Villa Vainilla Pure Mexican Vanilla Beans Whole & Gift Box, 5 Organic Vanilla Beans Grade AA

I really wanted to be impressed by this because I've heard great things about Mexican vanilla. I'm a big fan of Madagascar vanilla, and I also keep Tahitian vanilla extract around because sometimes you just want that cherry note in a icing or something. I had expected from everything I had read about Mexican vanilla that it would be a bit creamier and heavier than Madagascar. It wasn't. I'm really very unimpressed and would simply call the flavor of these beans good but nothing special, and not as good as Madagascar. I didn't see anything about the rating of these beans when I bought them, but the beans I received were very short and skinny. Cutting into a couple, there were spots that were heavily filled with bean paste, but they were also spots that were rather empty, and that on a very short skinny bean. They were well sealed. I imagine if you took them out of the tube and just left them in the plastic you could get them in the gift box. The gift box has a place for the recipient can put a picture, but it's very basic. I can't think of who I might give this to if I wanted to give something like this away. I would be embarrassed to give it to a good cook or someone who works with vanilla or fragrances. But I'm not sure anyone else would appreciate vanilla beans? A teacher maybe? Maybe it would be a good learning experience to teach kids where vanilla comes from? I'll put these into my freezer for my next batch of extract when I have some leftover beans from other places. It might be interesting to have all three types of beans in one extract to see what it tastes like.

The Villa Vainilla Pure Mexican Vanilla Bean gift set is an average vanilla bean that adds good vanilla flavor to your favorite recipes. The vanilla beans are very short, but have good flavor and not excessively dried out. I tested the vanilla in a panna cotta recipe and the beans worked perfectly to add a pleasant vanilla flavor. While the beans themselves were fine, the packaging was not quite giftable. The small gifting box is pretty, but also very unfinished. It looks and feels like a box you'd pick up in a craft store to paint or stain, and it definitely could use a good sanding as the box feels very rough. The small test tube in which the beans came in was fine, but was unfortunately too large to fit in the wooden gift box, even when all the fluffy material was removed. At the current ~$30 price point, I would sooner purchase a pack of 25 beans, and skip the cheap wooden box and test tube packaging, just to get a larger quantity as well as higher quality beans. Overall, these are decent vanilla beans, but overpriced for the cheap packaging and overall quality of the small beans you receive.

This was packaged in a cardboard box containing the vial of vanilla beans, loose straw, and the "giftbox" stacked on top of each other. I unpackaged and placed the handful of loose straw in the giftbox, then placed the vanilla bean vial in the box, only to find that the vile does not fit inside the giftbox. The giftbox lid will not close with the vial of vanilla beans inside.The giftbox itself is nothing special. It's a very basic, rustic wooden box with cheap hardware, and the vial is just a sealed plastic tube (reminds me of a cigar tube) with a small piece of cloth tied to the top.If the giftbox would actually close with the vial of vanilla bean inside, it would be much more giftable (though be it rustic), but personally I'm disappointed in the overall presentation and I'm not sure I'd be comfortable gifting this.In my opinion, the only reason someone would purchase this over other premium Mexican vanilla beans is for the gift presentation. Unfortunately, because the product does not actually fit inside the included gift box, it makes for a poor presentation.

These are definitely grade AA vanilla beans. They come in a sealed vacuum pack inside a sealed plastic tube. They are soft and pliable. Once split, the seeds inside are fresh and 'gooey' and scrape easily with a knife. On the Amazon page for these beans is a recipe for vanilla ice cream. This is the best vanilla ice cream I have ever made. One bean gave it a vanilla flavor as good as I've ever had, and I eat a lot of ice cream. Copy the recipe, order these beans, and treat yourself.Don't use these beans for making vanilla extract. That's what grade B beans are for. Also, these come in a cheap little wooden box that I think should be ignored. You may find some use for it.Highly recommended. Really.

This review was hampered by the fact that I am not familiar with the Mexican variety of vanilla beans. The gift set aspect is cute, but not impressive. The box is small, has a space for a photo, and room to add a set of measuring spoons to the if you wanted to. The box, sadly was a bit rough looking, I will put some type of finish on the box to park it up. Usually Vodka is my choice to make vanilla extract, but a friend suggested Bourbon and I went in that direction this time and my beans are soaking now. This could be fun for you or a gift item.

The title & description claim the vanilla is organic, however nowhere on the packaging does it say it’s organic nor does it claim any organic certifications. So I’m assuming it’s not. Also, don’t plan to gift the vanilla with the gift box it comes in, because it doesn’t fit inside of it. The box won’t close (see my photos). I won’t be using this because I only consume organic food and am not sure if this is in fact is organic. Pretty disappointed.

The beans themselves are just fine, but the presentation is ridiculous. If you look at the first image on the product page, you can see that the small container of beans does not fit into the box, and indeed it does not. It's just really strange, and enough to cloud your opinion of the entire thing.

These vanilla beans are fresh and flavorful. They impart a wonderful fragrance and flavor to my baking. I love the packaging and quality of this product. The price is so much better than anything available locally in my area.