My love note to saffron

brands that make my heart sing

Photo: Moonflowers Co. website

Moonflowers Co. was introduced to me by my friend [and wonderful photo assistant] Hallie about a year ago. The message went something like, “Have you seen this saffron brand yet lady?” to which I replied, “NO! But I’m already obsessed.” As a sucker for good branding, I swooned over the name, Moonflowers Co., and the stunning packaging—the saffron comes tucked away in the cutest little brass tins [that I will personally repurpose as a travel jewelry box].

I first fell deeply in love with saffron after listening to an episode of Gastropod that deep dives into the spice. With its enchanting scent of honey, earth, and hay, saffron has a painstaking harvesting process in which single threads are hand-picked from the center of each purple flower, and dried in the soft light of early dawn. There aren’t ways to industrialize this process, and this makes saffron one of the most expensive spices in the world.

In Kundalini yoga, the hours before sunrise [around 4a] are said to be the most powerful, and are magically connected to the ether, strengthening any manifestation or prayer you wish to put out. This time also appeals to many religions all over the world, where devotees rise before dawn to speak their deepest wishes into the sacred air. Knowing that saffron is harvested in these same twilight hours makes the spice all the more special to me. I believe that it holds within its threads the power to help us manifest and believe in the magic that surrounds us—or at least, that’s what I tell myself whenever I consume this sumptuous spice.

Here’s a link to buy your own tin, and please let me know what you make!

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My favorite ways to use saffron:

This lovely tahdig recipe from Bon Appetit [prepared in the video below!]. I tried it out with my Persian friend Nesa

I also love brewing saffron tea, which has a rich golden color, and is known to boost a sense of happiness.

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