Tonka bean oil Tonka bean oil Tonka bean oil is extracted from the seed of "Dipteryx odorata". The oil is composed primarily of coumarin, which is used to flavor tobacco. It is neither a pressed oil, nor an essential oil, but was traditionally obtained by soaking the large, single tonka bean seed in rum or other alcohol for 24 hours, after which crystals of coumarin appear on the outside of the seed, and are then collected. The seeds contain up to 46% oil by dry weight. In recent years, most commercially produced coumarin are synthetic, which has reduced the demand for tonka beans
The Spice Trail seeks to maintain the high quality of saffron and to protect it from fraud and impurities which would devalue the genuine product. In the second half of the program we discover that Vanilla is a Mexican spice. The Pollination is performed by the Melipona bee that is native to Mexico and we find that it was not possible to grow vanilla elsewhere in the world until a slave boy discovered how to self-pollinate the plants. Once artificial pollination was discovered the price collapsed and the vanilla trade in Mexico is now greatly reduced compared to what it used to be.