Tahitian Vanilla Beans Grade A (By Weight) Plump, flexible, heavy with seeds, oily, moist, dark-brown to black, at least 6" long, and fragrant with flowers. A typical Tahitian Grade A vanilla bean pod has between 2.5% and 3.5% vanillin and 30 to 35% moisture. As they get older, they could start to exhibit extraordinary crystal-like characteristics as a result of their high vanillin content. Excellent for cooking, baking, brewing, and extract uses of vanilla.