Madagascar Vanilla

Vanilla planifolia

It’s iconic. It’s sweet. It’s rare. And the aroma speaks for itself. Pure Madagascar Vanilla absolute, prediluted with Fractionated Coconut Oil, is ideal for diffuser blends and various topical applications.

Usage Tips

• Add a drop to your next diffuser blend.
• Include a drop or two in your personal pure-fume.
• Use a drop with your personal care products, like shampoos, conditioners, lotions, or creams.
• Add one drop to a smoothie.

Learn More

Where Does Vanilla Come From?

Vanilla planifolia is a species of orchid, originally native to Mexico and Central America. Though it’s now grown in tropical regions globally, natural pollination can only be done by a specific bee found in Mexico. Outside of Mexico, there’s less than a 1% chance the flower will be pollinated on its own, so farmers must pollinate each flower by hand when it blooms, and the vanilla flower typically only blooms one day a year! It’s fragile and must be pollinated in the morning, during the cooler hours of the day. If it’s not pollinated during this incredibly short period of time, it wilts, meaning the fruit doesn’t develop and no vanilla beans can be harvested later. This beautiful, labor-intensive plant is the most expensive crop after saffron. Because of this, many companies create synthetic vanilla fragrances and flavorings to save both time and money. It’s estimated that most vanilla-flavored products don’t actually contain any vanilla.

Approximately 80% of the real vanilla in the world comes from Madagascar, which has the perfect tropical climate for it to thrive. In Madagascar, thousands of people are employed in our vanilla supply chain. The harvest is a crucial source of employment for rural communities and an integral part of the local economy. Through Co-Impact Sourcing^®, the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation^® helped fund an exciting social impact project called the Mahadera Agricultural Training Center, which is being implemented in the growing and harvesting areas of Madagascar. This center, built and operated by our partners, offers a three-year training for the children of vanilla farmers, afterward providing access to further education opportunities and a more secure future for themselves and their families. The center teaches important skills, such as crop diversification and financial management.

Where Does Madagascar Vanilla Absolute Come From?

To create pure Madagascar Vanilla absolute, the vanilla pods must first go through a CO2-extraction process that involves grinding the beans into small pieces and placing them in a pressurized extraction vessel. CO2 supercritical fluid separates the components of the vanilla beans, which allows the volatile and nonvolatile active compounds to be captured and concentrated. CO2 usually behaves as a gas, so CO2 supercritical fluid is created by holding the CO2 at a temperature and pressure that allows it to behave as a liquid, which makes it an amazing, pure, and all-natural solvent!

In a separator, these chemical compounds are separated from each other, and the CO2 supercritical fluid is converted back into a gas, leaving the vanilla extract clean and free of any solvent residuals. Then, after months of hard work, the last step is using a clean, natural alcohol solvent to remove any residual waxes or other components to create the final product: pure and natural vanilla absolute. This last step also concentrates the natural vanillin, which is what gives vanilla its incredible aroma. CO2 extraction is cleaner than chemical extraction, leaves less residue, and is greener and more sustainable.

What’s the Difference between Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Absolute?

Vanilla absolute isn’t the same as the vanilla extract you might have in your baking supplies. Generally, the vanilla extract you bake with is vanilla bean extractives in an alcohol base. It contains trace levels of minerals and has a thinner consistency than absolute.

How Do I Use Madagascar Vanilla Absolute?

Madagascar Vanilla from doTERRA is a pure absolute, prediluted with Fractionated Coconut Oil for convenient topical application. That said, you can use it more than topically—you’ll be hard-pressed to find a diffuser blend that doesn’t smell even more amazing with a drop of Madagascar Vanilla.

Along with diffuser blends, Madagascar Vanilla is ideal for mixing with personal care products or making a part of topical fragrances. Its distinctly sweet, familiar aroma is beloved like few other scents!

Adding Madagascar Vanilla to a beverage, like your morning tea or smoothie, provides some extra delicious flavor. As it’s an absolute, Madagascar Vanilla is more potent than the vanilla extract you may be used to, so you’ll only need one drop!