To me, luxury is really about attention.
It's slowing down, letting every sense in on the moment and turning an ordinary evening into something worth savoring. Two of my favorite teachers of that are vanilla and gold: one lives inside the jar, the other only on the packaging.
Why Is Vanilla So Expensive?
Vanilla is the world's second most expensive spice, after saffron, because it takes so much time and handwork. It's the cured pod of an orchid whose flowers open for a single day, and on farms nearly every flower is pollinated by hand. The beans ripen on the vine for about nine months, then cure for months more.
Yes, I'm about to wax poetic about a seed pod.
Vanilla planifolia is one of roughly 28,000 orchid species, and one of the very few that give us something to eat. The vine takes about three years to flower. Away from its native forests in Mexico and Central America it has no natural pollinator, so each blossom has to be pollinated by hand within hours of opening - a technique worked out in 1841 by Edmond Albius, a twelve-year-old enslaved boy on the island of Réunion.
After the long ripening come months of curing, alternating sun and rest, which turn the nearly odorless green pod into the dark, supple, fragrant bean we know. A cured bean carries more than two hundred aromatic compounds. Imitation vanilla is built mostly on just one of them, vanillin.
The Black Flower: A Little History of Vanilla
Long before vanilla became the world's favorite flavor, it was a luxury of kings.
The Totonac people of Mexico's Gulf coast are credited as its first cultivators. When the Aztecs conquered them, they demanded vanilla as tribute, called it tlilxochitl, the black flower, and blended it into their ceremonial cacao drinks. By the time it reached Europe, vanilla carried a double reputation: as a remedy and, of course, as an aphrodisiac.
Its scent is so widely associated with comfort that researchers have studied vanilla aromas in relation to mood and relaxation.
In Élixir d'Extase, vanilla sits alongside damiana, rose and Ceylon cinnamon, softening the honey into a spoonful that feels like arriving somewhere. A little portal made of scent.
Madagascar and the Art of Devotion
Madagascar grows more natural vanilla than anywhere else on earth, most of it in the SAVA region in the island's northeast, where the vines climb shade trees on small, family-run plots. Every vine is tended, every flower pollinated and every bean harvested and cured by hand.
When cyclones strike (as they regularly do), a season's crop can disappear in hours. Add demand that so often outpaces supply, and vanilla becomes one of the most volatile crops in the world, with prices that swing wildly.
So a single bean holds all of it.
About three years to flower.
One day to bloom.
Months on the vine, and months more to cure.
To me, that's what devotion tastes like. It's the kind of ingredient I want in a jar of Céleste: slow, intentional and worth the wait.
Gold as an Ancient Frequency
Now, gold.
The impulse to eat and drink gold is an old one, and it was never purely decorative. Danziger Goldwasser, a clear herbal liqueur flecked with gold leaf, has been made for roughly four centuries and is still poured today. Its gold was believed to carry virtues of its own.
The most elaborate tradition comes from Ayurveda. Swarna bhasma, or gold ash, is a classical preparation in which gold is heated, cooled and ground with herbal juices again and again until it becomes an ultra-fine powder. Ayurveda counts it among its rasayanas, the rejuvenatives meant to nourish ojas: the subtle essence of radiance, resilience and the body's capacity for joy.
Here's the thing, though: you won't find gold in our jar or our tin. There's no gold in Élixir d'Extase or Chocolat de Joie, not a single flake. At Céleste, gold lives only on the packaging, never in the products.
I think of it as a little signal on the outside: this moment matters, and so do you.
An Evening Worth Having
Vanilla brings its hundreds of aromatic compounds and its long history with comfort and desire. Gold brings centuries of tradition and a quiet reminder that this moment is precious. Together, they hold the idea behind everything we make.
To me, wellness was never meant to be a chore or a checklist. It's meant to be savored - slowly, with every sense, like the first spoonful of something you love.
So I'm doing what I can to elevate the vibes, one jar of honey & a tin of chocolates at a time.
If vanilla is what you're drawn to, you'll find it in Élixir d'Extase: raw, unfiltered honey from a regenerative farm in Upstate New York, infused with kanna extract and organic shatavari, damiana, rose, vanilla and Ceylon cinnamon. And if you're more of a chocolate person, Chocolat de Joie, made with Deer Jade, is vegan chocolate with blue lotus, kanna extract and rose petals in single-origin cacao from Manabí, Ecuador.
A gentle note on safety. Both contain kanna, which acts on serotonin, so never combine them with SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs or any other serotonergic medication. Skip them if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, and if you take any prescription medication, ask your doctor first. Chocolat de Joie contains coconut.
So light a candle, take your time and let the evening be yours.
xo, Nana ✨
Frequently Asked Questions
Is vanilla an orchid?
Yes. Vanilla beans are the cured seed pods of Vanilla planifolia, a climbing orchid native to Mexico and Central America, and the best known of the very few orchids grown for food.
What is the difference between real and imitation vanilla?
Real vanilla comes from cured vanilla beans and carries more than two hundred aromatic compounds. Imitation vanilla is built mostly on vanillin, a single compound usually made synthetically, which is why it tastes simpler.
Is vanilla an aphrodisiac?
Vanilla has carried a reputation as an aphrodisiac for centuries, and its scent is widely associated with warmth and comfort. That reputation rests on tradition and pleasure rather than clinical proof, which, to me, is reason enough to savor it.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is for information only and is not medical advice. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.