Tonka Bean Tree

The tonka bean tree is a tree that grows up to 30 metres high and is also called tonka tree or sarrapia. Originally, the rich green tree comes from South America. The tree's beans have a vanilla-like flavour that is sweet and reminiscent of caramel and almonds. Even gourmet chefs love the incomparable aroma. Already at the end of the 18th century, the tasty beans found their way to Europe, where they were also partly cultivated in greenhouses. In Venezuela, tonka beans were even considered an official means of payment until the 1940s, and a tonka bean in the wallet is still considered a lucky charm today.