbon Vanilla is considered to be the best on the world market.

The word vanilla derived from the Spanish name of the spice, vainilla, which is a diminutive of vaina “sheath". Perhaps motivated by the sheath-like shape of the fruit. Word vaina is of Latin origin vagina.
Réunion, (French: Île de la Réunion or La Réunion, formerly Île Bourbon), is an island, located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. Réunion is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland.