There's a spice so precious that thousands of flowers are hand-picked for just a few grams of it. That's saffron — the most expensive spice in the world, grown in Azerbaijan for centuries, especially around Absheron. Every autumn the fields fill with delicate lilac crocuses, and inside each flower are just three thin orange threads — the saffron itself. It takes roughly 150,000 flowers to make one kilogram, which is why saffron is called “red gold.” It gives a distinct flavor and color to plov, pastries, and tea, and is seen as a symbol of abundance in the home. Let this pin remind you: sometimes the most valuable things come in the thinnest threads.