The Iranians export over 300 tons of saffron every year, which is more than 90% of the saffron provided to the market.
An Iranian Saffron Supplier
Esfedan is an Iranian saffron supplier who has been in the business for over 45 years and has won numerous awards for exporting saffron to other countries worldwide. Moreover, this company holds various certificates, one of which is FSSC 22000 certificate. The purity of Esfedan’s saffron is tested by a HPLC machine which is considered to be the top-notch technology to check the purity of saffron.
There are many benefits to buying saffron directly from a saffron supplier. The main reason why most chain stores or chain restaurants tend to purchase saffron directly from a saffron manufacturer is the price they get. Also, they know that they can always purchase the high-quality saffron whenever they need it.
Most Iranian saffron suppliers export the four major saffron types that you can find in Iran and anywhere in the world. Super Negin, Negin, Sargol, and Pushal. However, some saffron suppliers often sell saffron powder as well, which is made by grinding the grade one saffron threads.
Super Negin saffron is considered as the purest saffron you can find on the market. You can buy it from any saffron supplier throughout the country. Super Negin saffron consists of red saffron threads and has longer threads compared to Negin.
Negin is considered to be the second-best saffron grade on the market, and it is produced from the best part of the saffron flower.
Sargol literally translates to top of the flower in English. Sargol has shorter threads since it comes from the top of the flower, and it also consists of all red threads.
Pushal is another type of Iranian saffron that has some pieces of yellow saffron. The yellow bits are basically the end of the flower, and nothing is wrong with the saffron quality. However, the reason behind the yellow colour of some saffron threads is the method of drying manufacturers use for saffron.
Fraudulent ways of selling saffron
Sadly, due to the worldwide popularity of saffron and its price, a lot of people have tried and succeeded at coming up with methods to sell their fake saffron to international buyers to pretend they are a legitimate saffron wholesale company. For example, they typically tend to add water, sugar or even metals powder to the saffron to make it look fresher or increasing the weight of the saffron. Thus, when you are buying wholesale, these tricks can add around 15% to the total weight, which can lead to the loss of hundreds of dollars.
Moreover, there are plenty of other methods that they use; for example, they spray saffron with chemicals to add more colors to the low-quality saffron and sell it as premium saffron. Thus, make sure you are contacting the right saffron supplier.
Esfedan, is a saffron supplier in Iran. It has over 45 years of experience in manufacturing premium-quality saffron. Esfedan exports tons of saffron to numerous countries around the world each year. They have offices in Madrid, Dubai, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Tehran, and their head office is located in Khorasan province, which is the land of saffron in Iran.
The purity of Esfedan saffron is measured through a HPLC device. In addition, Esfedan also manufactures saffron-based products such as saffron rock candies, saffron jelly powders, saffron cake powders, saffron tea, and saffron herbal tea.
Conclusion
In Iran, most saffron manufacturers export and manufacture four major types of saffron that the Iranian saffron is famous for, Super Negin, Negin, Sargol, and Pushal. The main reason someone would buy directly from a saffron supplier is the price they will get in comparison to the quantity they purchase. There are fraudulent ways that people tend to sell saffron—for instance, adding water to the saffron to make it look fresh and add extra weight and whatnot. Thus, we always recommend buying directly from a saffron supplier, whether it may be in Iran or other countries that grow saffron.