Salinity Presents: Cyrus Saffron

WEBVTT
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Barbara Dunn (music):
Let love surround you
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and keep you safe and warm
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May the music in our hearts
be a shelter from the storm
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Emily Wilder: Welcome to
Salinity Presents: A Podcast.
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This interview is with Nicole from
Cyrus Saffron in Eastern Washington.
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I'm really excited to learn about this
'cause I had no idea before I heard of
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you that we could even grow saffron here.
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Nicole Beretha: Yeah.
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It's unique for sure.
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So, what do we do?
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We grow saffron in central Washington.
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We started off in Lake Chelan in
2014 and then we just bought more
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land… has it been three years ago?
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I think three years ago in Waterville,
and then last year we planted
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bulbs and then this year as the
first year, we also started seeing
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flowers coming up in Waterville.
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The reason we did that is because
we started this as a hobby in
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2014, more as a natural remedy.
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My husband is a two
times leukemia survivor.
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Once he was back in remission, we
learned through his parents that
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saffron actually can help fight cancer.
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And so, we just started farming when our
son was still very little in the picture.
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We just had very few flowers
and really just did it for us
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only once he was back at home.
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And then, you know, over years it
turned into a full blown business.
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But that's how we basically got started.
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We started in Chelan.
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We have a total of 20 acres, but only
two and a half of those acres are
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farmed on because we started as a hobby.
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So, our place is way up at a
high elevation of 3,200 feet.
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It's very remote.
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It's very hilly, rocky, lots of
trees, so hard for people to visit.
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And so our goal was to have
this new place in Waterville.
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It's nice and flat.
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People can access it easily.
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And we can finally show people, where
we are, what we're doing, because it
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was really hard getting to where we are.
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You needed like an off-road
car really to see us.
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Emily Wilder: I'm very curious about
the cancer fighting aspects of it.
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If you wanna talk a little
bit more about that.
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Nicole Beretha: He was diagnosed
with leukemia and then went through
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chemo and a stem cell transplant.
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We learned through his parents that
saffron is not only a spice, but
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also a natural remedy for a lot
of things, not only for cancer.
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We have customers that take it
also for depression, for anxiety.
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Our son has autism.
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We named it after our son Cyrus.
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That's why Cyrus Saffron.
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We give him a little tea, and
that's how my husband took it too.
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We just made our evening…
we sat down and we had a tea.
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You can make a regular tea and then
you can just add the saffron into it.
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Or you can add it in your water and you
can drink the water throughout the day.
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Studies have shown that it has a lot of
antioxidants and a good way to help find
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cancer, fight depression and anxiety.
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We also have customers that use
it for their eye health as well,
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because it supports eye health.
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It has a lot of different, you
know, natural remedies as well.
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So it's not only a spice, but also a
natural remedy for a lot of things.
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We're working with the Seattle
Cancer Care Alliance, to give it to
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the people that are in remission,
to help with cancer and, hopefully
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- knock on wood - to not come back.
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Emily: Remarkable.
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Nicole: Yeah.
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And I had no idea about saffron
before I met my husband.
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In my culture we don't use it as much.
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I know it, but in Germany, where
I'm from, we're not really familiar
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with the spies and the remedy.
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So I really learned a lot
through him through this process.
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So, who is involved?
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It's really the full family.
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It's all of us.
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Three generations.
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In the picture you can see
everyone but me, because I
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was the one taking a picture.
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But in the front and the middle,
that's my husband, Darush.
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And then his mom is to his right or
left, depending on how you look at it.
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And then next to him on the
other side is our daughter
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Emily, whose name's also Emily.
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Good name.
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And then on the outside you can
see our son, Cyrus, and his dad
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as well there in the picture.
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So it's really all three generations
that are involved at the moment.
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And then we have lots of seasonal helpers.
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We have a really short harvest time.
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It's only once a year and
it's three to four weeks.
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They started popping
out, around October 20th.
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It's a fall crocus.
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So it's really short where
we have to get it all in.
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And during that time we have
lots of seasonal helpers.
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So that's another reason why we are
located here in Central Washington.
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Due to all of the apple orchards,
and cherries, and peaches, and all
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the wineries around us, there's
lots of physical labor available
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to help us pick all the saffron.
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Another reasons were… the heat - you
need the heat for the flower over here.
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It's much hotter, much drier over here.
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It doesn't like the direct water
and needs the snow, actually,
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the cold, to wake up the bulb.
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We wait for that first frost to come in,
and it wakes up the bulb, and then the
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bulb comes up, and we start harvesting.
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We have about 50 people that help
us during these three weeks,
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that help us get it all in.
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Emily Wilder: Wow.
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Nicole Beretha: And then we also have
a farmer's market staff that helps us.
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Before COVID we did a lot more farmer's
markets, but now we're just down to
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Pike Place Market and the Portland
State University farmer's market.
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The reason is, usually with our product,
we do very well the first month at
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the farmer's market, but then I have
supplied the whole neighborhood!
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And it's not a produce
that you need every week.
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Sometimes I don't see people
for a year, and so we need
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tourists coming through as well.
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And other people making it through
the market in order to keep going.
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Since it's not a product that you use
every day we need to be in a place
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that's a little bit more busy with
tourists to make it work for us.
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Emily: Your husband and his parents, have
they been using saffron for a long time?
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Nicole: My husband is Persian.
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In their culture, they use it a lot.
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So we are, technically the third
generation farmers, his family in
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Iran used to farm saffron over there.
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So it wasn't new to them.
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They kind of did know how to, what
to do, the right climate to choose.
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So, they definitely had the
know-how and the knowledge, so
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they didn't start from scratch.
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Unlike me, I had zero knowledge.
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His family, when they were in
Iran, they farmed it there and
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even his grandfather farmed it.
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So there is already that background and
that three generation of saffron farming.
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They definitely had knowledge
before getting started.
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So how do we make this happen?
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The flower is harvested by hand.
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What we do is we cut the
little purple flower and bring
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it into our processing area.
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The good thing is because it's such a
vibrant color, we always know where we
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have grabbed the flower, or haven't farmed
yet, or haven't picked up everything.
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Due to its color it's really easy to
spot, and we can see where we need to
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harvest and where we're done already.
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Every flower has only three
stigmas, so that's what makes it
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so tedious and expensive because
one flower doesn't give you much.
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To create one pound, you need
about 50 to 75,000 flowers.
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To make a pound.
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Emily Wilder: Wow.
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Nicole Beretha: And that's what
just makes it so expensive because
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everything is done by hand.
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So the little three stigmas that
you see in the flower that's
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what we're removing all by hand.
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And there's different techniques.
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The technique we are using is we
hold, we grab those little three
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stigmas and then we twist the flower.
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And that's how we retained
the three stigmas.
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There is another way to do it, which is
faster, but you end up having the yellow
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portion that sticks inside the flower.
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If you wanna make it easier, you grab the
flowers and you just pull it downwards
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and it will all come out much easier.
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But the problem with that is that you end
up having the yellow tail of the saffron.
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And our saffron, we don't
give you any yellow.
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If you see, it's all pure redness.
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Otherwise, if you look at some
other saffrons, they give you
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the yellow portions of it.
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Because it's an easier way to harvest
and an easier way to cheat you on weight
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because the yellow adds to the weight.
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And weight is so precious with the
spice because you pay by weight.
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And so a lot of companies give you that
yellow portion and we don't do that.
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We just give you the pure stigmas so it's
more potent and you have to use less.
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And then the third step, we
are gonna dry everything.
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We put it on a little tray and we
put it in the oven and we dry it all.
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Every pound takes us about
30 to 40 minutes to dry.
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I have a neat little video on
Instagram, if you wanna check out
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our Instagram, you can go there.
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It's just Cyrus Saffron.
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You can find a nice video that
I put there on how we actually
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remove it and dry everything.
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After everything is dried, we package it
in one pounders, and then we package it
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into smaller individual jars, that most of
you might know as our little retail jar.
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And that is also done all by hand.
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We weighed the saffron and
we fill it into the jar.
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And then there's another process
of five different stickers that
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need to be slapped on that bottle.
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The front, the back, the top
ribbon, the USDA organic sticker.
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It has our address on it.
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To meet all the requirements,
we also have to seal the top.
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So, it's a lot of steps to
make this little jar happen.
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Emily Wilder: I have your Instagram
open if we want to show that.
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Nicole Beretha: Yeah, sure.
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And now I will show you
how we separate them.
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If you see there's only three
of them in each, so yeah.
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So we are gonna repeat this a lot.
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So what we're doing, kind of put the
little petals down and then we are gonna
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grab the red portion of it, and I'm gonna
twist, and there's our three stigmas.
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And that's how we
separate them all by hand.
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So we just gonna repeat this thousands
of times and I gotta put those
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ready to go ones on this little
tray because we will dry them later.
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Once I have a full tray, we are
gonna walk over to our dryer.
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Here's one of our little drying oven.
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We have a bigger guy also as
well, and we are gonna put it
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in here for about 40 minutes.
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And the little oven will dry now all the
saffron threads in about 30 to 40 minutes.
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Emily Wilder: That's remarkable.
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How many do you think you've done,
how many have you pulled out in
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your lifetime so far, do you think?
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Nicole Beretha: Oh my gosh.
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Let's see if I can do a little math here.
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So it's not only me we do have helpers,
but we've been doing it for 11 years.
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So 50,000 times 63.
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Times 11 so in 11 years we are talking
about 34,650,000 flowers in 11 years.
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But not just me, we do have helpers
and the whole family has to help.
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It's crazy.
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That's just a rough estimate, but yeah.
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Emily Wilder: That's remarkable.
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And so then that's a
hundred million stigmas.
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Nicole Beretha: Yes.
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About 103,950,000 stigmas.
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Yeah, good question.
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I've never done the math myself!
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Emily: You should be very proud.
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Nicole Beretha: Yes.
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Emily Wilder: What temperature
do you dry them at?
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Nicole Beretha: It's not too hot.
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So we do about 200 Fahrenheit.
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We keep it very low and you
wanna dry it really slow.
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Otherwise they get too dry.
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They get orange-y and wrinkly.
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You don't want that, can you
take too much moisture out?
00:11:33.638 --> 00:11:33.938
Yeah.
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About 200 Fahrenheit.
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Any other questions on the process?
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Emily Wilder: What do
you do with the flowers?
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Nicole Beretha: Good question.
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We put them back for fertilizing.
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We just put them back on the ground.
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One thing that we're really proud
of and what makes us different…
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the first farm we started in
Chelan is completely off-grid.
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It's completely powered
by solar and wind power.
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There's no electricity up there, so we're
completely running on solar and on wind.
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Which is pretty neat.
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We only follow organic practices,
so we are organically certified
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for our Chelan location.
00:12:05.265 --> 00:12:08.415
The Waterville location,
we're not quite certified yet.
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The bulbs need to be underground 36 months
in order to be organically certified.
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So we only are in our first year
on Waterville, so it will take
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us another couple of years till
we can officially slap the USA
00:12:22.355 --> 00:12:24.640
organic sticker on that flower, too.
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But in the meantime we have
some non-organic saffron that
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we will sell to restaurants
probably for lesser price as well.
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Emily Wilder: It's the same product.
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Nicole Beretha: It's
still the same product.
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But it's just a rule.
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It has to be under the
ground for 36 month.
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The good thing is with this
crop, water's not required.
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So we get similar like tulip.
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It gets all the water from the
snow and preserves it that way.
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It hates the direct water.
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Now that we maybe start offering
tours, if you come on a rainy day,
00:12:50.975 --> 00:12:54.035
the rain will, you know, maybe hit
some of the flowers and some of the
00:12:54.035 --> 00:12:55.955
flowers might not be good anymore.
00:12:55.955 --> 00:12:59.199
So we try to get to the flowers
before the rain, because if
00:12:59.199 --> 00:13:00.669
it hits they're too moist.
00:13:00.669 --> 00:13:05.319
So very gentle to the environment, no
extra watering needed for this crop.
00:13:05.809 --> 00:13:08.389
Emily Wilder: How much water
do you get over in that area?
00:13:08.489 --> 00:13:11.099
Most people think of rain
when they think of Washington.
00:13:11.099 --> 00:13:14.369
So I just wanna clarify Eastern
versus Western Washington.
00:13:14.369 --> 00:13:14.437
Nicole Beretha: Sure.
00:13:14.437 --> 00:13:15.547
Actually, I have no idea.
00:13:15.547 --> 00:13:17.737
Let me see if I can
Google that very quick.
00:13:17.737 --> 00:13:19.245
How much, how much?
00:13:19.455 --> 00:13:22.710
Emily Wilder: Especially, you
know, October 20th through November
00:13:22.710 --> 00:13:24.930
10th here, that's mostly rain.
00:13:25.285 --> 00:13:25.585
Nicole Beretha: Yeah.
00:13:25.645 --> 00:13:27.535
No, not, not over here as you know.
00:13:28.479 --> 00:13:33.099
How much rain do we get in Chelan
during October and November.
00:13:33.272 --> 00:13:42.122
The average total precipitate is about
0.7 to 1 inch in October and 0.87
00:13:42.122 --> 00:13:45.692
to 1.5 inches in November of rain.
00:13:45.979 --> 00:13:48.259
So, very little compared to Seattle.
00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:51.169
I dunno, what's the Seattle, do
you know off the top of your head?
00:13:51.509 --> 00:13:51.529
Emily Wilder: Yeah.
00:13:51.569 --> 00:13:51.969
Okay.
00:13:52.176 --> 00:13:55.926
3.9 inches in October
on average in Seattle.
00:13:56.269 --> 00:13:57.269
Nicole Beretha: So, more than double.
00:13:57.629 --> 00:13:57.989
Yeah.
00:13:58.239 --> 00:13:59.559
So, let's see.
00:13:59.853 --> 00:14:01.543
We're also women- and minority-owned.
00:14:02.033 --> 00:14:05.853
The business, the most of the
shares is technically my name.
00:14:06.483 --> 00:14:10.543
So we are women- and minority-owned,
and then minority also because,
00:14:10.543 --> 00:14:11.743
you know, as a foreigner.
00:14:11.793 --> 00:14:14.693
So we are officially
certified for that, too.
00:14:14.693 --> 00:14:15.833
Which is great.
00:14:16.063 --> 00:14:20.233
Another thing I think that is really
helpful and people really appreciate
00:14:20.233 --> 00:14:24.059
over here: usually after the apple
harvest and the wine harvest is
00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:27.569
done over here, there's really
not a lot of work for people until
00:14:27.619 --> 00:14:29.629
things start again in the spring.
00:14:29.849 --> 00:14:34.739
What we are able to provide is that last
three to four weeks going into November
00:14:34.739 --> 00:14:36.839
when all of the farming has finished.
00:14:36.839 --> 00:14:42.027
We are able to employ another 50 people
for three to four weeks towards the
00:14:42.027 --> 00:14:46.377
end of the year when a lot of people
run out of work because of the farming.
00:14:46.377 --> 00:14:47.884
So I think that's really great.
00:14:48.134 --> 00:14:50.487
I think I mentioned, that
already, is we do work with the
00:14:50.487 --> 00:14:51.927
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
00:14:52.177 --> 00:14:54.637
Emily Wilder: I'm curious about
the, you say, saffron powder.
00:14:55.060 --> 00:14:55.480
Nicole Beretha: Yes.
00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:55.490
Mm-hmm.
00:14:55.505 --> 00:14:57.035
Emily Wilder: For people in
cancer remission… can you
00:14:57.035 --> 00:14:58.350
just touch on the powder?
00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:01.370
Nicole Beretha: We are able to
powder up the little stigmas.
00:15:01.370 --> 00:15:04.550
Even for businesses we
sometimes powder the saffron.
00:15:04.800 --> 00:15:06.840
What it does is, it makes it more potent.
00:15:06.990 --> 00:15:08.190
You have to use less.
00:15:08.190 --> 00:15:09.420
It makes it stronger.
00:15:09.420 --> 00:15:13.200
We powder it for them and then we
send it in the powdered version,
00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:15.920
then they put it in little capsules
for their patients to take.
00:15:15.970 --> 00:15:17.770
Yeah, it's just another way to take it.
00:15:18.447 --> 00:15:20.427
So, how can people find us?
00:15:20.477 --> 00:15:23.747
Our website, cyrussaffron.com
is always a go-to.
00:15:23.797 --> 00:15:26.937
If you spend more than
$40, shipping is free.
00:15:26.937 --> 00:15:31.717
If you prefer to go into your local store
you can hop also on cyrussaffron.com
00:15:32.387 --> 00:15:35.987
and go to the tab Locations Local Store.
00:15:36.254 --> 00:15:38.079
There you have the option
to put in your zip code.
00:15:38.435 --> 00:15:41.705
Then it will show you the closest
store that has our saffron.
00:15:42.105 --> 00:15:43.305
We're not everywhere yet.
00:15:43.335 --> 00:15:46.755
Maybe one day, but in the
meantime, always our website.
00:15:46.845 --> 00:15:48.585
You can also find us at Farmers' Market.
00:15:48.585 --> 00:15:52.035
Like I mentioned before, Pike Place
Market, we're open four days a week.
00:15:52.035 --> 00:15:55.790
Once the winter hits we're only open
on the weekends, Friday through Sunday.
00:15:55.790 --> 00:15:58.970
But we do wanna hop back
into seven days a week.
00:15:59.020 --> 00:16:01.180
That's something we
used to do before COVID.
00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:03.520
Hopefully that's something we
can go back to this summer.
00:16:03.991 --> 00:16:07.261
You can also find us at PCC
and Metropolitan Market.
00:16:07.261 --> 00:16:11.391
We are working with a local distributor
on Vashon Island called Northbest.
00:16:11.491 --> 00:16:15.121
He's been in this business,
my god, 35, 40 years.
00:16:15.121 --> 00:16:21.168
He's been around and he works with local
stores that are organic and only local.
00:16:21.218 --> 00:16:23.828
He was actually the first
one kind of discovering us.
00:16:23.828 --> 00:16:26.798
He was able to bring us into
some of the bigger stores.
00:16:27.151 --> 00:16:28.681
Which we're super grateful for.
00:16:33.302 --> 00:16:36.842
Emily Wilder: It's time to share one
of Salinity's favorite nonprofits!
00:16:37.112 --> 00:16:41.972
The Puget Sound Restoration Fund
focuses on restoring marine habitats
00:16:41.972 --> 00:16:47.363
here in Puget Sound, including
planting over 140 acres so far of
00:16:47.363 --> 00:16:49.643
the native Olympia oyster species.
00:16:49.643 --> 00:16:52.673
These oysters help filter the
water and support the broader
00:16:52.703 --> 00:16:54.653
ecosystem in so many ways.
00:16:54.653 --> 00:16:59.233
This amazing nonprofit partners with
many local groups, businesses, and
00:16:59.233 --> 00:17:03.913
Indigenous tribes to improve the
future for oysters, abalone, Dungeness
00:17:03.943 --> 00:17:09.063
crab, seaweed, and virtually every
creature living in or near Puget Sound.
00:17:09.063 --> 00:17:14.293
Consider donating directly or volunteering
with Puget Sound Restoration Fund!
00:17:14.293 --> 00:17:18.133
Learn more at restorationfund.org.
00:17:22.487 --> 00:17:24.947
Nicole Beretha: If you're not
just looking for saffron, we have
00:17:24.947 --> 00:17:29.927
partnered with other companies
around Washington and other states.
00:17:29.927 --> 00:17:31.897
One is called Fast Penny Spirits.
00:17:31.967 --> 00:17:35.192
They make an Amaro it's an
all women owned company.
00:17:35.517 --> 00:17:39.547
Amaro is a dessert- like hard
liquor, kind of on the sweeter side.
00:17:39.627 --> 00:17:43.057
If you wanna check her out
her name is Amy- Fast Penny
00:17:43.077 --> 00:17:45.357
Spirits, and she uses saffron.
00:17:45.367 --> 00:17:49.977
Amaro takes a whole bunch of different
herbs, including saffron to make.
00:17:50.077 --> 00:17:53.077
She's located in Seattle and
she has a tasting room and
00:17:53.077 --> 00:17:54.757
does all kind of fun events.
00:17:55.397 --> 00:17:59.327
We just started partnering
with McCormick Jam Company.
00:17:59.357 --> 00:18:00.707
It's kind of a funny story.
00:18:00.757 --> 00:18:05.017
Apparently we both get some of our
tins from a Seattle specialty store.
00:18:05.017 --> 00:18:06.650
They're located in South Seattle.
00:18:06.650 --> 00:18:11.030
And we met there, picking up supplies,
and we started talking and it's
00:18:11.030 --> 00:18:14.450
like, "Yeah, we make jam" and, "Yeah,
we make saffron" and here we are.
00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:16.130
Now we have a Saffron Jam!
00:18:16.605 --> 00:18:17.865
Emily Wilder: What does that even mean?
00:18:18.168 --> 00:18:19.608
Nicole Beretha: I know it's pretty cool.
00:18:19.638 --> 00:18:23.018
I think the first batch they make
was a one with plum, and then
00:18:23.018 --> 00:18:24.698
they have a pear one as well.
00:18:24.698 --> 00:18:28.238
So if you look up  McCormick Jam
Co… they're on Instagram too.
00:18:28.238 --> 00:18:31.268
There you can see what kind of
jam they make with our saffron.
00:18:31.368 --> 00:18:36.348
And then another local one Hierophant,
probably slaughter them their name.
00:18:36.618 --> 00:18:36.948
Emily Wilder: That's it.
00:18:36.948 --> 00:18:37.218
Yeah.
00:18:37.218 --> 00:18:38.758
They have a location here on Whidbey.
00:18:38.778 --> 00:18:39.408
I love them.
00:18:39.542 --> 00:18:40.592
Nicole Beretha: Oh yeah, they're great.
00:18:40.592 --> 00:18:42.542
They're making mead with our saffron!
00:18:42.542 --> 00:18:45.302
They found us, I believe
through Pike Place Market.
00:18:45.302 --> 00:18:48.662
They have a table there and they
approached us, which is pretty neat.
00:18:48.662 --> 00:18:52.223
if you wanna hop on Instagram I
believe they did tag us in one
00:18:52.223 --> 00:18:54.623
of their makings of that saffron.
00:18:54.777 --> 00:18:55.887
I love their label, too.
00:18:55.887 --> 00:18:57.577
Emily Wilder: They
make remarkable things.
00:18:57.627 --> 00:18:59.997
Nicole Beretha: And then we are
working also with two tea companies.
00:18:59.997 --> 00:19:03.324
One is called Taja Tea, the
other called Tipu's Chai.
00:19:03.324 --> 00:19:04.954
They're not local.
00:19:04.954 --> 00:19:08.044
I believe their base is in California.
00:19:08.044 --> 00:19:11.434
And we sent them the saffron powder
that we were talking about earlier,
00:19:11.434 --> 00:19:13.234
and they include it in their teas.
00:19:13.234 --> 00:19:16.954
Then we're also working
with Sfoglini Pasta.
00:19:16.954 --> 00:19:19.859
They're located in New York
and they make a saffron pasta.
00:19:20.227 --> 00:19:22.897
They have an Instagram, too, and
if you look for their name you
00:19:22.897 --> 00:19:24.577
can find their saffron pasta.
00:19:24.962 --> 00:19:26.392
Seleušs Chocolate.
00:19:26.392 --> 00:19:33.772
It's S-E-L-E-U-S-S and they make
chocolate truffles that are filled.
00:19:33.772 --> 00:19:34.882
They're so good.
00:19:34.882 --> 00:19:36.602
They make a saffron chocolate truffle.
00:19:36.622 --> 00:19:37.312
It's amazing.
00:19:38.512 --> 00:19:40.342
And they're on First Avenue in Seattle.
00:19:40.342 --> 00:19:42.592
They make all kinds of
different chocolates.
00:19:42.592 --> 00:19:44.122
Great stuff for the holidays.
00:19:44.372 --> 00:19:47.492
The only other product I haven't
mentioned that we are actually
00:19:47.492 --> 00:19:49.522
making, it's a saffron sea salt.
00:19:49.582 --> 00:19:51.952
That's really the only
other thing we're producing.
00:19:51.952 --> 00:19:53.722
Our main focus is just the saffron.
00:19:53.722 --> 00:19:59.452
It just takes so much time with farming,
harvesting, bottling, all the work that
00:19:59.452 --> 00:20:02.382
goes around this: selling, employees.
00:20:02.592 --> 00:20:06.882
We would love to make more products,
but we've only been able to make
00:20:06.882 --> 00:20:08.892
saffron sea salt so far with it.
00:20:08.892 --> 00:20:12.402
Otherwise, we've just been looking
and partnering with other companies,
00:20:12.402 --> 00:20:15.607
because there's just not enough
time in the day to do more.
00:20:16.727 --> 00:20:20.177
But saffron sea salt is something we
have been able to make and I use the
00:20:20.177 --> 00:20:25.157
saffron sea salt on my eggs, baked
potatoes, sprinkled over avocado toast.
00:20:25.157 --> 00:20:26.627
It's a really nice finishing salt.
00:20:27.158 --> 00:20:28.268
Emily Wilder: And how do you make that?
00:20:28.491 --> 00:20:30.921
Nicole Beretha: We powder,
again, the saffron.
00:20:31.071 --> 00:20:32.481
And create some hot water.
00:20:32.481 --> 00:20:37.011
We add it to the saffron powder
and create a paste-like texture.
00:20:37.011 --> 00:20:38.601
It looks like a saffron paste.
00:20:38.601 --> 00:20:42.951
Then we infuse the saffron
paste into the sea salt.
00:20:42.951 --> 00:20:44.361
Then we mix it all up.
00:20:44.361 --> 00:20:45.891
And then we dry it again.
00:20:45.891 --> 00:20:48.141
Same temperature, 200 Fahrenheit.
00:20:48.141 --> 00:20:51.171
Actually about the same
time, about 30 to 40 minutes.
00:20:51.171 --> 00:20:56.218
And then the salt starts taking in all the
saffron, the color, the flavor, the aroma.
00:20:56.468 --> 00:20:59.228
Then we put it in a little
three ounce tin can.
00:20:59.228 --> 00:21:02.558
And we have a single size, or
you can order it in a bundle
00:21:02.588 --> 00:21:04.118
of three and save some money.
00:21:04.118 --> 00:21:04.388
Emily Wilder: Yeah.
00:21:04.388 --> 00:21:05.618
It's such a vibrant color.
00:21:05.765 --> 00:21:07.295
Thanks for explaining that process.
00:21:07.691 --> 00:21:08.441
Nicole Beretha: What else?
00:21:08.738 --> 00:21:09.483
What's next?
00:21:09.550 --> 00:21:14.173
For 2026, we just partnered with
the Pike Place Market Foundation.
00:21:14.385 --> 00:21:15.345
They're really great.
00:21:15.595 --> 00:21:22.303
They have been around since 1982
and have helped people in need with
00:21:22.333 --> 00:21:28.630
housing, with healthcare, food,
child support, daycare since 1982.
00:21:28.887 --> 00:21:35.757
And it's a nonprofit organization and
they have been fundraising $40 million
00:21:35.757 --> 00:21:38.417
since 1982 and helping people in need.
00:21:38.417 --> 00:21:41.957
And so we are really proud and
excited to partner with them.
00:21:42.207 --> 00:21:42.987
Emily: That's wonderful.
00:21:43.325 --> 00:21:44.825
Nicole: Really excited about that.
00:21:45.122 --> 00:21:49.162
The second thing we're really excited
about is we start offering farm tours.
00:21:49.162 --> 00:21:52.192
So that's something people have
been asking us for a long time.
00:21:52.446 --> 00:21:55.496
And this year 2026, we
finally make it happen.
00:21:55.826 --> 00:21:59.456
We are not quite there yet where
people can just go online and book
00:21:59.456 --> 00:22:01.466
it on a calendar on their own.
00:22:01.496 --> 00:22:04.666
People still have to call
or email us about the tours.
00:22:04.666 --> 00:22:07.276
But we do have tour
information on our website.
00:22:07.326 --> 00:22:09.046
There's different packages you can choose.
00:22:09.143 --> 00:22:13.583
Different add-ons from tractor
rides or go farm your own saffron!
00:22:13.773 --> 00:22:16.503
We give you a little basket and
you can collect your own flowers
00:22:16.503 --> 00:22:17.793
and take them home with you.
00:22:17.916 --> 00:22:21.006
So that's something we're really
excited about because we have not been
00:22:21.006 --> 00:22:22.686
able to offer that in the past years.
00:22:22.966 --> 00:22:26.566
There's really only three to four weeks
where the flowers are actually there.
00:22:26.566 --> 00:22:29.566
If you wanna see the flowers,
you wanna schedule ahead of time.
00:22:29.566 --> 00:22:32.776
Otherwise, you're more than welcome to
come during the spring and summertime.
00:22:32.776 --> 00:22:34.216
We do open up in April.
00:22:34.216 --> 00:22:38.226
Otherwise, it's just too much snow
and too muddy after the snow melts.
00:22:38.226 --> 00:22:41.406
April through mid-November
is a good time to visit.
00:22:41.616 --> 00:22:43.666
In summer we will offer Chelan tours.
00:22:43.846 --> 00:22:48.556
We don't offer them during fall or
winter time because it's just too crazy.
00:22:48.606 --> 00:22:52.926
We try to be very courteous of our
neighbors because they enjoy the quiet
00:22:52.926 --> 00:22:54.817
and there's a reason they move there.
00:22:54.817 --> 00:22:59.197
And so we really wanna be mindful of
not bringing too many people there.
00:22:59.197 --> 00:23:01.597
It's not the easiest
journey to get to Chelan.
00:23:01.707 --> 00:23:05.007
So we keep it limited to
summers and spring only.
00:23:05.067 --> 00:23:06.837
Waterville is open year round.
00:23:07.357 --> 00:23:10.597
The third thing we're excited about,
and it's not really related to
00:23:10.597 --> 00:23:16.624
saffron… we just got into buffalos
and we named it after Emily again.
00:23:18.124 --> 00:23:20.404
So it actually has your
name Emily, too, on it.
00:23:20.564 --> 00:23:23.990
Because our daughter was always
like, "Oh, why is it just named
00:23:23.990 --> 00:23:28.593
after Cyrus, that's not fair!" And
so we're like, "Okay, so now we have
00:23:28.593 --> 00:23:30.533
something that is named after Emily."
00:23:32.133 --> 00:23:37.113
If you go to washingtonbuffalo.com,
you can find our website there.
00:23:37.330 --> 00:23:41.560
The way this happened is we bought
the land in Waterville, and we met this
00:23:41.560 --> 00:23:45.740
really nice elderly couple that has
buffaloes and been doing this for…
00:23:45.958 --> 00:23:51.178
I wanna say since 1943, they've been
having buffaloes in Waterville, and none
00:23:51.178 --> 00:23:53.248
of their kids wanted to take it over.
00:23:53.248 --> 00:23:57.518
So we decided to take this over
because we don't have enough to do.
00:23:59.558 --> 00:24:01.888
And so now we own buffalos as well.
00:24:01.988 --> 00:24:03.408
We have 56 buffalos.
00:24:03.738 --> 00:24:04.398
Emily: Wow.
00:24:04.624 --> 00:24:05.254
Nicole: Yeah.
00:24:05.254 --> 00:24:07.954
And they used to butcher
them and sell the meat.
00:24:07.954 --> 00:24:11.224
But our goal is to stop
that from happening.
00:24:11.224 --> 00:24:16.624
Our goal is to preserve the buffaloes and
instead of butchering them, we would love
00:24:16.624 --> 00:24:21.394
to see the headcount raising to about a
hundred and give tours and educate people.
00:24:21.394 --> 00:24:22.804
I mean, we're learning a ton.
00:24:22.804 --> 00:24:25.444
This is something we've never
done, so we're learning a ton
00:24:25.444 --> 00:24:27.004
from them since taking over.
00:24:27.004 --> 00:24:30.784
The goal is to preserve, raise
the headcount and show people,
00:24:30.784 --> 00:24:33.534
you don't have to go all the way
to Yellowstone to see buffalos.
00:24:33.694 --> 00:24:35.614
They're in your backyard in Washington.
00:24:35.614 --> 00:24:36.454
Come see us.
00:24:37.414 --> 00:24:38.704
Emily Wilder: And they're gorgeous.
00:24:38.754 --> 00:24:41.154
Nicole Beretha: People can not
only tour the saffron when they
00:24:41.154 --> 00:24:45.294
come see us in Waterville, they
can add on a buffalo tour as well.
00:24:46.591 --> 00:24:49.091
We have seven right now,
seven baby buffalos.
00:24:49.364 --> 00:24:51.584
We get up to 10 baby buffaloes a year.
00:24:53.014 --> 00:24:57.584
So hopefully in about 10 years making
we have about a hundred buffalos.
00:24:57.604 --> 00:24:59.884
You can adopt a buffalo if you want.
00:25:00.034 --> 00:25:02.764
We give you a certificate
and even an ID for them.
00:25:03.704 --> 00:25:04.784
You get to name them.
00:25:05.074 --> 00:25:06.974
But that's what it's for 2026.
00:25:06.974 --> 00:25:09.239
That's really our biggest three things.
00:25:09.239 --> 00:25:12.359
The new gift box, the farm
tour, and then the Buffalo
00:25:12.359 --> 00:25:14.309
Ranch will keep us on our toes.
00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:15.929
Emily Wilder: A lot of things.
00:25:15.999 --> 00:25:16.189
Nicole Beretha: Mm-hmm.
00:25:16.712 --> 00:25:16.741
And
00:25:16.746 --> 00:25:18.576
Emily: so when you're
making the tea, how much?
00:25:18.576 --> 00:25:19.536
Nicole Beretha: You don't need that much.
00:25:19.842 --> 00:25:21.992
So we talked about the
flower earlier, right?
00:25:21.992 --> 00:25:24.632
So three to six stigmas is enough.
00:25:24.632 --> 00:25:26.642
You can have a saffron only tea.
00:25:26.642 --> 00:25:28.172
Just saffron and hot water.
00:25:28.172 --> 00:25:31.052
Or you can make your
favorite tea and add it in.
00:25:31.112 --> 00:25:32.642
I add them into my coffee.
00:25:32.642 --> 00:25:37.842
I'm a coffee lover, so I just dump them
into my coffee or foam it up into the milk
00:25:37.842 --> 00:25:39.552
it's really up to you what you prefer.
00:25:39.552 --> 00:25:42.852
Or you could do saffron with hot
water and, throw in some fresh
00:25:42.852 --> 00:25:44.922
ginger and some fresh lemon.
00:25:45.162 --> 00:25:45.522
Yeah.
00:25:45.522 --> 00:25:46.542
You can do a lot with it.
00:25:46.819 --> 00:25:48.169
Emily Wilder: Does it
have to be hot water?
00:25:48.469 --> 00:25:50.119
Nicole Beretha: I would
just say do hot water.
00:25:50.149 --> 00:25:53.199
Even for cooking, before you
cook, soak it in hot water.
00:25:53.199 --> 00:25:56.649
That's the best way to release
its flavor and aroma is hot water.
00:25:56.956 --> 00:25:58.366
Doesn't have to be boiling.
00:25:58.592 --> 00:26:00.202
But like a warm to hot water.
00:26:00.439 --> 00:26:03.079
Emily Wilder: Can you talk a little
more about culinary uses for it?
00:26:03.079 --> 00:26:05.009
Like what kinds of dishes are you using?
00:26:05.041 --> 00:26:07.741
Nicole Beretha: Yeah, Paella
is a Spanish seafood dish
00:26:07.741 --> 00:26:09.361
with rice and chorizo sausage.
00:26:09.381 --> 00:26:10.371
It's really good.
00:26:10.527 --> 00:26:11.877
Saffron pasta.
00:26:11.877 --> 00:26:14.367
My favorite at the moment is scallops.
00:26:14.367 --> 00:26:17.117
What I do is, it is scallops
and butter in a pan.
00:26:17.417 --> 00:26:18.347
Everything's good with butter.
00:26:20.177 --> 00:26:24.607
And so, and then splash it with some white
wine and let simmer for a little bit.
00:26:24.781 --> 00:26:28.741
And then add in some salt and saffron
and it's really all you need and you can
00:26:28.741 --> 00:26:33.221
leave it there or you can even add some
cream and make it like a cream sauce.
00:26:33.221 --> 00:26:34.931
Some heavy whipped cream in there.
00:26:35.121 --> 00:26:37.011
But that's my favorite at the moment.
00:26:37.184 --> 00:26:38.774
Any seafood really.
00:26:39.114 --> 00:26:41.574
I love to make saffron ice cream as well.
00:26:41.604 --> 00:26:42.414
It's so good.
00:26:42.414 --> 00:26:44.034
Saffron ice cream on its own.
00:26:44.034 --> 00:26:48.714
Or you can splurge and add some
rose water and even some pistachios.
00:26:48.887 --> 00:26:50.417
You can make a cocktail with it.
00:26:50.417 --> 00:26:52.107
You don't need to do the amaro.
00:26:52.127 --> 00:26:56.237
You can just grab your plain vodka and
just start throwing some saffron in there.
00:26:56.457 --> 00:26:58.107
So, you can make cocktails with it.
00:26:58.241 --> 00:27:00.731
There's really a lot you can
do with it, bake with it.
00:27:00.761 --> 00:27:03.131
There is a Swedish Christmas bun.
00:27:03.131 --> 00:27:05.411
I think we have it on our website.
00:27:05.471 --> 00:27:08.441
In Sweden, they use saffron and
they just do it around Christmas
00:27:08.441 --> 00:27:11.471
time where they make a little
Christmas saffron bun to eat.
00:27:11.807 --> 00:27:13.097
It has recipes on our website.
00:27:13.147 --> 00:27:14.317
Lots of recipes there.
00:27:14.467 --> 00:27:16.517
Saffron Chicken with Barberries.
00:27:16.517 --> 00:27:18.857
We used to farm Barberries as well.
00:27:18.857 --> 00:27:19.937
It's a little berry.
00:27:19.937 --> 00:27:24.587
It's similar to a goji berry, but it was
too much with the berries and the saffron.
00:27:24.587 --> 00:27:27.887
We used to make a Barberry Jam
too, but it was just too much.
00:27:27.887 --> 00:27:32.747
Maybe one day again, but it was too much
at that point, so we discontinued it.
00:27:32.954 --> 00:27:37.014
Emily Wilder: So I wanted to ask more
about this: are you buying the bulbs or
00:27:37.014 --> 00:27:41.364
are you able at this point to harvest and
then replant, or what's that process like?
00:27:41.614 --> 00:27:42.454
Nicole Beretha: Very good question.
00:27:42.454 --> 00:27:45.254
So, each bulb gives you about seven years.
00:27:45.254 --> 00:27:47.414
Then they're kind of
done with their lifetime.
00:27:47.414 --> 00:27:53.294
The good thing is though, every two to
three years, one bulb creates seedlings.
00:27:53.344 --> 00:27:57.244
You have the mother bulb and
every bulb creates new seedlings.
00:27:57.244 --> 00:28:01.254
We take the bulb out of the ground
and separate the little seedlings and
00:28:01.254 --> 00:28:05.694
technically every two to three years,
one bulb give us about two more.
00:28:05.694 --> 00:28:07.224
So it's still a mixture.
00:28:07.224 --> 00:28:09.624
It's usually not enough volume-wise.
00:28:09.624 --> 00:28:14.184
We dig them out and separate them,
but we do also purchase new bulbs.
00:28:14.464 --> 00:28:15.484
Not every year.
00:28:15.574 --> 00:28:16.234
It depends.
00:28:16.234 --> 00:28:18.514
We purchased some last year.
00:28:18.514 --> 00:28:22.954
We might actually purchase some more
this year, because we did buy more
00:28:22.954 --> 00:28:28.854
land in Waterville, but we did not farm
all the land we only farmed 12 acres
00:28:29.394 --> 00:28:31.469
because we wanted to see how it is.
00:28:31.469 --> 00:28:34.559
We weren't sure because it
is different than Chelan.
00:28:34.752 --> 00:28:35.892
Will it even bloom?
00:28:36.072 --> 00:28:37.092
Will it make it?
00:28:37.092 --> 00:28:41.082
We weren't sure how the saffron is gonna
turn out, but it did turn out amazing.
00:28:41.292 --> 00:28:44.762
And now that we know the saffron is
actually working out in Waterville,
00:28:44.762 --> 00:28:47.312
we probably add another 12 acres.
00:28:47.312 --> 00:28:49.262
We get the bulbs from the Netherlands.
00:28:49.372 --> 00:28:53.122
We have looked here to get it locally,
but there's not enough volume.
00:28:53.249 --> 00:28:56.369
They're the biggest, they
produce so much flowers, tulips.
00:28:56.599 --> 00:29:00.949
I'm pretty sure a lot of the local
flower farmers here in Washington
00:29:00.949 --> 00:29:02.839
get it from the Netherlands, too.
00:29:03.047 --> 00:29:04.731
Emily Wilder: They look almost silky.
00:29:04.869 --> 00:29:05.019
Nicole Beretha: Mm-hmm.
00:29:05.269 --> 00:29:07.059
Such a strange bulb compared
00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:08.409
Emily Wilder: to what I'm used to seeing.
00:29:08.469 --> 00:29:10.149
I don't look at very many bulbs, but…
00:29:10.565 --> 00:29:10.835
Nicole Beretha: Yeah.
00:29:10.885 --> 00:29:12.415
It's definitely a different bulb.
00:29:12.465 --> 00:29:17.082
It looks exactly like a copy
of your Purple Easter Crocus.
00:29:17.132 --> 00:29:20.792
But the spring crocus does
not produce the three stigmas.
00:29:20.792 --> 00:29:23.642
Only the fall crocus
produces the three stigmas.
00:29:23.822 --> 00:29:24.992
So, there is a difference.
00:29:24.992 --> 00:29:28.622
If you plan on doing your own saffron,
make sure you get the fall one
00:29:28.622 --> 00:29:30.332
because the spring one will not bloom.
00:29:30.422 --> 00:29:34.122
I have a friend here, she's like, "I have
these saffron flowers, but they're not
00:29:34.122 --> 00:29:38.112
coming up!" And I'm like, "You probably
have the spring one." Because the first
00:29:38.112 --> 00:29:40.692
thing that pops up is the little greens.
00:29:40.692 --> 00:29:42.352
They pop up for the fall bulb.
00:29:42.402 --> 00:29:46.707
They pop up in the summertime die
off, and then the flower blooms.
00:29:46.707 --> 00:29:52.207
My friend's flower, her greens
start coming in the fall, and they
00:29:52.207 --> 00:29:54.007
will die and then come in spring.
00:29:54.310 --> 00:29:57.180
Emily Wilder: So they'll have the
same name, easy to confuse the two.
00:29:57.414 --> 00:29:58.134
Nicole Beretha: Exactly.
00:29:58.234 --> 00:29:58.504
Yeah.
00:29:58.504 --> 00:30:00.904
And if you ever need any
more information, call us.
00:30:00.904 --> 00:30:05.554
Email us info@cyrussaffron.com
or our website, you will find
00:30:05.554 --> 00:30:06.814
a lot of information too.
00:30:07.144 --> 00:30:07.714
Emily Wilder: Great.
00:30:07.947 --> 00:30:09.537
Nicole Beretha: I think
that's all I had for today.
00:30:09.657 --> 00:30:12.415
If you have any other questions
just feel free to reach out.
00:30:12.415 --> 00:30:12.569
Yeah.
00:30:12.569 --> 00:30:13.469
It goes straight to me.
00:30:13.469 --> 00:30:16.877
We're small, so it
would go straight to me.
00:30:17.057 --> 00:30:18.797
Emily Wilder: Thank you so
much for sharing all of this.
00:30:18.857 --> 00:30:21.077
Nicole Beretha: Yeah, thanks
Emily for organizing this too.
00:30:21.077 --> 00:30:22.251
I think this is great.
00:30:22.251 --> 00:30:23.361
Emily Wilder: Nice to meet you, Nicole.
00:30:23.471 --> 00:30:23.771
Nicole Beretha: Same here.
00:30:23.771 --> 00:30:24.971
Nice to meet you in person.
00:30:25.021 --> 00:30:26.011
Emily Wilder: Yeah, you too.
00:30:26.261 --> 00:30:30.271
If you'd like to support other small
businesses from the Pacific Northwest,
00:30:30.271 --> 00:30:32.806
head over to www.eatsalinity.com.
00:30:32.806 --> 00:30:37.436
That's E-A-T S-A-L-I-N-I-T-Y.
00:30:37.697 --> 00:30:41.067
You can also shop in person if
you're here on Whidbey Island.
00:30:41.442 --> 00:30:45.182
If you enjoyed this episode,
please leave a review, subscribe,
00:30:45.182 --> 00:30:46.312
and tell all your friends.
00:30:47.322 --> 00:30:53.112
This podcast is hosted by me, Emily
Wilder, SeaEO of Salinity Seafood & More.
00:30:53.407 --> 00:30:57.747
It's edited by Luc Hagopian and
exists entirely to eventually
00:30:57.757 --> 00:31:01.877
bring everyone to the topic of
our native Olympia oyster species.
00:31:02.213 --> 00:31:06.684
Please help increase demand and
appreciation for this beautiful oyster by
00:31:06.704 --> 00:31:09.434
asking for it everywhere you find oysters.
00:31:09.500 --> 00:31:18.375
Our love is like an onion
Many layers to peel