ROYAL SAFFRON - Our exceptional Saffron production

The Backstory

In the context of development projects, the idea to develop saffron production  emerged on a national scale in Afghanistan, to offer an alternative to opium, as a high added value crop in rural areas. The country has the perfect terroir and climatic conditions for this in many regions, and traditional a cultural heritage of Saffron produciton.

Being ourselves enamoured with Saffron, and having had experience with its small-scale quality production in the Alps, we imagined the challenge of growing the best possible Saffron locally, with the general philosophy we always work with for all our project: local tradition of cultures and use inform the project, ecologically and socially positive impacts for reconstruction, equipment and knowledge transfer, and prime focus on quality not on reducing costs or maximizing productivity. You can read more about that here: 

We identified mountainous villages through the kinship networks of my partner, where we could work with full trust, and started the project. We selected only previously virgin land and fields. We helped build up the whole chain of cultivation, harvest, drying according to Swiss standards of quality and hygiene, in several villages. 

We monitor our production at all stages: from the villagers who grow the crocus to the people who condition it (still in the villages).  We have established the transfer of know-how and equipment (field work, drying and conditioning) for the production to be swiss standards and quality, and we keep monitoring the consistency in quality.

We differentiate and record each batch, by villages and producers and we track that up to the end clients in case there ever is a problem (there never has been but in case an accident ever happens). As we extend the sales over the years we help other farmers / villages to get the (free) training & setting up help to be able to join the production network, when they are ready and can produce the required quality.

The Saffron

Our Saffron is of exceptional quality, much higher in crocine, picrocrocin, safranal, lanierone & other key components than what is often sold under the super negin (top Iranian grades) or EU class I or other “red thread only” grades.

Iran being the first producer of Saffron worldwide, my Pashto partner takes special pride in the fact that our Saffron is regularly bought by members of the Iranian nobility, to be offered as a distinctive gift back home.

You will find  saffron categorized as red thread / class I / super negin offered for less (and for more). We do not compare, but what we do is provide an uncompromising attention to detail, and a commitment to the excellence of the purity, quality and traceability of the saffron we deliver, which we guarantee. We are confident in saying it is the best quality one can produce.

On of the reasons is that, contrary to many, we don’t try to artificially maintain a degree of humidity to gain weight for sales (or worst, boost it a few percents, a common cheating strategy, which terribly degrades the saffron quality, longevity and fragrance). Our saffron threads are optimally dried in the way which is the best for curing and long term conservation.

Our Saffron is also distinctive is also the lowest possible rate of non aromatic plant material from the base of the threads (< 0.1%) for them to keep their physical integrity, and absolutely no “ash” (the trade term for external parasite non-plant material).

As you know saffron us one of the most adulterated and cheated substances in the world (non exhaustive by far but a rapid overview of cheating techniques here), so our approach based on full traceability from each field and workers who handled the saffron during the drying and conditioning, all the way to our customers is in our eyes extremely important in such an unreliable market.

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As a perfumer, we also enjoy working saffron in different ways.

You can discover the collections dedicated to our different saffron creations and offerings here.

Our cured saffron, very prized traditionally, is available here

Contact us for bulk and wholesale orders.