The Saffron Shop
All-red Afghan Super Negin from our family's own fields in the Herat highlands, ISO 3632 Category I on the tested parameters (lab report 004389: crocin 296.5, picrocrocin 114.2, safranal 32.7).
Afghan saffron is picked at dawn in the highlands around Herat, where cold nights and dry days concentrate the compounds that a laboratory can measure. It comes from our family's own fields there. We test each harvest before we take it and hand-pack it into sealed crystal-clear bottles in Lynn, Massachusetts.
Every bottle on this page is Super Negin: the longest, thickest, deepest red threads a harvest produces, with the pale yellow style cut away entirely. You are paying for stigma, not filler. The current lot carries Herat laboratory report 004389, which reads crocin 296.5, picrocrocin 114.2 and safranal 32.7. That is ISO 3632 Category I on every tested parameter, and the full report is published on our lab report page rather than summarised.
A standard pinch is 0.1 g, about 25 threads, and seasons a dish for four. That makes the arithmetic simple: 1 g is about 10 dishes, 3 g about 30, 10 g about 100. Most households settle on the 3 g bottle, which works out at about $1.50 a dish. Cooks who use saffron weekly, and small kitchens, tend to move to the 10 g, where the same dish costs about $0.99.
An opened bottle keeps its aroma for roughly two years if it is stored cool, dark and closed. Buying more than two years of saffron to save a few dollars a gram is a false economy, which is why we would rather sell you the right size than the largest one.
It is not powder, which is the easiest form to adulterate. It is not a blend of grades sold under the best grade's name. And it is not safflower, marigold or dyed corn silk, all of which are sold as saffron somewhere on the internet this morning. If you want to check what you already own before you buy anything, the seven at-home tests take about thirty seconds each.
Herat, Afghanistan · Est. 1996
All-red threads from a single highland lot — hand-bottled by our family in Lynn, Massachusetts, with same-day shipping, Monday to Saturday, on orders placed by 4 PM ET.
Bottles from $20 · Crocin 296.5 · lab certificate · dosage calculator
Our family's own fields in the Herat highlands, picked at dawn while the crocus is still closed.
The full laboratory report is published for every lot: alongside the crocin figure above, picrocrocin 114.2 and safranal 32.7 — tested by the Herat Directorate of Agriculture.
No powder, no blends, no yellow style padding the weight — whole crimson stigmas only, the part that carries color, aroma, and flavor.
Founder Amrudin Qutubzad imports each harvest directly and packs every bottle himself — a bridge from Herat to American kitchens since 1996.
New to it? Start with 1 g · 3 g and up ship free · Restaurants → wholesale & bulk
3 g bottle of all-red Afghan Super Negin saffron threads from our family's own fields in the Herat highlands, lab-tested ISO 3632 Category I on the tested parameters (report 004389). About 30 dishes at 0.1 g each.
1 g bottle of all-red Afghan Super Negin saffron threads from our family's own fields in the Herat highlands, lab-tested ISO 3632 Category I on the tested parameters (report 004389). About 10 dishes at 0.1 g each.
10 g bottle of all-red Afghan Super Negin saffron threads from our family's own fields in the Herat highlands, lab-tested ISO 3632 Category I on the tested parameters (report 004389). About 100 dishes at 0.1 g each.
2 g bottle of all-red Afghan Super Negin saffron threads from our family's own fields in the Herat highlands, lab-tested ISO 3632 Category I on the tested parameters (report 004389). About 20 dishes at 0.1 g each.
5 g bottle of all-red Afghan Super Negin saffron threads from our family's own fields in the Herat highlands, lab-tested ISO 3632 Category I on the tested parameters (report 004389). About 50 dishes at 0.1 g each.
Two bottles, 1 g and 2 g, of all-red Afghan Super Negin saffron threads from our family's own fields in the Herat highlands, lab-tested ISO 3632 Category I on the tested parameters (report 004389). About 30 dishes at 0.1 g each.
A sealed bottle of all-red Afghan Super Negin saffron threads in a gift box with a printed how-to guide, from our family's own fields in the Herat highlands, lab-tested ISO 3632 Category I on the tested parameters (report 004389). 7 g of saffron: about 70 dishes at 0.1 g each.
Raihan Saffron is a premium saffron house. We control our saffron from source to packaging — hand-picked at dawn in Herat, Afghanistan and hand-packed in Lynn, Massachusetts. Every lot is laboratory-graded against ISO 3632 Category I and sold as whole, all-red Super Negin threads — never powder, never dyed.
About 25 threads (0.1 g) seasons a dish for four, whether it is tea, rice, risotto or paella. Bloom them in warm water or milk before adding. Less is more — saffron should warm a dish, not overpower it.
Store sealed in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. Every bottle is dated, so you always know when it was packed.
We ship to restaurants, cafés, tea shops, and specialty grocers across the United States. The 10 g bottle is our most-ordered foodservice size. See our wholesale page for a rate sheet.
Find your bottle
For first-timers
About 250 threads, about 10 dishes. The lowest-risk way to taste the difference.
For weekly cooks
A full season of rice nights, teas, and desserts — the best balance of value and freshness. Ships free.
For gifting
A sealed burgundy-and-gold gift box with a printed how-to-use guide — ready to hand over.
| Bottle | Threads | Makes | Best for | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 g bottle | ~250 | About 10 dishes | First taste | $20 | Shop → |
| 2 g bottle | ~500 | About 20 dishes | Weekly cooking | $35 | Shop → |
| 3 g bottle | ~750 | About 30 dishes | Most popular · ships free | $45 | Shop → |
| 5 g bottle | ~1,250 | About 50 dishes | Households & gifting | $65 | Shop → |
| 10 g bottle | ~2,500 | About 100 dishes | Restaurants & foodservice | $99 | Shop → |
Source to seal
Every bottle in this collection is hand-harvested at dawn in our family's own fields in the Herat highlands of Afghanistan, where the high-desert climate produces the longest, deepest-red Super Negin stigmas in the world. Each lot is laboratory-graded against ISO 3632 Category I, then shipped to our small facility in Lynn, Massachusetts, where it is bottled by hand and sent out the same day, Monday through Saturday.
Start with the 1 g bottle: about 250 threads, about 10 dishes, at the lowest risk.
Buyer questions
Start with the 1 g bottle or the 2 g bottle. The 1 g gives you about 250 threads, about 10 dishes, and is the lowest-risk way to try the brand. The 2 g is what most of our cooks settle into within their first month.
Super Negin is the grade name for long, all-red saffron stigmas with no yellow style attached — the highest visual grade. ISO 3632 Category I is a laboratory standard that measures crocin (color), picrocrocin (bitterness/flavor), and safranal (aroma). Category I is the strongest tier on the scale, and every Raihan lot is tested against it.
Store it sealed, in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. The bottle you receive is dated, so you always know when it was packed.
About 25 threads (0.1 g) seasons a dish for four. Bloom them in warm water or milk before adding. Less is more — saffron should warm a dish, not overpower it.
Yes — the gift bundle ships in a sealed burgundy-and-gold gift box with a printed how-to-use guide, ready to hand over. We can include a gift note at checkout if you'd like.
Orders placed by 4 PM Eastern ship the same day, Monday to Saturday, from Lynn, Massachusetts — Sunday orders ship Monday morning. U.S. shipping is $2.99 and orders over $39 ship free. Canada is $9.60 flat and the United Kingdom is $15.60 flat, delivered in 7–14 business days, with any duties payable on delivery; the free-shipping threshold applies to U.S. orders only.
Yes — we ship to restaurants, cafés, and tea shops across the U.S. The 10 g bottle is our most-ordered foodservice size. Reach out for a wholesale rate sheet.
Email us within 30 days and we'll refund the bottle or send a replacement. Our 30-day money-back guarantee is on every order.
