Krokos Kozanis, the gold of Greek land as it is called, is one of the most popular and precious spices of the ancient cultures, on account of its essence, colour, pharmaceutical and aphrodisiac qualities. Cleopatra used it in her cosmetics, the ancient Finicians in their offers to goddess Astarte. Homer mentions it in his scripts while it is also found in the Old Testament. Its history in modern Greece starts when merchants of Kozani carry it from Austria, in the 17^th century.

For three hundred years Krokos has been cultivated and grown under the sun of Macedonia, in a region that includes many small villages of the Kozani Prefecture. The inhabitants of the area plant Krokos in the summer and in the autumn remove by the hand the valuable stigmata of the beautiful flower and carefully dry it. It takes about 150.000 flowers to produce 1.000 grammars of red saffron. Krokos Kozanis or saffron or zafora as it is usually called, belongs to the best quality of saffron in the world.