A restaurant does not buy saffron the way a household does. It buys it by the month, it needs the same lot every time so the paella tastes the same in March as it did in January, and it needs the cost per plate to be a number the chef can defend. This guide is the arithmetic, and at the bottom of it is a cart link rather than a contact form.
The lot in every bottle
Our current lot carries Herat government laboratory report 004389: crocin 296.5, picrocrocin 114.2, safranal 32.7, artificial colorants absent. ISO 3632 Category I on every tested parameter. We test each harvest before we buy it, so a lot that fails is a lot we never own.
Read the full reportWhat a plate costs
Saffron is expensive by the gram and cheap by the plate. At a bloomed 0.1 g pinch for a rice dish that serves four, a 10 g bottle at $99 covers a hundred batches and puts about twenty-five cents of saffron on each plate.
| Dish | Saffron | Threads | Per plate at the 10 g price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice, pilaf, biryani | 0.1 g per batch for four | about 25 threads | $0.25 |
| Paella | 0.25 g per pan for four | about 60 threads | $0.62 |
| Risotto, stews, sauces | 0.15 g per batch for four | about 40 threads | $0.37 |
| Desserts and custards | 0.1 g per batch of eight | about 25 threads | $0.12 |
Per-plate figures use the 10 g bottle at $9.90 a gram. The 20 g and 50 g sizes bring a paella plate to about $0.59 and $0.56. These are the amounts we use ourselves; a bloomed pinch carries further than a dry one, which is why menus that sprinkle saffron into the pan use twice as much for half the color.
The bulk ladder
Six sizes, one lot, all-red Super Negin throughout. The larger the size, the lower the price per gram: from $13.00 at 5 g to $6.00 at a kilogram.
| Size | Price | Per gram | Dishes at a pinch | Suits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 g bottle | $65 | $13.00 | about 50 | Trials, tea programs, small kitchens | Add to cart |
| 10 g bottle | $99 | $9.90 | about 100 | Restaurant lines, busy tea houses | Add to cart |
| 20 g bottle | $189 | $9.45 | about 200 | Paella and biryani programs | Add to cart |
| 50 g pack | $449 | $8.98 | about 500 | Multi-outlet kitchens, bakeries | Add to cart |
| 100 g pack | $799 | $7.99 | about 1,000 | Catering, commissaries | Add to cart |
| 1 kg pack | $5,999 | $6.00 | about 10,000 | Manufacturers, distributors | Add to cart |
A standard pinch is about 0.1 g and seasons a dish for four. Every size is the same lot, the same all-red Super Negin grade and the same sealed acrylic bottle; only the per-gram price changes. Free US shipping over $39, which every size here clears. Thirty-day money-back guarantee on all of them.
Size the order and buy it
Bulk calculator
Size the order, then buy it
Enter what you serve in a normal week. The calculator returns grams a month, the cheapest combination of bottles and the cost per plate, then puts the order in your cart.
The grams-per-batch figure is editable. The defaults are the amounts we use in our own kitchen in Lynn: a 0.1 g pinch for a rice dish that serves four, a quarter gram for a pan of paella, about four threads for a cup of tea. Saffron is bloomed, not sprinkled, so a little goes further than most menus assume.
The terms, in one place
Questions chefs ask
How much saffron does a paella program go through?
A standard paella for four uses about 0.2 to 0.3 g. Thirty paellas a week is roughly six to nine grams a week, 25 to 40 g a month; the 20 g and 50 g sizes are built for that.
Is bulk saffron a different grade?
No. The 1 kg pack is the same all-red Super Negin, from the same lot, as the 1 g bottle. Only the per-gram price changes.
Do you offer payment terms?
Orders are paid at checkout or by invoice before shipping. Established accounts are welcome to ask about terms after their second order.
Can we get a specification sheet?
Yes. Email raihansaffronco@gmail.com and we send the current-crop specification with the lab report.
24 Bassett Street, Lynn, Massachusetts · Monday to Saturday
Restaurant guide with the kitchen method and storage notes: Saffron for restaurants. Tea houses and cafés: Saffron for tea shops.
