Saffron is known as "the king of spices," and as the world's most expensive spice. Spanish saffron is well-known in Europe and America for its romantic aroma, lovely flavour, and colouring capabilities. Saffron is made from the dried stigmas of the flower species crocus. Each flower of the crocus sativus has only three pistils, and these must be picked by hand. Over 70,000 flowers are required to yield 1 lb. of saffron. It has been used since classical times as a flavouring in food and wine. It is an effective stimulant and digestive, increasing the flow of saliva and digestive juices. Saffron is also used as a spice, yellow food colouring and flavouring agent. They come in beautiful packaging with lower prices than the other two rivals, mainly Kashmiri saffron and Persian saffron. Spanish saffron generally does not come in all red threads; you should expect to see some yellow with your saffron. Saffron has a sweet, floral taste to it & has an earthy and complex nuanced flavour. Unlike some saffron, ours is made from the full stems and not ground-up pieces that can easily be adulterated.