The Project Behind Herat's Award Winning Saffron

The Project Behind Herat's Award Winning Saffron

For nine years running, the International Taste Institute in Brussels has rated Afghan saffron the best in the world after blind tasting it against roughly 300 entries globally, most of that saffron grown in Herat province. That reputation is not an accident, and it is not just a marketing line either. Since 2021, Hand in Hand International and Hand in Hand Afghanistan have run a DANIDA funded project, with match funding from the Vitol Foundation, built specifically to scale Herat's certified, climate resilient saffron value chain and get it in front of serious international buyers. Aseel has joined that project as the commercial and digital partner for its final phase, working directly with certified producers and the wider Afghan Saffron Union, which counts more than 40 producer members.

What the project is actually built to do

The project's stated aim, unchanged since 2021, is to scale a certified and climate resilient saffron value chain that improves income and job creation in Herat Province. In practice, that means training certified saffron producers on international market requirements and buyer expectations, product quality, grading, certification, packaging, and branding, then giving them digital commerce and marketplace readiness support so the certification actually converts into export sales rather than sitting on a label. Aseel's role in this final phase covers platform onboarding, content production in Herat, and running international marketing campaigns on behalf of the participating producers.

Why Herat keeps winning the taste award

Saffron quality is measured on three compounds: crocin, which carries the color; picrocrocin, which carries the bitter taste; and safranal, which carries the aroma. Herat's climate, elevation, and soil, combined with hand harvesting and careful drying, tend to produce threads with unusually high crocin concentration, which is the main reason this region's saffron keeps placing first in blind international tastings. The producers in this project are certified to ISO or EU organic standards, the same reference points used in professional grading rather than country of origin alone.

Volume and quality are two different contests

Pure Saffron Afghani (2g)– Negin Dark Red

$61.05

Buy Now

Certification is what turns a reputation into a guarantee

A taste award explains why Herat saffron has a strong reputation. Certification is what lets a buyer verify it. ISO 3632 grading measures the actual concentration of crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal in a given batch, and EU organic certification confirms the growing and processing process meets recognized organic standards. That is exactly the gap this project is built to close, helping certified producers turn a laboratory grade and a taste award into a product a buyer anywhere in the world can trust and trace back to a named farm or cooperative.

Aseel's own Afghan saffron shop already carries threads sourced from Herat, including from Heray Spice, a farmer cooperative that hand picks and sun dries its own harvest, giving a live example of what this kind of certified, traceable sourcing looks like once it reaches a buyer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Hand in Hand and Aseel saffron project?
It is a DANIDA funded project, with match funding from the Vitol Foundation, run by Hand in Hand International and Hand in Hand Afghanistan since 2021 to scale a certified, climate resilient saffron value chain in Herat Province. Aseel joined as the commercial and digital partner for the project's final phase, supporting certified producers with training, platform onboarding, and international marketing.

Which country has the best saffron?
By international taste competition results, Afghanistan has been rated the world's best saffron for nine consecutive years by the International Taste Institute, largely due to saffron grown in Herat province. Iran remains the largest producer by volume.

Why does Herat produce such high quality saffron?
Herat's climate, elevation, and soil, combined with hand harvesting and careful drying, tend to produce threads with higher crocin concentration, the compound largely responsible for saffron's color and a key factor in international quality scoring.

What certifications should I look for in Afghan saffron?
ISO 3632 grading and EU organic certification are the two most meaningful signals, since they are based on measured compound levels and verified growing standards rather than claims made on packaging.

Does a taste award guarantee the saffron I buy is genuine?
Not on its own. An award reflects a country or region's reputation in competition, while certification and traceable sourcing are what confirm a specific batch actually meets that standard.