If you’re here today to learn more about buying vanilla beans or you want to try and figure out how many vanilla beans you need to buy for a bulk order, this article will tell you everything you need to know about how many beans you can expect per pound.

Ordering Vanilla Beans – What can you expect?

If you order vanilla beans online, the exact amount of beans you get for your orders by weight can vary greatly. On average, you can expect to get around 120 beans per pound if the vanilla beans average around 7 inches in length. If the vanilla beans are slightly shorter in length, say 6 inches, then you can expect to receive around 150 beans per pound. Estimates are difficult because length isn't the only factor when it comes to bean counts. Each variety of bean is different and factors such as length, grade, origin, and moisture rating all play important factors. As with all agricultural products that are grown, exact counts cannot be guaranteed as each bean is unique! These are estimates and are not to be taken as exact numbers but give you ballpark numbers. 

At Vanilla Bean Kings, when we take an order by weight, we will always send out the biggest vanilla beans we have. If you are ordering whole vanilla beans, and you plan to order by weight or even buying in bulk, there are a few key things you should know.

Grade A Vanilla Beans Vs. Grade B Vanilla Beans

Grade A vanilla beans are considered to be the premium option. They are usually longer, plumper, oilier, and have fewer perceived imperfections compared with Grade B vanilla beans. They also have a higher percentage of moisture too, and because of this, you could end up getting fewer beans per pound.

On the other hand, Grade B vanilla beans aren't as beautiful and they are not always as long or plump as their Grade A counterparts. This is because these beans have a lower moisture rating so you’ll usually get more on a pound for pound basis compared to the Grade A variety. However, as the extraction grade of vanilla beans, they do have a distinct advantage over Grade A vanilla beans in that the flavor is more easily transferrable in cooking. As such, if you want to make homemade Vanilla bean extract, you may want to opt for Grade B vanilla beans. 

If you want to find out more about the differences between Grade A and Grade B vanilla beans, check out the link for a comprehensive review of both.

Different Types of Vanilla Beans – Which is Best?

If you take a quick look at our online vanilla bean store, you’ll see we stock a huge range of vanilla-based products. However, one of the key distinctions between vanilla beans is where they are grown. The most popular types of vanilla beans come from Madagascar and Indonesia, but there are also vanilla beans from Papua New Guinea, Mexico, and Uganda.

Madagascar vanilla beans are universally known as being the 'best' vanilla beans. When one imagines a vanilla bean, this flavor and heavenly aroma is what you think of. It is the gold standard of vanilla beans!

If you want to find out how Madagascan vanilla beans are different from Tahitian or Mexican vanilla beans, then take a quick look at the linked article. It explains more about the unique qualities of Vanilla from different countries.