About Us

The Hawaiian Vanilla Co. was established in 1998 while sitting around a dinner table with family discussing what we would consider growing on our newly purchased property along the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island.
At the time we had two small children and had a vision of how and where we wanted to raise them. My mother-in-law, who is an orchid enthusiast, mentioned that vanilla might be the crop to cultivate. From that dinner conversation to today this journey has been an adventure beyond my wildest dreams. Being able to work along side of my wife and children and build this company together has been an incredible experience.

We’ve had years of good harvest and years of none. We’ve had years.

Incredible experiences don’t come with out hardship. We are proud to say we were the first commercial growers in the US. But being the first is not always the easiest. Our search to grow the finest quality vanilla in the world has taken me to the birth place of Vanilla, Mexico, into the rain forest of Micronesia, to the impoverish country of Haiti and to the highest technology in Vanilla research at Rutgers University. Our goal is to cultivate the best Vanilla in the world and provide the finest vanilla related product including vanilla coffee, beans & more.

One of the most difficult challenges when we started the company was finding plant material. My mentor Tom Kadooka had a small side business of selling vanilla cuttings from wild vanilla orchids that he found growing wild in the Kau district of the Big Island. We all believe that that original strand of vanilla came to Hawaii byway of some plantation worker that came from Mexico.

There are 120 different varieties of vanillas that grow throughout the world. Only two are commercially produced. Vanilla planifolia Andrews grows in about 95% of all of the growing regions of the world. The other variety grow is Tahitian Vanilla that grows in Tahiti and now Papua New Guinea. Here at HVC we cultivate both. Starting our vineyards from tissue culture and vegetative propagation, all with care & love.

Building a dream takes faith!

Incredible experiences don’t come with out hardship. We are proud to say we were the first commercial growers in the US. But being the first is not always the easiest. Our search to grow the finest quality vanilla in the world has taken me to the birth place of Vanilla, Mexico, into the rain forest of Micronesia, to the impoverish country of Haiti and to the highest technology in Vanilla research at Rutgers University. Our goal is to cultivate the best Vanilla in the world and provide the finest vanilla related product including vanilla coffee, beans & more.