Once upon a time there was an Aussie girl named Angela, and a Kiwi boy named Brendon, and their daughter Poppy. With a lifelong ambition to get back to their country roots, and a passion for amazing produce, in 2016 they took a deep breath and packed up and moved from their lives, friends, family and corporate jobs in Sydney, to Orange in regional NSW. It was here in Orange that their family grew, welcoming their second daughter Saffron (yes, they loved saffron so much they named their daughter after it!).

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Without any prior experience or knowledge of saffron cultivation, they dove headfirst into research and countless hours of self-education. The climate in Orange is perfect for Saffron, which likes 4 distinct seasons to thrive, and this became their starting point for learning. Every step since has been a journey of discovery, trial and error, and continuous learning - from understanding soil composition to perfecting harvest techniques.

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After a lot of soil testing, and backbreaking ground preparation, care and love, they hand planted their first 2500 saffron corms which in 2018 yielded around 10 grams of saffron, which was much more than expected for a first season, and not only that, but premium quality saffron!! I know, it seems so little right? But this is why saffron is a little pricey, every single step of the process to produce just 1 gram of saffron (from around 250 flowers) is done by hand!

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By 2021, through persistent learning and refining their techniques, they had grown their crop to over 100,000 saffron corms and were producing some of the best saffron in the world, even winning a Gold medal at the Harvey Norman Delicious Awards! Then, disaster struck. The NSW floods in March of 2021 hit and Argyle lost over 80% of their corms. Brendon and Angela had to get on their hands and knees and quickly pull each one from the ground, one by one, check each one, and throw most in the bin.. a heartbreaking exercise.

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Not to be defeated, and unable to source corms in Australia, they began the complex and expensive process of importing more corms from Europe in late 2021. The 30,000 corms arrived, and they spent 8 weeks planting every single one into new ground. Now, in 2025, Argyle Australian Saffron has not only recovered but flourished, producing some of the world's finest saffron and expanding into an exciting range of saffron-inspired products.

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Through years of experimentation and learning, Angela and Brendon developed a special drying method, unique they believe to anyone in Australia which involves using humidity in their drying process. Studies have shown this quickly locks in maximum crocin content, and the result is maximum colour, flavour and aroma. This has resulted in overwhelming and consistent feedback that their saffron is especially potent, requiring only a fraction of what you would usually use in dishes. Pretty important right, when you are using such a premium product!