Fresh Vanilla beans in Toronto/Mississauga?

Hello. Where can I buy fresh vanilla beans in Mississauga or Toronto? And how much are they approximately?

[lilaki]

i'm not sure if this is still a valid question given it's posting date of 2002 but i just bought a bunch of beans from ebay ... the seller is www.vanillaproductsusa.com

i bought 25 madagascar beans - long, pliable, ridiculously aromatic. they came vacuum packed and i've triple wrapped them for added freshness (as per the instructions. i placed my order on a thursday night, and they arrived the next tuesday via USPS. no duties/extra charges. i think i paid $12.99 US for the 25 beans plus $4 shipping. the seller also threw in 10 tahitian beans (grade b) for free. i was VERY impressed and will definitely use them again.

[jayt90]

I used an eBay bean dealer in the S.W. U.S. and had similar results two years ago. I got Bourbon beans from Mexico, and they were good, well worth the .50 cent price.
Small parcels via USPS come through the border easily, unlike UPS which I avoid.

[red dragon]

Did you say no duty or other charges? Were you billed in US funds? I rarely bu online from U.S. sites as I'm afraid of all the additional charges incurred.

[jayt90]

There is no duty on foods. I always specify USPS rather than a courier who will add brokerage and possibly GST soon to be HST.
The USPS parcels seem to come right through Canada Post who complete the delivery.
There are many sellers on eBay, usually Mexican beans, not quite as good as Costco's Madagascar, which is still worth looking for.

[red dragon]

Hi jayt90, thanks for the info. I found the beans at Costco today, just made some double vanilla cupcakes and came out fantastic! I also have the pure bourbon madagascar vanilla extract from Costco!

[vivo]

Hi red dragon, which Costco was it? Thank you!

[red dragon]

Hi Vivo - I went to the Costco at Markham Road and 14th, but I think I've seen them at other locations, just wasn't looking for them.

[faijay]

I get them at my Costco on Billy Bishop Road at Wilson and Bathurst. I also get Fleur de Sel for around $7

[lilaki]

just confirming jay's post ... no duties/extra charges, shipped by USPS.

[red dragon]

Thanks

[jeannieh20]

a local source is

http://www.vanillafoodcompany.ca/

they have both madagascar and tahitian beans... you can buy a few or in bulk for a great price. and they're from toronto!

you can get 10 pods for about $11, that's a little over $1 per pre tax and shipping. shipping is a flat $7 charge.

[Kagemusha]

Beans are a deal but who needs that many--door-to-door sales? Extracts are over-priced relative to Costco.

[red dragon]

I agree, thanks jeannieh20, but I got pretty good quality beans at Costco, 10 for about $11 something, no shipping, they were sticky and fresh.

[jeannieh20]

with that many beans you can make your own extract! :P

i bought a 1/4 lb last time, made vanilla sugar, vanilla extract for x-mas and only had a few left over. but they hold well as long as they're in an air tight container and in a cool dark place.

and since i don't have a costco card, i'd rather pay the $7 shipping over the $50 annual membership for costco.

[Kagemusha]

They sell more than vanilla beans at Costco 8^)

[jeannieh20]

our family consists of my husband and myself, we live in the city so we don't have the need to buy in bulk often enough to justify a $50 annual membership :P plus the cost of gas to get to one.

if you already have a costco card that's awesome you can get the vanilla beans from them for a fair price.

but i also prefer supporting small local businesses rather than big box american companies if i don't have to.

[Manybears]

Fiesta Foods on Christie has Madagascar beans in a tube (mine were fresh) but a real pinch at $6.99 for just two (it was an emergency).

[eco987]

I get mine at costco. They are nice and sticky. 10 beans for I think $11.

[jayt90]

Which one? My local (Ajax) dropped them, but I did get a card.

[eco987]

warden and ellesmere as well as the one on woodbine near hwy 7

[red dragon]

Is this a Costco in the GTA area? I've never seen them there, only the pure vanilla extract.

[youdonut]

you could try this chow post for info

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/331026

[iamafoodie]

Michael-Angelo's in Mississauga has good vanilla beans in the spice section at 2/$4.99, i think. I don't find that too expensive considering the cost of the drive and parking in TO.

[thebigragu007]

You can get them at John Vince, and they are $3.99 for 2 beans, I guess that is the price of inflation.

[jayt90]

Big Carrot had them at $.99 each last year.

I buy mine at Casa Acoreana at 235 Augusta Ave. in Kensington Market. Usually, they have them available in bulk - but yesterday, they only had them in pairs in glass tubes. They were however, soft, which is not always the case at Loblaws. I think All the Best Foods of five Thieves fame, has them, but they are more expensive there. Two beans were $4.50 at Casa Acoreana. They also have a large selection of bulk items (beans, peas, rice etc. )and I think their coffee is quite good too.

you can get them at john vince foods on supertest road off of dufferin north of the 401 south of sheppard. they are about $2.99 for 2 beans.

Loblaws sells them. Don't remember the price.