Originating in south-eastern Mexico, vanilla beans were so highly prized among the native Aztec Empire that they were even used as a form of currency, worth their weight in gold. Declared as food of the Gods, vanilla was used to enhance the flavour of the chocolate beverage xocolatl, a sugar-free, intensely bitter, spicy drink; thought to combat fatigue.

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Various Legends about vanilla's origins have been passed down from the Totonac people.

One version is that there was a beautiful princess named Tzacopontiziza (meaning 'Morning Star') who was destined to a life of chastity and subservience to the fertility Goddess, Tonacayohua. However, a young prince by the name of Zcotan-oxga (meaning 'Young Deer') decided he wanted her for his bride and kidnapped her, but, before they could be married, the pair were discovered and slain by the Priests for their treachery.

In the place where their blood seeped into the earth,  a small tree grew up and around it grew a beautiful climbing orchid vine. In the early hours, when the morning star was still high in the sky, beautiful flowers would bloom, followed nine months later by a heavily (and heavenly) scented fruit. The vanilla vine was declared a sacred plant devoted to the cult of love and was raised in holy offering to the Totonac Gods.

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Introduced to Spanish by Montezuma II, ruler of the Aztech Empire (1502-1520), vanilla was brought to Europe and became extremely fashionable among the wealthy. Queen Elizabeth I is said to have been introduced to vanilla by her apothecary, Hugh Morgan, and from then on insisted that every pudding contained vanilla.