The flavor extracted from vanilla bean pods can have the nuance of wine or coffee, says Wears Market Vanilla co-founder Ty Wears. Like other terroir-influenced items, location matters for vanilla, which is the fruit of orchids.
“Depending on where (the orchids) grow, they have different flavor profiles,” Ty says. “Everybody knows the flavor of vanilla, but it turns out that vanilla has over 300 flavor compounds.”
Ty and his wife Cate Wears began their obsession with vanilla about three years ago. Cate picked up a Food Network Magazine that explained how to make vanilla extract at home. Intrigued, Ty ordered vanilla beans to give it a shot, and soon the pair began exploring how to make vanilla more than a hobby.
After doing a quick search, Ty didn’t find other local makers.
“I was like, well that’s a niche, I wonder if we can make that work?” he recalls.
Vanilla is an essential baking ingredient and one that is in high demand during the holiday season to enhance the flavor of treats ranging from hot chocolate to sugar cookies. Wears Market Vanilla is sold online and at the Uptown Farmers Market. In addition to supplying home bakers, the duo also sells to bakeries and pastry chefs around the Valley.
One of those bakers is Art Rowland of The Art of Shortbread. The Scottsdale baker tries to work with as many locally produced items as possible and he met Ty and Cate at a Scottsdale farmers market.
“I was tickled pink about the opportunity to find somebody that was doing it (locally),” Rowland says.
Wanting to test the product, he did a blind taste test of shortbread with different vanilla extracts. Wears Market Vanilla won out, he says, because there was a palpable taste of vanilla but it didn’t outshine the cookie's other flavors.
“We want to add some bold flavors but also some consistency and some undertones, and that’s really what it enhanced,” Rowland says. “It provided a nice base for our classic original (shortbread).”
“If you bit into a vanilla bean, it tastes like dirt,” Ty says. “You have to have something that draws out the flavors of the vanilla bean, and it takes time.”
That patient process draws out the myriad flavors, Cate says.
“You get the buttery and the creamy, the flowery and the fruity, from all of the different vanilla beans, which makes it extra special for us,” she says.
Ty offers a quick primer on the beans they use. Madagascar beans create an “all-around” extract that can be used in baking or cooking. The duo makes this extract with either vodka or coconut rum.
Sri Lankan beans produce an extract that has darker, earthier notes of molasses and brown sugar, making it Cate’s favorite to bake with. Tahitian beans, meanwhile, are more delicate and fruity, Ty says, ideal for cocktails or smoothies.
“Personal preference is always a factor,” he notes.
After the duo decant and bottle the extract, they separate the beans and seeds to craft their other products. Extract and seeds are used to make their vanilla paste, which offers a stronger flavor that is ideal for making ice cream or frosting for a cake.
The remaining bean pods are dried and milled, and that powder is used in their vanilla sugar. Ty has used it to roll snickerdoodles – a treat they have handed out at recent farmers markets. He’s found other uses for the enhanced sugar, too.
“I can’t have my coffee without vanilla sugar, and it's amazing on buttered popcorn,” he says.
To produce all of these products, Ty and Cate quickly realized they would need a commercial kitchen space. While looking for a spot, the couple stumbled into a second food business.
“We ended up purchasing a shared commercial kitchen,” Ty says.
The pair own Phoenix Commercial Kitchen in Ahwatukee, where “not only are we food entrepreneurs but we help food entrepreneurs grow their business,” Ty says.
It’s a community that they’ve loved becoming part of, Ty says, noting, "there’s so much creativity and passion.”
5757 N. Central Ave.
“Depending on where (the orchids) grow, they have different flavor profiles,” Ty says. “Everybody knows the flavor of vanilla, but it turns out that vanilla has over 300 flavor compounds.”
Ty and his wife Cate Wears began their obsession with vanilla about three years ago. Cate picked up a Food Network Magazine that explained how to make vanilla extract at home. Intrigued, Ty ordered vanilla beans to give it a shot, and soon the pair began exploring how to make vanilla more than a hobby.
After doing a quick search, Ty didn’t find other local makers.
“I was like, well that’s a niche, I wonder if we can make that work?” he recalls.
Valley bakers and chefs, including Art Rowland, use Wears Market Vanilla. Rowland did a blind taste test to select the vanilla extract to use in The Art of Shortbread's cookies.
Sara Crocker
A baking essential and flavor enhancer
The couple officially launched Wears Market Vanilla in 2022. Their products include four kinds of vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste and vanilla sugar.Vanilla is an essential baking ingredient and one that is in high demand during the holiday season to enhance the flavor of treats ranging from hot chocolate to sugar cookies. Wears Market Vanilla is sold online and at the Uptown Farmers Market. In addition to supplying home bakers, the duo also sells to bakeries and pastry chefs around the Valley.
One of those bakers is Art Rowland of The Art of Shortbread. The Scottsdale baker tries to work with as many locally produced items as possible and he met Ty and Cate at a Scottsdale farmers market.
“I was tickled pink about the opportunity to find somebody that was doing it (locally),” Rowland says.
Wanting to test the product, he did a blind taste test of shortbread with different vanilla extracts. Wears Market Vanilla won out, he says, because there was a palpable taste of vanilla but it didn’t outshine the cookie's other flavors.
“We want to add some bold flavors but also some consistency and some undertones, and that’s really what it enhanced,” Rowland says. “It provided a nice base for our classic original (shortbread).”
Cate Wears bottles vanilla extract. She and husband Ty Wears age their vanilla beans in vodka or coconut rum for a year.
Itzia Crespo
Vanilla making: ‘It takes time’
The couple follows the traditional process for making vanilla extract. They soak varieties of Madagascar, Tahitian and Sri Lankan vanilla beans in either vodka or coconut rum for a year.
“If you bit into a vanilla bean, it tastes like dirt,” Ty says. “You have to have something that draws out the flavors of the vanilla bean, and it takes time.”
That patient process draws out the myriad flavors, Cate says.
“You get the buttery and the creamy, the flowery and the fruity, from all of the different vanilla beans, which makes it extra special for us,” she says.
Ty offers a quick primer on the beans they use. Madagascar beans create an “all-around” extract that can be used in baking or cooking. The duo makes this extract with either vodka or coconut rum.
“Coconut rum does have very similar flavors and compounds as vanilla," Ty says. “It’s kind of like a boost on top of a boost."
Sri Lankan beans produce an extract that has darker, earthier notes of molasses and brown sugar, making it Cate’s favorite to bake with. Tahitian beans, meanwhile, are more delicate and fruity, Ty says, ideal for cocktails or smoothies.
“Personal preference is always a factor,” he notes.
After the duo decant and bottle the extract, they separate the beans and seeds to craft their other products. Extract and seeds are used to make their vanilla paste, which offers a stronger flavor that is ideal for making ice cream or frosting for a cake.
The remaining bean pods are dried and milled, and that powder is used in their vanilla sugar. Ty has used it to roll snickerdoodles – a treat they have handed out at recent farmers markets. He’s found other uses for the enhanced sugar, too.
“I can’t have my coffee without vanilla sugar, and it's amazing on buttered popcorn,” he says.
To produce all of these products, Ty and Cate quickly realized they would need a commercial kitchen space. While looking for a spot, the couple stumbled into a second food business.
“We ended up purchasing a shared commercial kitchen,” Ty says.
The pair own Phoenix Commercial Kitchen in Ahwatukee, where “not only are we food entrepreneurs but we help food entrepreneurs grow their business,” Ty says.
It’s a community that they’ve loved becoming part of, Ty says, noting, "there’s so much creativity and passion.”
Wears Market Vanilla
Available online and at Uptown Farmers Market5757 N. Central Ave.
