Four places that still mean something on a label

Iran

Most of the saffron in the world is Iranian, a great deal of it from Khorasan. The country is a volume, and volume is not a grade. Inside Iran the market uses cut names, including the ones translated as sargol and negin, which describe how much of the yellow style was trimmed and how the thread looks. Ask which cut. Ask the harvest year if the seller has it.

Spain

La Mancha grows a small crop sold under a protected regional name, azafrán de La Mancha. You pay for that name, for labor in a high-wage country, and for a floral, hay-like saffron that Spanish rice was built around. A tin that says Spain and stays silent on La Mancha may have been packed in Spain from flowers grown somewhere else. Read the origin line.

Kashmir

Around Pampore the autumn harvest is famous and small. The threads are often long and deep red, and the price sits at the luxury end. Supply is thin enough that a Kashmir banner on a cheap pouch is a reason to slow down and ask who packed it and when.

Afghanistan

Herat has a commercial saffron crop that American spice companies now sell by name. Both shops this suite links to sell Afghan saffron: Burlap & Barrel from Herat, and Rumi Spice as Afghan threads. It is a real origin with a recent export life. As with any origin, the jar still has to smell like saffron when you open it.

Greece, Morocco, and Italy grow saffron too. If a label names a town and a harvest, give it the same tests you would give La Mancha. Whole threads. A smell when crushed. A slow color in warm water. A price per gram you can put next to the table on Saffron Price.