The most important event for a farmer... Talking to an Expert Buyer

Today was most interesting. I was hosting a visit from some Italians interested in vanilla, organised by the inestimable Giuseppe Verdacchi.

One of the greatest joys of life is learning something new, which sadly gets rarer as we get older. I have also noticed that all the self proclaimed experts rarely know what they are talking about.

But I showed them our gardens and vanilla with my usual enthusiasm, I love it.

I quickly warmed to Gianluca, who was clearly thrilled by the vanilla, and then he started to talk. Rapidly, I realised that I was sitting at the feet of a Master. I noticed the attention of the other Italians. Giuseppe, who runs Primo Chocolate and is a recognised chocolate expert. Nicola and Maurizio Bombini who, I belatedly realised, are two of Bali's top chefs.

Gianluca explained that he had been in love with vanilla for many years, and worked with the biggest French importers in a mutual laboratory, looking at different ways to use vanilla and to recognise different qualities. He imports from four countries, Madagascar, Mexico, Tahiti and India. He promised to introduce me to the French importers, to the MD.

He had listened without comment to how we processed the vanilla, and examined the vanilla from the various stages.

Now, one of the great problems for farmers the world over is they are blocked from talking to the end user by agents. And when they do find an end user, they don't know much about your produce. One of the goals of Royal Spice Gardens is to speak to end users and relay to the farmers what we need to do to produce exactly what they want. Farmers here think that they should be producing vanilla with a 1.8% vanillin content, and laugh when I say buyers would actually prefer 5%.

Gianluca is everything that we need and more.

He started opening the vanilla, and making me taste different aspects of it. The vanilla from different stages of processing. Do you know, the vanilla that is half cured is far more delicious? I didn't.

We process vanilla through four stages. Kill it by placing in hot water, 60C, for 6 minutes. Wrap it in dark cloth for a week to ferment. Dehydrate in the sun, 2 hours a day, for a week or two until down to 30%. Pack in the dark but aerated for 3 months to mature.

No. That's not what Gianluca wants.

We are to put it in boiling water, turn off the heat and cover for two minutes. Then into wooden boxes and sun dried for four or five days, before placing in a dark aerated room at 30C for maybe a week until it gets to the condition he wants, which must be at least 40% moisture. Then vacuum packed in plastic and refrigerated till shipped.

This will create a premium vanilla, with a new taste that the gourmet buyers want and will pay a premium price. Ginaluca loves our vanilla. Says it has a slightly different and wonderful taste, already of very high quality, yet this is our early vanilla before we are producing top quality.

Wow. Everything we wanted from talking to an end user.

Of course, not all the beans will be suitable for this. Only the best.

We are going to test and perfect the method, and send to him in Italy.

For our investors, this means faster and greater returns. It is wonderful news.

We then moved to a local restaurant, having stayed talking long after the babi guling would be sold out, so a different location. Here I was able to watch Gianluca explain to Giuseppe new ways to produce chocolate, that would produce finer and better chocolate. Described how to make the perfect risotto, and a different way to cook rice, ensuring even moisture. The man is a mine of wonderful food knowledge, happy to share his expertise. This is the man who invented a new way of making tarts, and his book sold only in Italy has had 14 reprints in less than ten years, can be found all over the world and everyone is now copying his way of making tarts.

An amazing experience today.