Pure Indian Kashmir Saffron, 5 Grams

Another good example of getting what you pay for ... I chose this because it was a decent quantity and a bit cheaper than some of the others. Next time I will spend the extra money to get nice saffron!I bought this saffron to make Buddhist water bowl offerings. I quickly learned that when this particular saffron is placed in water for a few seconds, it turns into gelatinous beige strands. Clumped together, it's like a gelatinous beige goo -- not so pretty for offerings! It also doesn't smell nice once it's in the water; you can't smell it at all (and aroma is part of the point of adding to the water offering). It does smell OK straight out of the package; there's a faint saffron smell. And it does create a saffron-like color in the water (notice I said saffron-like), but you have to use quite a bit more than you may be used to using to produce similar results. No idea how it actually tastes ... But based on how it looks once it's been in water, I would not want to put it in my mouth. Once it has been in liquid, each strand resembles a small beige parasitic worm with a fuzzy body and thin whip-like tail.Based on the appearance and how quickly the color leaches into water from the "saffron" (notice I'm referring to saffron in quotes now), my guess is that this is actually some other fibrous substance that's been dyed and somehow infused with saffron flavoring, but that it's not actual saffron. Or, it's saffron that's been processed in such a way that makes it less expensive to produce and certainly less potent and effective for the end user.In other words, I would not recommend buying this product.