Known to be the queen of spice, saffron threads are the stigmas of the flower called Crocus Sativus or saffron crocus. Saffron is both a culinary herb and a powerful medicine, cultivated and harvested by hand. 

We source our saffron from our partner farms in the Herat province of Afghanistan. The family grows and harvests the saffron crocus with a lot of care, to ensure premium quality saffron stigmas. 

You can recognize the quality of saffron threads by using your own senses. Moonflowers offers the super negin saffron – which is a long stemmed, deep red, and strongly flavored saffron.  

Appearance - When you steep the threads in water, it should gradually turn into a deep, golden orange red. 

Scent - Many describe the smell of saffron as sweet, pungent, honey-like. 

Taste - While saffron smells sweet, it has a soft and velvety taste. 

Super negin saffron is Grade A+ rated saffron, known for its long stemmed, deep red, and strongly flavored saffron.  

There are four main types of saffron: sargol, super negin, negin, poshal.  

Sargol: is the type of saffron that is the very tip of the stigmas, grade 2. The Sargol saffron is known for its powerful aroma and does not contain yellow or orange threads. After the harvest and processing of the sargol saffron it contains crumbs and broken threads. 

Super Negin: is the most expensive type and rare trim of the saffron, grade 1. The super negin is known to be the most potent saffron with long deep red stigmas and no yellow or orange threads. The saffron stigmas shouldn’t contain crumbs or be cut. Super negin is considered the best in quality, color and taste. 

Negin: is known to be the longer saffron stigmas but contains some yellow and orange parts. The Negin saffron stigmas have great aroma, quality and purity, but the only difference with the super negin is that it doesn’t have the perfect color due to the portions of yellow and orange stigmas. 

Pushal: this is the cheapest and lowest quality of saffron, grade 3. The Pushal saffron contains the red saffron with a portion of the white-ish parts.The pushal saffron is produced at the beginning of the harvest season. 

Saffron threads are graded from I to IV, with I as the finest and IV the poorest. The crocin absorbance scale is as follows: Grade I: >190, Grade II: >150, Grade III: >110 and Grade IV: <110. The grading depends on labaratory standards set for color (crocin), flavor (safranal) and aroma (picrocrocin). The components in saffron that are tested are crocin, picrocrocin and safranal through photospectroscopy, all based on the ISO-norm 3632-2. The super negin saffron that Moonflowers offers is considered Grade A. Negin means diamond, which refers to the most valuable kind and has the highest quality. Super negin saffron contains all red stigmas only. The quality according to the ISO-norm 3632-2 should be crocin (coloring) of about 240, safranal (coloring) of about 60, and bitterness (picrocrocin) of about 95. 

The taste of saffron is very particular. It is subtle and fragrant; you recognize the scent and flavor immediately. Some describe it as pungent, earthy, honey-like.  

There are three ways to use saffron in your recipes. The easiest is to add a pinch of saffron threads to hot water and let it steep for about 30 minutes. The heat will activate the flavor and color of the saffron. If you want the saffron to completely dissolve in your recipes, you can grind it using a mortar and pestle. By adding a pinch of salt or sugar it will grind easier. If you want to preserve your saffron long-term, you can add a pinch of saffron to warm water and let it steep. Then pour the saffron water into a non-reactive ice cube tray and freeze it. 

The best way to store your saffron is to place your Moonflowers tin box with saffron in a dry and cool space. Make sure that the lid is tight, to preserve the flavor and potency. 

If you store your saffron in a dark and cool space, it will generally keep well for about 2-3 years. 

Saffron is known to have an ancient history in herbal medicine. Recent studies have shown that saffron has anti-inflammatory and anti-stress properties. These properties improves your mood. Saffron is a powerful anti-oxidant as well, these are molecules that protect your cells against free redicals and oxidative stress.  Another study has proven that saffron may at as an aphrodisiac, that helps boost your libido.  

Click here for an overview of retailers that stock our saffron! 

Email us at wholesale@moonflowers.co and we’ll set you up! 

All orders are shipped next day. 

We ship throughout the US. If you want to have our saffron in other countries, email us at hi@moonflowers.co and we’ll make sure to get it to you. 

We offer free shipping on all orders over $50. Ground shipping is just $4.9 for any order under $50

Of course! We care about the planet as much as we care about quality saffron. Our tin boxes are 100% recyclable. You can repurpose the tin boxes as well. They’re great for storing jewelry or other small items.  

Click on the saffron by weight, 2 gram/5 gram/10 gram, then click on ‘add to cart’. You will be asked to purchase as a subscription or a one-time purchase. Choose your delivery frequency, we have options of 1 month, 2 month, 3 month, or 6 month.  

We offer delivery every 1 month, 2 month, 3 month or 6 month. Skip, pause or cancel anytime. 

Log into your Moonflowers account or create yours here. Click on ‘My Account’, then on ‘Manage Subscriptions’ under your ‘Order History’ and change the frequency up to your needs. 

Anytime! You can cancel your subscription by logging into your account and then select ‘Manage Subscriptions’.  

Saffron makes a great gift! We know for a fact that your loved ones will love to be indulged with the saffron spice. 

Definitely! We also have gift cards here (hyperlink) that make a great gift. 

Shoot as an email hi@moonflowers.co, we always answer! 

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The saffron crocus is handpicked and starts in the very early morning hours, just before sunrise. This prevents the flowers from wilting under the sun and preserves the saffron quality. The saffron pickers work under the moonlight and this inspired us for the name Moonflowers. 

Moonflowers was born out from the dream of helping the women of Afghanistan. Our founder, Tahmina Ghaffer, is born in Kabul, Afghanistan and is inspired by architecture, landscapes, poetry and stories from ancestors.