Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

At first glance this stuff looks the part. The shape is right, the smell is right, like damp hay and fresh honey, smells sweet, tastes bitter, cold water test went well... I was skeptical of the flatness and symmetry of the shape, but the saffron water made tasted and smelled right to me. But there was something that I couldn't put my finger on, so I looked at a strand under a microscope. Pics attached. What you can see in the pics is consistent from strand to strand. It looks like real saffron, but it's been adulterated with what's likely potassium nitrate or another food safe salt to artificially increase its weight. Oldest saffron trick in the book. Shame on you Seller. And shame on whoever is bothering to grow real saffron and then spray with god knows what to earn more money.