Madagascar
Creamy · Rich · Classic
Warm, familiar vanilla with a rounded bakery profile.
Make your own extract
Four steps. Eight weeks. A bottle worth waiting for.
Choose your origin, choose your batch size, and start with Grade B beans selected for extraction.
Single-origin beansGrade B friendly35%+ ABV guidance
Single originFlavor starts at source
Grade BBuilt for steeping
35%+ ABVUse a suitable spirit
Exact sizingBatch-by-batch guidance
01 / Choose your origin
All three work. They do not taste the same.
The spirit is only half the recipe. Your origin decides where the finished extract leans.
Uganda
Bold · Cocoa · Dark
A deeper profile that holds its own beside chocolate, coffee and caramel.
Tahitian
Floral · Fruity · Aromatic
Perfumed and expressive with a softer, fruit-forward finish.
02 / Size the batch
Find your bottle. Read across.
Based on the single-fold standard of 13.35 oz of beans per gallon. Pod counts assume roughly 3.6 g per Grade B bean and are practical estimates.
| Vessel | 1× Single Fold | 2× Double Fold | 3× Triple Fold |
|---|---|---|---|
| ½ cup · 4 fl oz | 0.4 oz · ~4 pods | 0.8 oz · ~7 pods | 1.3 oz · ~10 pods |
| 1 cup · 8 fl oz | 0.8 oz · ~7 pods | 1.7 oz · ~13 pods | 2.5 oz · ~20 pods |
| 1 pint · 16 fl oz | 1.7 oz · ~13 pods | 3.3 oz · ~26 pods | 5.0 oz · ~39 pods |
| 750 ml · 25.4 fl oz | 2.6 oz · ~21 pods | 5.3 oz · ~42 pods | 7.9 oz · ~63 pods |
| 1 litre · 33.8 fl oz | 3.5 oz · ~28 pods | 7.1 oz · ~56 pods | 10.6 oz · ~83 pods |
| 1.75 L · 59.2 fl oz | 6.2 oz · ~49 pods | 12.3 oz · ~97 pods | 18.5 oz · ~146 pods |
| 1 gallon · 128 fl oz | 13.4 oz · ~105 pods | 26.7 oz · ~210 pods | 40.0 oz · ~315 pods |
Starting small? Start with five beans.A 5-bean pack gives you an easy entry point for a small test batch, with a little room for natural bean-to-bean weight variation.
Shop 5-bean packs →
03 / The method
Four steps. The rest is patience.
Simple enough for a first jar. Precise enough to repeat when you find the origin and strength you love.
Split
Lay each pod flat and run a paring knife down its length. Leave the seeds in the jar.
Submerge
Cover the beans completely with a suitable spirit at 35% ABV or higher. Keep every pod below the liquid line.
Seal
Close airtight and store in a dark cupboard. Light and excess warmth work against a clean, controlled steep.
Wait
Eight weeks is a practical minimum. Give it longer for a rounder result, shaking whenever you remember.
04 / Avoid the common mistakes
Small details make a better jar.
Keep pods below the liquid line.
Exposed beans are more vulnerable to spoilage. Top up the spirit or use a smaller vessel.
Stay at 35% ABV or higher.
Too little alcohol is not appropriate for a standard vanilla-extract preparation.
Two weeks is too early.
Young extract can taste thin and boozy. Give the extraction time to develop.
Store it in the dark.
A cupboard and a tightly sealed bottle are better than a warm, sunny shelf.
You can top it up.
Draw off what you need, add spirit, and keep the beans working as the jar matures.
Spent pods still have value.
Rinse, dry and bury them in sugar to build a fragrant vanilla sugar.
05 / Start the jar
Choose the bean. Make it yours.
Begin with an origin you already enjoy, or make two small jars side by side and compare them over time.
Your first jar starts here
The recipe is simple. The flavor is yours.
Pick an origin, size the batch, and give good vanilla the time it deserves.