NAMPA, Idaho — A Nampa-based vanilla importer joined a broader push against tariffs on products grown almost entirely overseas.
Ted Jones, owner of Jones & Co Vanillas, said vanilla is one of the crops that cannot be commercially grown at scale in the United States. This limitation is why tariffs created a problem for importers.
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"What happens when tariffs get put on products that cannot be grown here, we can't do it, or we don't have the capacity to do it. All it's gonna do is add cost to the product," Jones said.
Jones said he called Idaho’s congressional delegation and believes he was one of many importers making that argument.
"I think collectively there were enough people like me," Jones said.
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Before vanilla makes it into coffee, ice cream, baked goods, or beer, it starts as an orchid.
"It flowers one day a year for about 4 to 6 hours; it must be hand-pollinated. It grows a vanilla bean in about 9 months," Jones said.
That work shows up on store shelves, where Nampa Neighborhood Reporter Keith Burrell found two vanilla beans selling for about $10.
Jones said the beans come from farmers in remote areas and islands around the world.
"I decided that I really wanted to focus on small farmers in remote areas that could not make a market for their vanilla beans," Jones said.
That global supply chain eventually reaches businesses like Mother Earth Brewing in Nampa. The brewery's flagship brand, Cali Creamin’, uses vanilla throughout the year, requiring about 16 55-gallon drums, or 880 gallons of vanilla extract annually.
Inside Jones & Co., the cured beans are ground down before extraction. Jones said this step helps turn the whole vanilla bean into the finished flavor used by customers like Mother Earth Brewing.
"There's a very noticeable difference in the depth of flavor that you get out of natural vanilla," said Chris Baker, director of brewing operations at Mother Earth Brewing.
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