Sari Safran: Organic Saffron Made in Armenia

Armenian native Anush Amirkhanyan and Swiss citizens Urs Wyss and Urs Barmettler founded Sari Safran in 2017 to produce high-quality, organic saffron for the Swiss market. One of their primary business goals was to create job opportunities for the women villagers of Sarigyugh in the Tavush region in northern Armenia, where Sari Safran’s farm is located. Amirkhanyan recalled how her grandmother would use saffron to dye carpets. Saffron is not only multi-purpose but doesn't require much water to plant, explains Amirkhanyan. The nostalgia and her pragmatic approach to farming inspired the idea to produce organic saffron.

^{Women work the fields in the village of Sarigyugh, Tavush Region | Photo Credit: Sari Safran}

Sari Safran exported the first saffron batch to Switzerland in the fall of 2018. While saffron is produced and cultivated in Armenia, it is packaged and stored in Switzerland.

According to Amirkhanyan, harvesting starts from the beginning of October for four weeks. Then, the production process begins in springtime and lasts around two months. She spends this entire period, which lasts three to four months, overseeing the production process.

During the four harvest years from 2017, Sari Safran has shown excellent quality and earned ISO certification (qualification scale ISO 3632), indicating that their saffron meets certain standards that qualify it to be a pure product in the first of its category.

Sari Safran has about a dozen women working in the field, where they cultivate and harvest each saffron by hand. One hundred saffron bulbs were imported from the Netherlands in Spring 2014 and the first harvest cultivated in Armenia was a success. By August 2017, they bought 50,000 saffron to increase their production capacity and produce side products. As a result, Amirkhanyan has stated, “Armenian saffron belongs to one of the best world saffron producers.”

^{Safran (top) and Fleur des Alpes salt made in Armenia | Photo Credit: Sari Safran}

Sari Safran primarily produces category one Saffron. A category one grading standard means that the saffron is of the finest quality. Aside from saffron, Sari Safran also produces useful and delicious products including blends with “Fleur des Alpes” salt, marigold teas, and chocolate.

You can support Sari Safran by following them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can find their products at sari-safran.com.