La Melguiza is a unique and very exclusive boutique store. It is located in a quiet and central Madrid street and sells saffron from Castilla-La Mancha -the most valued in the world- and Teruel; It is purchased by the gram (

at approximately 9 euros / gr

) and drives the Arabs crazy. "One day two young girls came, one Spanish and the other Arab; this one began to buy and left 22,000 euros. She did not give us the amount for the card's dataphone. Then we learned that it was a Sheikh who was staying at the Ritz", recalls David Sáenz (45), owner of the business together with Marta Huerva (45).

They opened in 2017, with the idea of ​​publicizing a national product of excellent quality, putting it in value "and democratizing its consumption," he says.

"In Castilla-La Mancha there is the only Denomination of Origin, and in Aragon, we bring it from an ecological plantation".

They are the only store in Europe, and "possibly in the world", dedicated to what is known as 'red gold'

.

David Sáenz and María Huerva, in La Melguiza.

In fact, saffron is the most expensive species out there. "

Almost everything we consume in Spain comes from abroad

, mainly from Iran, which is the world's largest producer. And it is not usually of very good quality", explains this former consultant with a passion for gastronomy. "What you do is buy it abroad and package it here, so that it looks Spanish, but the origin is not national."

At first they focused the business on the local customer, "that public that looks for quality and appreciates cuisine", and they looked for a good location "to also be aware of the tourist." Americans, Australians, Argentines are regular customers. "Asians also come a lot because they appreciate the healthy properties of saffron."

Although the "big customer" is the Middle East

.

"It is a very common ingredient in their diet, they use it to drink with tea, coffee, sweets ... And they know how to differentiate a good saffron from a bad one."

Personnel from the embassies of Arab countries often drop by on Calle de Santiago, near Calle Mayor.

"At first we were surprised to see the cars at the door and all the entourage getting out. Not anymore."

At this point they are thinking of expanding the business in one of these countries.

Soaps made with saffron.

Price is the first thing that makes the difference

. "To get a kilo of saffron you need 250,000 flowers," says David. "Flowering only lasts three weeks and everything is done by hand." The cost cannot therefore be low. "The

aroma

is another indicator of quality." When it's bad, you make a face when you smell it; if it is good, there are a lot of floral nuances. "Third note:" The Spanish has three stigmas of saffron, also called threads, which are united at the base for the style. "If this is not seen, it is not from here. Finally,

a saffron that immediately dyes the water, bad

. "A good one does it little by little and leaves it with a very beautiful golden color".

His idea of ​​democratizing consumption was to offer products that had saffron, be it chocolate, jams, honey or candies, "that could be easily enjoyed."

Everything always wrapped up in a packaging taken care of to the maximum

.

"We have also created a cosmetic line."

With the pandemic, they began to sell on Amazon - they also do it on the web - and it worked wonderfully.

"They asked us from France, Italy, the United Kingdom and also from Spain. There was time to cook and it showed."

Now they have started to sell saffron bulbs from Teruel so that people can make their own plantations.

"We have the best product in the world and we don't know it."

Address

: Santiago 12. Tel .: 915 479 323.

The saffron from Castilla-La Mancha is considered the best in the world.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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