Social entrepreneurs continuing to cultivate peace through saffron
Chicago, IL January 15, 2018: Saffron has long been considered the most prized spice in the world, and is known by people far and wide as being worth its weight in gold. Saffron has a complex flavor that is both semi-sweet and slightly bitter, and comes from the interior of the amethyst-colored saffron crocus.
But how did it get such a reputation? Possibly because of the ‘early adopters’ Cleopatra and Caesar, or possibly because it has to be hand-harvested due to its fragility. Aside from its delicate nature, properly harvested and dried saffron is also extremely lightweight – it takes 450,000 stigmas (or 150,000 blossoms) to make a kilogram of saffron.
Known as one of the first products to be adulterated, saffron has an expansive and rich history. Most saffron in the world today still changes many hands before reaching your supermarket here in the US, but Rumi is a completely vertically integrated company and knows exactly which farm each lot of saffron comes from. Started as a social enterprise with a mission to cultivate peace in Afghanistan through saffron sales, Rumi connects Afghan farmers to international markets, working to catalyze economic development.
Rumi has just completed their biggest harvest yet this fall in Herat, Afghanistan, and is very excited to be spread the word about saffron at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco.