It was the zest of times, it was the bloom of times…
It’s Sichuan pepper harvest season again!
In previous summers, we were deep in the mountains of Sichuan for the red and green Sichuan pepper harvest. This remote mountainous region is tucked between Chengdu and the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, known for its legendary Sichuan pepper orchards. The green pepper harvest begins in July, followed by the red in August.
Sweating through 90°F heat, hiking along narrow mountain roads, dodging thorny branches, and trying (unsuccessfully) to keep up with Auntie Zhou — one of the veteran farmers in our network — we joined more than 700 smallholder growers to hand-pick Sichuan pepper: the crème de la crème, once reserved for Chinese emperors and sourced from the most prized mountain orchards.
Image: Meet Auntie Zhou — one of the legendary farmers in our network.
This summer, we traded the heat of Sichuan’s hillsides for the swelter of New York City at the Fancy Food Show — and while we couldn’t make it back to Sichuan for this year’s harvest, we found ourselves surrounded by others who share our commitment to bold flavor, responsible sourcing, and a deep respect for the people behind every spice.
One of those kindred spirits was Heray Spice, founded by Mohammad Salehi, a former Afghan military interpreter for the U.S. Army. After immigrating to Chicago, he set out to support farmers in his hometown of Herat, Afghanistan — the same saffron fields he once worked in as a child.
Image: Yao with Mohammad Salehi, founder of Heray Spice. Image via @herayspice on Instagram.
As we stood side by side at the Fancy Food Show — one talking saffron, the other Sichuan pepper — we recognized a shared truth: though our spices grow worlds apart in terrain and tradition, they share something deeper — both are born from labor, precision, and deep respect for the land.
Sichuan Pepper: The Tingle That Takes Time
In the Sichuan mountains, harvest season doesn’t arrive all at once. It builds slowly, like the mountains exhaling — slow and warm — as the pepper begins to swell. By late June, the first husks start to ripen under the sun, with peak harvest stretching from July through August.
Image: Sun-fed and swollen — green Sichuan pepper pearls on the verge of release.
But reaching them isn’t easy. The bushes are tall, thorny, and unrelenting. Harvesting means navigating narrow footpaths carved into steep hillsides, leaning into branches that prick, and snipping fast — before the sun dulls the oils or the aroma slips away.
Many of the harvesters are older women — we call them our Sichuan aunties — whose speed and skill still leave us stunned. Often with woven baskets strapped to their backs, they move through the orchards like it’s second nature, filling each one with freshly picked pepper husks. Every harvested batch is tagged with the farmer’s name, date, and time of harvest, then wheeled into cold storage to lock in aroma and numbing power.
Image: One of our Sichuan aunties pauses mid-harvest, her smile reflecting years of care and connection to the land.
It’s not glamorous. It’s not easy. But it’s how we ensure every pepper that reaches your tongue is bright, potent, and true to the land it came from.
As the Sichuan pepper harvest moves through its final months, another harvest waits quietly on the horizon. In November, in the dawn-hushed fields of Herat, Afghanistan, a different kind of intensity begins to unfold — just as precise, just as demanding.
Saffron: Gold at Sunrise
In Herat, the rhythm of harvest unfolds in hushed contrast — not heat and thorns, but mist and petals, plucked before the day begins to breathe. From early to mid-November, saffron crocus flowers bloom quietly in the stillness before dawn. The farmers — many of them women — rise before sunrise, moving through the morning dew to gather the blossoms by hand.
Image: Wrapped in red and purple at dawn, Heray’s saffron farmers — many of them women — handpick each flower with care, one bloom at a time.
Each delicate flower yields just three tiny red stigmas, which must be carefully removed, sorted, and dried the very same day. The window is tight: once the sun touches the petals, they begin to wilt. And it takes over 70,000 flowers to produce a single pound of saffron.
Image: Saffron: 3-5 crimson threads in a violet bloom — fragile as breath, gone by the sun's first light.
Heray’s excellence goes beyond its saffron’s deep color and rich aroma — it has been internationally recognized for seven consecutive years, including multiple Superior Taste Awards from the International Taste Institute in Brussels.
However, what truly sets Heray Spice apart is their unwavering commitment to people: investing in sustainable farming, fair wages, and education, even under the most difficult conditions.
Despite strict restrictions on female employment in Afghanistan, they’ve managed to build a seasonal workforce that is 45% women. Like us, they know that flavor is only half the story — the rest lives in the hands that bring it to life.
Image: In a Herat facility, Afghan women delicately draw crimson threads from crocus blossoms — the soul of saffron in every touch. See the process on Heray Spice’s Instagram.
More Than Just Spice
Both saffron and Sichuan pepper carry prestige — but behind the price tags and flavor profiles are real people, real hills, and real hands.
At 50Hertz, we believe in bringing transparency to flavor. Our harvests are rooted in community — the aunties who make us laugh and lap us on the snipping line, the mountains that test your balance, the way your fingers sting (or even bleed) after a few hours in the field.
Heray’s saffron carries the same energy — care, pride, and the quiet intensity of people who know their land, their crop, and their craft.
Why We’re Sharing This
We’re not launching a saffron-pepper fusion (although that could be interesting). We’re sharing this because we think stories like this matter — especially when the labor is invisible, the seasons are short, and the flavor is unforgettable.
If you're here because you love Heray’s saffron — welcome to our 50Hertz Tingly world.
If Sichuan pepper woke your palate, saffron will stir your soul.
Comments (0)
There are no comments for this article. Be the first one to leave a message!