Quick answer. Saffron is the dried red stigma of the Crocus sativus flower. Each flower produces only three threads, and the threads must be picked by hand at dawn during a short autumn window. It takes roughly 150,000 flowers to make one pound of saffron, which is why it is the world's most expensive spice. Raihan Saffron is hand-imported all-red saffron from Herat, Afghanistan and packed in Lynn, Massachusetts.
Saffron in one sentence
Saffron is the sun-dried, deep-red stigma of Crocus sativus, a small purple autumn crocus, and it is graded by how much of that pure red stigma is in the tin versus pale yellow or orange parts.
Where saffron comes from
Saffron is grown in a narrow agro-climatic band roughly between 30° and 40° latitude. Iran, Afghanistan (especially Herat province), Spain, Kashmir, Morocco, and Greece are the historic producers. Herat is one of the oldest and most consistent growing regions in the world.
How saffron is harvested
The crocus blooms for only about two to three weeks each autumn. Pickers cut the flowers by hand before sunrise. The threads are then gently dried.
What saffron tastes like
Honey, slightly grassy, with hints of dried hay and sweet leather. Faintly bitter on its own, but in a dish it reads as floral, warming, and a little sweet.
Why saffron is so expensive
One flower yields only three stigmas. Every step is manual. A single pound of high-grade saffron represents roughly 40–70 hours of skilled hand labor.
What to look for when you buy
Deep red color, uniform threads, strong honey-hay aroma, no yellow pieces, brand that tells you origin, harvest year, and grade.
Saffron at Raihan
Every tin is all-red, hand-imported from Herat, packed in Lynn, Massachusetts. We list the harvest year on every tin.
