Vanilla Bean Kings — Local services in Hartford Township

Weigh your vanilla beans when you take them out of the package. Check the dates. Make sure you're getting what you pay for. My vanilla bean orders from Vanilla Bean Kings- some part of the co-op sale and a couple other varieties: 4 oz Grade A Madagascar 2 oz Grade A Madagascar 2 oz Grade A Comoros 2 oz Grade A Comoros (picture included is beans all from the same 2 oz package of "Grade A" beans- notice the difference. The smaller ones look plumper in the picture than they were- they were actually dry and stiff.) 1 oz Grade A Tahitian (from Indonesia) 1 oz Grade A Mexican First issue- Mexican beans had a Best By date of January 2024. I just received them this Dec. 2023 so I emailed and asked about the date since I wasn't happy to receive nearly expired beans. I was told that this was a misprint and that "most people use them right away anyway." I was unhappy with that answer since I should be able to use them when I choose but decided to accept it. Later, I began opening my packages of beans and weighing them out to split them into 1 ounce bundles for different uses I had planned. Both packages of Madagascar beans, a 4 oz pack and a 2 oz pack, were short 0.25 ounce. They only weighed the correct weight when I included the plastic bag they came in. So I am at that point a 1/2 oz short of beans. The 1 oz package of Mexican beans were okay, except for that Best By date, which I am now questioning more. The Tahitian Indonesian beans were okay. And one of the 2 oz packs of Comoros beans were okay. I was saving one of them for later and hadn't weighed yet. I emailed VBK back and told them about the shortage and asked them to correct it. They first blamed my scale- even though several of the packages weighed correctly. In the end, they ended up sending the missing beans- they sent 10 supposedly Grade A Madagascar beans. But the beans they sent me were 1 1/2 inches shorter than the first order. They couldn't possibly be the same quality. I almost ignored it until I opened my final 2 oz pack of Grade A Comoros beans. They were also 0.25 oz short AND half the beans were plump and perfect, and the other half were so small, skinny, dried out, that I took a picture and emailed it to them. I said I am not asking for anymore replacement beans, but this is an fyi for a training opportunity because surely it wasn't their business practice to short people on beans or send such varying quality in one order. They didn't respond to ME in my email, but they accidentally replied to me saying to "find her and ban her from the group." That means the Facebook group called Baking & Extract Making with Vanilla Bean Kings. I had referred to other people I saw in the group who had posted about being shorted on their orders, so this must be the fate of anyone who complains to or about them. I also saw someone post in the group that they had a concern with their order and emailed, and Taylor commented on their post snipping back something along the lines of they don't spend the weekend on email. Honestly, there did seem to be a lot of happy customers on the fb group, but if anyone does have an issue, they are treated poorly. As I said, I sent pictures of my concerns to them so they know they are legitimate. I think this company is taking advantage of the people who don't ask questions and vanilla beans aren't cheap. The main issues were with the vanilla beans that were in the co-op sale orders- so think about it: if a company were to short everyone who orders from a co-op 0.25 ounces, that will add up in the company's favor and that company can keep charging people for vanilla beans that others have already paid for and did not receive. I'm okay being banned. I won't be ordering anything from this company anymore. I could understand occasional accidental shortages- but consistently 0.25 ounce on the co-op sale beans? No. There's also inconsistent quality for supposed grade A beans. And read the fine print on their Tahitian beans- VBK "Tahitian" beans aren't from Tahiti- they're...

I’ve ordered from Vanilla Bean Kings multiple times now, and every single order has arrived right on time, perfectly packaged, and with beans that are nothing short of spectacular. I always go with the Grade A Organic Madagascar vanilla beans for making homemade vanilla extract, and they’ve never let me down — plump, fragrant, fresh, and full of rich vanilla caviar.

What really sets this company apart is not just the quality of the beans (which is truly top-tier), but the consistency. Every batch is just as good as the last, and that kind of reliability is hard to come by. I’ve tried other brands in the past, but nothing compares.

Vanilla Bean Kings also has an incredible selection — not just Madagascar, but also Mexican, Tahitian, Ugandan, Hawaiian, Sri Lankan, Ecuadorian, Papua New Guinea, Pompona Madagascar, and more. Whether you’re a home baker, an extract maker like me, or just a vanilla enthusiast, they’ve got exactly what you’re looking for.

Highly, highly recommend. They really are the best in...

I was very disappointed with the order I received. Even though the website clearly states that Grade B beans are good for making extract, the beans I received were so shriveled that they were very hard to split. Some were also so dry that they disintegrated when I tried to cut them. They were so thin and shriveled that 50 beans weighed barely 2.5 oz. To put the 1 ounce of beans in a bottle that they recommend, I would have had to jam 20 beans in the bottle because they were so thin and brittle, they weighed nothing. That seems excessive. I was mostly disappointed with the customer service. When I contacted them it was basically too bad. When I voiced my disappointment with my order they stopped replying. I work in retail and that's not how we get repeat customers. I've already replaced another order with another company. I would use caution when ordering from...