Primespice Cobra Vanilla Beans Gourmet, 1-Pound (4x4oz/mica Box)

They are gourmet with nice vanilla oils still intact. I didn't realize until I got these that there are naturally occurring oils in vanilla beans. I called the distributor because I was unsure what the moisture was from...added alcohol or oil? They assured me it was the naturally occurring oils. At the same time that I bought these ones, I also bought grade B beans from Madagascar from a different company. Those beans are dry and I find myself not using them in my smoothies compared to the nice gourmet rich cobra beans.The way I can compare a gourmet grade A bean to a grade B dry bean is to compare a perfectly dehydrated juicy black mission fig that is soft enough to thoroughly chew but dry enough to store in a mason jar for a year VERSUS the same kind of fig that was kept too long in the dehydrator and it turned into a hard lump and the only way to eat it is to rehydrate it...the flavor and deliciousness is gone. Don't get me wrong...I can still put a grade B bean in the vitamix and blend with a smoothie and it will still taste like vanilla, but the beans lack the oils that the gourmet has.These beans I got were a mix from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, and the only reason I gave it 4 and not 5 stars is because, although the vanilla taste is excellent, the flavor is not my favorite as a connoisseur. Will I buy them again? Definitely when the price is reasonable. I got them at an unheard of price on amazon and later I found out that the price fluctuates.The other nice thing about this package is that the beans are divided into 4 ounce vacuum sealed packages, in case you want to share some with others. Truly a delight.

I now have more vanilla beans than I know what to do with for the price I'd pay locally for maybe 4-6 of them. These are all very nice, though I'm not a super high-end gourmand so if you are you might have specific needs that I'm unaware of like only getting a specific variety or brand. For this price, though, I now have 112 long, lovely vanilla beans. It's nice that they are in 4 separate vacuum packs, though it would make a bit more sense to have them packed in 8 different packs because it's the rare consumer that needs so many beans at once. They keep nicely though if you wrap them in wax paper then put them in ziplock and keep them somewhere dry and dark like your pantry. They are so cheap that I don't feel bad about using a bunch of them for air fresheners, even. I put a couple in my white sugar and I've been enjoying vanilla sugar in all sorts of things. Anyway, if you're looking for a great deal on a ridiculous number of vanilla beans, don't be afraid you're getting something sub-par for this price because they're better than any I've bought in those little glass tubes.-Edit Dec 2010-These are now double what I paid for them. They are still a good deal at that price, but not nearly the steal that they were at thirty bucks. I don't know if they fluctuate in price based on some sort of seasonal harvest or availability, but buyers should be aware that the price can go up or down dramatically.