Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a highly valuable spice known for its color, aroma, and bioactive compounds such as crocins, picrocrocin, and safranal. Its quality is strongly influenced by harvesting at early morning hours, careful manual handling of fresh flowers, and rapid stigma separation to preserve purity. Drying methods—whether traditional shade drying or controlled industrial drying—play a crucial role in maintaining color strength, aroma, and chemical stability. Alth