We started because we got cheated too

The problem we kept running into

Saffron is the most adulterated spice in the world, and India is one of the easier places to sell a fake. The substitutes are cheap and convincing at a glance: dyed corn silk, safflower petals, coloured maize thread, and — at the more sophisticated end — real saffron from Iran or Afghanistan relabelled as Kashmiri and sold at a Kashmiri price.

None of that is detectable in a sealed jar under shop lighting. Which is how a category ends up where every seller claims 100% purity and a large share of buyers get something else.

How we work

We buy from growers on the karewa plateaus around Pampore, south of Srinagar, where the great majority of Indian saffron is grown. We grade and pack ourselves at Saki Vihar Road in Andheri East rather than reselling pre-packed stock, because a sealed jar you did not fill is a jar you cannot vouch for.

Every batch is tested against ISO 3632 for crocin, picrocrocin and safranal before any of it is sold, and the certificate goes on the lab reports page with a batch code that matches the code on your jar. That last part matters more than the testing itself — plenty of sellers test; very few let you check the specific batch you were sent.

Two grades, named honestly

We sell Mongra and Lacha. Not "A++", not "royal", not "super premium" — those words describe nothing and exist to make a comparison impossible. Mongra is red stigma only. Lacha is the whole filament with the yellow style attached. That is a physical difference you can see and verify, and it is the only distinction that changes what you get.

We will also tell you when the cheaper one is the right answer, which is more often than you might expect. See the grade guide.

What we are certified for, and what we are not

We hold an FSSAI licence, number 11523998001432, which covers food safety and manufacture. We source GI-tagged Kashmiri saffron, which certifies origin.

We are not certified organic. Organic status in India requires NPOP or PGS-India certification and the Jaivik Bharat mark, and we do not hold either — so we do not use the word, even though a great many sellers in this category do. What we can tell you is that nothing is added to what we sell: no dye, no glycerol, no bulking agent, no colouring compound. That is a claim we can stand behind, and it happens to be the one that actually addresses what buyers are worried about.

The guarantee

If saffron you bought from us fails a standard purity test, we refund it in full. Not a store credit, not a replacement pack — the money back. That is a straightforward promise to make when you know what is in the jar, and an expensive one to make when you don't.