Saffron is made of the dried stigmas of a flower, the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). Each flower bears only three, picked by hand, which makes saffron the most expensive spice in the world by weight. Its smell, owed mainly to safranal, is dry, honeyed and slightly leathery. In perfumery, the saffron note is almost always rebuilt from synthetic molecules. Natural saffron, as an absolute or a CO2 extract, remains rare.
An autumn crocus with three stigmas
The saffron crocus belongs to the Iridaceae family, like iris. It flowers in autumn. Each corm produces a few mauve flowers, and at the centre of each flower the pistil divides into three red threads. These are the stigmas, the only part that is used.
The plant is sterile. It produces no viable seeds and multiplies only through its corms, which growers dig up, divide and replant. Saffron has been grown this way since antiquity. The frescoes of Akrotiri, on the island of Santorini, already show women gathering saffron in the Bronze Age.
The word saffron comes from the Arabic za'farān. For a long time the spice also served as a dye and a remedy.
A harvest done by hand
Flowering is short. In a given field it lasts only a few weeks, and each flower must be picked on the day it opens, ideally early in the morning. Almost everywhere, picking is done by hand.
Once the flowers are gathered, the stigmas have to be separated one by one, again by hand. This work is called stripping. The stigmas are then dried, over a gentle fire, in an oven or in the open air depending on the region. In the process they lose most of their weight.
It takes more than one hundred thousand flowers to obtain one kilo of dried saffron. Saffron is therefore sold by the gram. That price also attracts fraud: saffron mixed with other parts of the flower, cut with safflower or turmeric, or dyed to look redder.
Iran, Spain, Kashmir: where saffron comes from
Iran produces the vast majority of the world's saffron, mostly in the province of Khorasan, in the north east of the country. Iranian saffron is sold in several grades, named after the way the threads are cut. Sargol, for example, keeps only the red part of the stigma.
Spain has grown saffron since the Arab period. Its best known region is La Mancha, whose saffron carries a protected designation of origin. The threads there are traditionally dried over the heat of a gentle fire, which gives them a slightly toasted smell.
In Kashmir, in India, saffron grows on the plateaus of Pampore, near Srinagar. It is prized for its long, dark red stigmas and holds a geographical indication in India. Its output remains small.
Afghanistan, Morocco, Greece and Italy produce smaller quantities. France once grew a great deal of it, notably in the Gâtinais, before the crop almost disappeared.
Crocin, picrocrocin, safranal
Three families of molecules make up saffron. Crocin gives it its colour: a few threads are enough to turn a dish golden yellow. Picrocrocin carries its bitterness. Safranal carries most of its scent.
Safranal forms mainly during drying, from picrocrocin. A fresh stigma smells far less than a dried one, which is why drying matters so much.
Saffron in perfumery: rare as a natural, common as a synthetic
Natural saffron exists in perfumery as an absolute and as a CO2 extract. Supercritical CO2 extraction suits such a fragile material well, because it captures the scent without heating it. We describe the process in our article on how perfume raw materials are extracted. Yields are low, and the starting material already costs the price of the spice. These extracts therefore remain rare in formulas.
Most saffron notes rely on synthesis. Safranal can be produced in the laboratory, and other molecules have been created to reproduce the effect of saffron. The best known is Safraleine, developed by Givaudan, which pairs a saffron facet with a leather facet. In a pyramid, the word saffron therefore names a smell. The product page does not say whether it comes from the spice itself.
What saffron smells like
Saffron smells dry. The first impression is warm and a little bitter, with a hay and honey facet.
It also has a leathery facet, which explains its place in so many leather accords. Our article on leather in perfumery shows how that accord is built. Depending on the dosage, it can also show a metallic, almost bloody note, and an iodine or medicinal edge. These facets make saffron hard to wear on its own. It is rarely found without company.
In pyramids, saffron most often appears in the top notes, where it gives a spicy opening. Some perfumes place it in the heart or the base.
Saffron, rose, oud and leather: the great accords
The best known accord pairs saffron with rose and oud. It comes from Middle Eastern perfumery, where these materials have long sat side by side in attars and perfumed oils. Western perfumery has taken it up widely since the 2000s. Saffron acts as the link: its honeyed facet extends the rose, its leathery facet meets the oud. Our articles on oud and on rose present the other two materials.
The second great accord brings saffron and leather together. Saffron gives leather a golden glow and allows a cleaner leather, less smoky than one built on birch tar.
Saffron also pairs with cinnamon, cardamom, amber, vanilla and tobacco, and more rarely with tea.
Saffron perfumes from our catalog
All the perfumes below list saffron in the pyramid published on their product page. In most of them it appears in the top or the heart, alongside other spices, rose, leather or a gourmand note.
Saffron in the foreground
White, by Kanchaveli, holds in five notes. Bergamot, orange peel and vanilla in the top, saffron alone in the heart, leather in the base. The product page notes that after about two hours, the saffron and leather accord takes over from the vanilla. Our introduction to Bidzina Kanchaveli looks at the workshop.
Saffron, rose and oud
Onyx, by Aaron Terence Hughes, brings together the three materials of the classic accord. Rose absolute in the top, saffron in the heart with raspberry and blackcurrant, then a base that includes a 5 % oud, with truffle, musk, civet absolute, patchouli and vanilla absolute. Our introduction to Aaron Terence Hughes explains the house's concentration.
Saffron with rose and honey
Melos, by Pernoire, brings out the honeyed facet of saffron. The heart pairs rose, Nile honey, saffron, hazelnut and baked apple, after an opening of rose tea, grape, grapefruit and blackcurrant. The base brings together milk, musk, amber and patchouli. No leather note appears in the pyramid: here saffron sits next to honey and rose. Our introduction to Pernoire details the Swiss house.
Ambery, spicy saffron
Sahara, by Widian, opens on saffron, orange and elemi. A heart of rose and orange blossom leads to a base of amber, musk, cedar and vanilla. The product page classes it as a spicy woody oriental and states that it was composed by Jean-Claude Astier. The orange gives the saffron a brighter opening. The house is presented in our article on Widian.
At Aaron Terence Hughes, Noir places saffron among other spices in the top: black pepper, nutmeg and cardamom, with neroli. Tobacco fills the heart, and the base brings together vanilla, tonka bean, oud, sandalwood, frankincense and civet. Here saffron is part of a very spicy opening.
Saffron and leather
Two perfumes presented in our leather article clearly pair the two notes. Kxxt +, by Aaron Terence Hughes, opens on raspberry and saffron before a heart of jasmine, iris and leather. Delma, by Widian, brings saffron and leather together in the base, with vanilla, marshmallow and guaiac wood.
Dark, resinous saffron
Lynch, by Spiritica, is the first fragrance of the Golden Collection and draws on the world of filmmaker David Lynch. Saffron, clove, night jasmine and cherry cake in the top, then Xanthorrea australis, latakia tobacco, oud, myrrh and styrax in the heart, over dark woods, benzoin, patchouli and a gourmand vanilla. The product page describes it as woody, smoky, leathery and oriental. Bottles are very limited in number. Our article on Spiritica presents the house.
Saffron and metallic notes
The Print House, by Tada Parfumeur, evokes an analogue print shop. It places saffron in the top with coffee absolute, an ink accord and carrot seed oil. The heart brings together a paper accord, a metallic note, frankincense and iris, the base cashmeran, patchouli, iris, musk, leather and oakmoss. The metallic note of the heart echoes that facet of saffron. Our introduction to Tada Parfumeur looks at the perfumer.
Saffron in gourmands
Vanilla Mystique, from the same house, opens on rum, lavender and saffron, before a heart of vanilla, heliotrope and jasmine. The base of musk, CO2 oak extract and cedar stays dry. With the rum, saffron gives a warm, spicy opening.
Caffè Roma, by Zhufu, pairs saffron with espresso and Tuscan orange zest. The heart brings together roasted hazelnut, patchouli resin, black tea and vanilla pod, the base guaiac wood, benzoin, amber and sandalwood. Our introduction to Zhufu looks at the house.
Saffron with tea and conifers
Gyokuro, by Tada Parfumeur, takes its name from a Japanese green tea grown in the shade before harvest. A matcha accord, green notes and saffron in the top, then ambrette seed, maté absolute and white flowers in the heart, over a base of sandalwood, cedar, musk and guaiac wood. The dryness of saffron follows the astringency of the green tea.
At ChuJian, Boreal Fir N°M39 evokes boreal forests. Pink pepper, cardamom and saffron open onto a heart of fir, cedar, sandalwood, tea and vetiver. The base brings together guaiac wood, cypriol, musk, cashmeran and woody ambergris. Our introduction to ChuJian details the house.
More saffron compositions can be found in our selections of spicy perfumes and oriental perfumes.
Frequently asked questions
Why is saffron so expensive?
Each flower yields only three stigmas, and it takes more than one hundred thousand of them to make one kilo of dried saffron. Picking and stripping are done by hand, during a flowering season of a few weeks a year.
Does a saffron perfume contain real saffron?
Rarely. Most saffron notes come from synthetic molecules, such as laboratory made safranal or Safraleine. Saffron absolute and CO2 extract do exist, but their price limits them to a handful of formulas.
Are saffron and turmeric the same thing?
No. Turmeric is the rhizome of an entirely different plant, sometimes called "Indian saffron" because of its yellow colour. It does not smell of saffron. It is sometimes used to adulterate powdered saffron.
Does saffron smell of leather?
Partly. It has a leathery facet, alongside honeyed, dry and sometimes metallic facets. That is why it appears in so many leather accords. On its own, it suggests a warm, slightly bitter spice instead.
Is saffron a masculine scent?
No. In the Middle East as in India, everyone wears it. With rose or honey it turns soft, with leather or oud it turns darker.
Further reading
Saffron is one of the materials covered in our Perfume materials guide, along with oud, iris, which belongs to the same botanical family, and leather. To compare a leathery saffron, a honeyed saffron and a spicy saffron on your own skin, the perfumes mentioned are available as 2 ml samples, depending on the house, on our samples page.