Krokos ( el, Κρόκος) is a small Greek town, 5 km south of the city of

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani (regional unit), Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmona ...

located in the geographical region of

Western Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen Modern regions of Greece, regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. Located in north-western ...

, in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It was the seat of the municipality of

Elimeia Elimeia ( el, Ελιμεία) is a former municipality in Kozani regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kozani, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area ...

and it is famous globally for the production of high-quality

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...

. Its population was 2,977 at the 2011 census.

Krokos Kozanis (Saffron)

The town of Krokos is renowned in Greece and abroad for the production of

, which is one of the world's most intense and valuable varieties. Although the ancient

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

s were known to cultivate saffron during Late Bronze Age Crete, the cultivation of the plant disappeared from Greece until the 17th century, when Greek traders brought the plant from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

to the region of

. The town of Krokos is the base of the Cooperative of Saffron Producers of Kozani, a cooperative that counts 2000 members spread between 40 small villages. Annual production, depending on weather conditions, ranges from 6 to 12 tons of pure red saffron each year. Much of this production is

certified organic Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products, in the European Union more commonly known as ecological or biological products.Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/ ...

. Saffron from the region is PDO protected due to its particularly high quality colour and strong flavor; no other region of Greece produces Red Saffron. Greek Red Saffron, as provided by the Kozani Cooperative, has a guaranteed coloring strength of 230.

Climate

External links

Krokos Kozanis, by the Greek National Tourism OrganisationHarvesting the Krokossaffron

References

{{Kozani div Populated places in Kozani (regional unit)