Tas-Saff, at Glaziers Bay, southern Tasmania, is Australia's first commercial saffron grower. Glaziers Bay is located in the Huon Valley, 50 minutes drive south of Hobart (70 kilometres). Tas Saff is a family-owned, multi-award winning Tasmanian business. Established in 1991 on three acres of land overlooking the sea at Glaziers Bay, Tas Saff is now a thriving commercial saffron producer and has developed a network of 40 growers throughout Australia. You can visit Tas Saff by appointment to discover the process of growing fine quality Tasmanian saffron. Saffron is the name given to the dried, red stigmas of the flower of the Crocus Sativus plant. It is treasured for adding flavour, colour, and aroma to food, and also has medicinal qualities. Growing and harvesting saffron is a labour-intensive undertaking. Each crocus plant produces just one flower, and each flower grows three stigmas. The plant flowers over a 35-day period in autumn and the delicate process of picking, stripping, weighing and packing the filaments is all done by hand. Around 220,000 flowers are needed to produce each kilogram of Australian saffron.
