ISO 3632 Category I · GI origin
Grade 1 Kashmiri saffron, with the lab card to prove it
All-red Mongra from our family fields in Pampore — ISO 3632 graded, batch-coded, GI-tag origin, sealed at harvest. “Grade 1” is a lab result here, not an adjective.
Lab-graded, jar by jar
ISO 3632 grade card in every order: crocin, picrocrocin, safranal — measured, printed, shipped.
GI-tag origin
Kashmir saffron is a legally protected origin since 2020. Ours grows inside it — Pampore itself.
Grower family, one hop
Nationally recognised saffron farmers. From our drying floors to your door, nothing in between.
What “Grade 1” means when a lab says it
Saffron grading is not marketing vocabulary — it is ISO 3632, an international standard that measures three molecules: crocin (colouring strength), picrocrocin (taste) and safranal (aroma). Category I — the band retailers call Grade 1, Grade A or A++ — demands crocin above 200 units. Kashmiri Mongra, the all-red stigma tips our valley is famous for, grades there routinely; that thick, deep-crimson thread is why Kashmir saffron commands the world’s premium in the first place.
Since 2020, “Kashmir saffron” is also a registered Geographical Indication — the origin itself is legally protected, which matters in a market where Iranian bulk saffron is quietly re-packed as Kashmiri (our Kashmiri vs Iranian comparison shows how to tell them apart, and the GI guide explains the certification). Add the five at-home purity tests and the honest price map, and you can audit any “Grade 1” claim in ten minutes — including ours.
We make the audit easy: every jar leaves Pampore with its ISO grade card and a batch code, from the family whose recognition sits on the Awards & Media page and whose fields are on the about page. Once the jar is open: 3–4 threads per glass is all Grade 1 needs — the usage guide makes one gram last a month.
- ISO 3632 Category I (Mongra) — card in every jar
- Batch-coded and verifiable with the growers
- GI-origin Pampore harvest, sealed at source
- Prepaid, tracked, tamper-sealed pan-India
The thread tells the grade
Grade 1 Mongra is unmistakable in the hand: thick trumpet-ended threads, uniformly deep crimson with no yellow tails, a dry honey-and-hay aroma, and slow gold in warm water that keeps deepening for a quarter hour. Anything instant, papery or pale is telling you its own story — believe it.
Grade 1 Kashmiri saffron — FAQs
What does Grade 1 (Grade A / A++) saffron actually mean?
Grading follows ISO 3632, which lab-measures three things: crocin (colouring strength), picrocrocin (taste) and safranal (aroma). Category I — commonly sold as Grade 1 or A++ — is the top band, requiring crocin above 200 units. Mongra, the all-red stigma tips of Kashmiri saffron, routinely grades there. Anyone claiming Grade 1 should show the lab numbers; we print them on the grade card in every jar.
How is Grade 1 Mongra different from Lachha saffron?
Same flower, different cut. Mongra is only the dark-red stigma tips — highest concentration of colour and aroma, top price band. Lachha keeps the threads whole with their yellow-orange tails attached: real saffron, but diluted by weight since the tails carry little crocin. If a 'Grade 1' price looks too good, it is usually Lachha weight at Mongra vocabulary.
How can I verify your saffron is really Grade 1?
Three layers: the ISO 3632 grade card shipped with each jar (lab-measured crocin/picrocrocin/safranal), the batch code you can check with us, and the GI framework protecting Kashmir saffron's origin since 2020. Then the kitchen test: 3–4 threads in warm water should release slow, deepening gold over 10–15 minutes while the threads stay whole.
What is a fair price for Grade 1 Kashmiri saffron?
Real Grade 1 Kashmiri Mongra cannot be cheap: the flower yields three stigmas, and a gram means around 160 hand-picked flowers. Sustainably priced Kashmiri Grade 1 sits at ₹400–600 per gram retail. Far below that, you are buying Iranian re-packs, Lachha weight, or dyed imitation — our price-per-gram guide breaks the whole market down.
Do you ship pan-India, and how fresh is the jar?
Prepaid orders ship via DTDC across India within 24–48 hours, tamper-sealed with tracking. Jars are filled from the current family harvest in Pampore and batch-coded — saffron stored right holds its character 2–3 years, and ours rarely sits that long.