Crimson Stigma
A note from Travis and Jess: “Crimson Stigma” are the three aromatic threads enclosed in the Crocus sativus flower more commonly known as Saffron. We were following a carrot pickling recipe from Renee Erickson’s “A Boat, A Whale, and A Walrus” which called for a half teaspoon of Saffron threads (yeah, we know…how ~fancy~ ). Inspired by saffron’s delicate decadence and evermore elegance we knew that these crimson threads belonged in a beer. We used the leftover teaspoon from our spice rack, adding it in after fermentation was complete. A little more reading about this flower revealed that the economy of saffron harvesting is WILD! Saffron only blooms for a couple weeks in the year, primarily in a small region in Iran. The threads must be very carefully plucked by hand during this time then dried and packaged for distribution around the world. It can take about ~16,000 flowers to make 1 kilogram of threads. We figured that it is much more plausible that somewhere in the extended universe there exists a planet completely covered in Crocus where a diligent colony of fairies maintains and plucks the crimson stigmas. The planet would have to spin on its axis such that the fairies can migrate at a pace that allows for a year-round continual harvest. This, we think, is a far more plausible method for galactic saffron distribution. Jester and Traveler confirmed this suspicion in their adventure to the Crocus planet.