The 2026 Founding Harvest
Tin 001 of 100.
Five grams of Mongra saffron from one field above Pampore, picked in October 2026 by Ghulam Nabi Bhat, graded against ISO 3632, and numbered by hand.
₹7,999
5 g · Lot ZF-SAF-2026-001
0of 100 Founding Harvest tins claimed
Chapter 01
One field, four kanals, above Pampore.
The karewa uplands drain fast and cool early — the two things a crocus needs. This release comes from a single plot, not a blend of many.
- Location
- Pampore, Pulwama
- Elevation
- ≈ 1,600 m
- Plot size
- Four kanals
- Corms planted
- 1961, replanted on a 15-year cycle
Chapter 02
Picked before the flower opens.
Three stigmas per flower, separated by hand the same morning, then dried slowly and sealed. Roughly 450 flowers make one gram.
First light
Flowers are gathered before the sun opens them, while the stigmas still hold their oils.
Hand separation
Each flower gives three red stigmas. They are pulled the same day, never machine-stripped.
Dried and sealed
Slow-dried to under 10% moisture, then sealed in a numbered tin with its lot record.
Chapter 03
Graded by a laboratory, not by us.
Every lot is tested against ISO 3632 for colouring strength and moisture. The result travels with the tin.
Assay record
Certificate of origin
- Origin
- Pampore, Pulwama — karewa uplands
- Grade
- Mongra · ISO 3632 Category I
- Harvest
- October 2026 (pre-harvest)
- Lot no.
- ZF-SAF-2026-001
- Colouring strength
- ≥ 210 (absorbance at 440 nm)
- Moisture
- ≤ 10.0%
- Verified by
- Independent ISO 3632 laboratory, Delhi
Each lot carries its own record. Scan the tin or open the lot page to check it against ours.
Verify this lotChapter 04
The man who picked it.
The maker
Ghulam Nabi Bhat
Saffron grower · Pampore, Pulwama, Kashmir · 41 years
Ghulam Nabi farms on the karewa uplands above Pampore, where the soil drains fast and the autumn nights turn cold early — the two conditions saffron needs. He picks at first light, before the flowers open fully, and separates the three stigmas by hand the same day. His yield is small by design: he replants corms on a fifteen-year cycle rather than pushing the field. We buy his entire October lot each year.
“We buy his entire October lot. When the hundred tins are claimed, we close the list rather than fill it from another field.”
Chapter 05
Numbered, sealed, shipped in December.
- Contents
- 5 g Mongra saffron, whole threads
- Lot
- ZF-SAF-2026-001
- Release
- 100 numbered tins
- Ships
- December 2026, after grading
- Payment
- Nothing charged until the lot is graded
₹7,999
0of 100 Founding Harvest tins claimed