Not too long ago, chia seeds were virtually unavailable in the U.S.
I'm reblogging this 2009 post as evidence.
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Trader Joe's is a popular specialty grocery store with a dozen outlets in the greater New York, and hundreds more around the country.
Yesterday, I dropped into our local (Stony Brook, NY) Trader Joe's to investigate. I spoke with the manager:
Me: What products do you carry that contain chia seeds? Do you carry whole or ground chia seeds?
Trader Joe's Store Manager: Chia seeds? What are they?
Me: Chia seeds are a rediscovered crop, used like flax seeds (we were standing next to the flax tortilla chips at the time.) They don't go rancid or have to be ground. Blah blah, etc.
Me: FYI, one of your competitors carries chia seeds.
Trader Joe's Store Manager: Sounds interesting. But we got burned with Acai berries. Anyway, there's no demand for them yet. You're the first person to ask.
Is it only the Long Island stores that are so far behind the times? But no, I searched the entire Trader Joe's website for "seeds" and found pumpkin seeds and chocolate covered sunflower seeds, but no chia seeds. (When I searched the site for "chia" I found nothing!!) Commentors on Mizfit's blog have reported trouble finding chia seeds at Trader Joe's elsewhere.
So Joe! Get with the program!!
10/29/2023 UPDATE-- Trader Joe's did finally catch on and of course you can find chia there now.