Despite living a long period of scarcity the family was well know for their exceptional health and very long life. With many family members living past 90 years at a time when most did not reach 50.

While some said it was their wines, some others thought of the precious saffron they add to their meals and to the concoctions they drunk when unwell. This saffron came from a very small concession they had from one of their trades. Very small production, all artisanal, precious and special.

While saffron is known for its culinary properties, its health and healing properties are usually kept very quiet, mostly as due to its scarcity, the top quality one, which is the best for health, is available in very few amounts.

Ausalus comes from Latin, meaning the gold of health. Gold, as in how precious it is to be healthy, but also an allegory to the colour of our premium saffron.

Mr Apolinar, his wife Juliana and their siblings were traders, based in a small place in La Mancha, they worked different trades. While Ms Juliana’s mother run the town’s artisan bakery, Mr Apolinar, her husband and head of de la Casa family, made wine, and traded different goods all over Spain.

While the family was stroke by a series of unfortunate events (phylloxera, the baking house burning down, being in the losing side of the Spanish civil war,…) they always worked hard, with decisive entrepreneurial spirit, and trading all over the country and working very hard brought them wealth.