The pricey spice saffron comes from purple crocus blossoms, steeped with cardamom it makes a very tasty tea! Got a few purple crocus opening their smiling faces in your yard? Then, you've got enough saffron to prepare a dish or a make a few cups of tea!
The little orange strings- stigmas come from the center of the flower and are sized to resemble ginger eyelashes. Each bloom contains only three stigmas, so it would be a tremendously laborious task harvesting a large amount of saffron threads. Putting it to scale, harvesting roughly 70,000 flowers produces one pound of saffron. I saw a pound of it on ebay today for $1,454.54 buy it now price, and depending on quality a pound can supposedly sell for as high as ten thousand dollars.
A few days ago I noticed some yellow crocus blooming which i remembered are followed within a few days by the purple, yellow is always first; so I'd been keeping my eye out, and today the purples were in bloom. I used the kitchen scissors to snip the orange stigmas which are the only ingredient in the highest quality saffron, the other three pleasantly scented yellow bodies are the flowers stamens and account for the lower purity fluff in bulk packages of discount saffron but are a great addition to flavor our infusion. Try not to get discouraged, the goal isn't to collect a pound, a little saffron goes a long way. And by also snipping the stamens we are doubling our haul. Many dishes that call for use of just a pinch (about 20 threads) and our tea recipe takes maybe 7 -10.
I was introduced to the flavor of saffron on my first visit to Syria. It was December and the coldest winter they had experienced in years. The city of Aleppo was (before the U.S. sponsored terrorism) full of beautiful water fountains in parks and on the corners of most prominent intersections. My friend Karim whom I'd met near the university campus said I must have brought the cold weather with me, because this was one of the few times he had ever seen the fountains ice over.
Everytime I decided to walk around town I'd stop randomly about every thirty minutes along the way for a hot drink (or cold spirits) to warm me up. During one outing I was attracted to the patio heaters steaming up a clear plastic tent like structure that had been erected at a sidewalk cafe on the corner called Monroe. Its sign bore a pink lipstick kiss logo and the place was vaguely Marilyn Monroe themed...... M.M. in Syria? I actually wasn't surprised at the overly western theme; the day before I had eaten shawarma at Turtles (Ninja Turtle themed) restaurant, I kept passing by a street food kiosk with a huge Papa Smurf head as the sign, a barber shop named Metallica, and I strolled by at least 3 graffiti tags that said '50 Cent'.
Smurfs Pizza next to what looks like Donald Duck Bakery, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!
The energetic power that scent and taste have to activate our most intricately detailed memories amazes me! One sip this morning and I was flooded with dozens of mental images, feelings, and misplaced thoughts; I started the day wanting to make tea, and ended up reliving weeks of my past. But it soothed my soul.
Back to the tea. There at Monroe I had a cup of this light, soothing, yellow tinted tea. It was on the menu as Moroccan Chai (tea) and has a slight hint of a floral taste, which is nice because most springtime teas and tonics are bitter. Its super easy and quick to prepare; just pour boiling water in your glass, add 7-10 saffron threads, a couple of spoon-cracked dried green cardamom pods, and let it steep for about 5 mins. I prefer it with a spoon full of sugar and generally use store bought saffron threads (about $7 a bottle). I'm out of cardamom pods ($1/bag), so I used some cardamom granules. If you don't have access to cardamom, several cracked fennel or anise seeds, or some sassafras root bark would be ideal substitutes! Or try a few home collected saffron threads as an addition to your favorite tea herb. I really love rosemary in my hot tea and bet that would pair well. A person could strain it but i don't mind a little garnish in my tea.
Spooncracking seed to maximize aroma.
I enjoy it for the 'happy flavor' and keep these spices in the cabinet; and while they are not components in my medicine bag, saffron has been used to treat asthma, whooping cough, and other pulmonary disorders. Cardamom is (still in 2018) heavily relied on around the world for heartburn, gas, Irritable bowel syndrome, and liver/ gallbladder discomfort. Whether your a traveler and can keep your eye out for it on menus, or a homesteader/ city-dweller with a few crocus in your yard; I hope you pick or pick-up these 2 ingredients, I promise it will be your new favorite tea. As always, the pictures are my own. Thanks for reading and I'll see you again!