An ancient sacred plant of the Mesoamerican civilizations, cultivated by the Aztecs, the Maya and their ancestors for at least 3,500 years, and one of the four great founding crops of pre-Columbian Mexican agriculture, alongside corn, beans and squash. The word chia comes from the Nahuatl chian, meaning "fatty, oily," in reference to the seeds' richness in oil.
For the Aztecs, it was at once everyday food, medicine, religious offering and field ration for warriors on the march — legend has it that a spoonful of hydrated chia could sustain an Aztec runner for an entire day of running. After the 16th-century Spanish conquest, chia cultivation was widely repressed by the colonists (just like amaranth already described in our pages) in favour of European wheat and barley — the plant came close to commercial extinction before being rehabilitated at the end of the 20th century and becoming one of the star "superfoods" of the 2010s. Botanically, chia belongs to the Salvia genus (sages) and the Lamiaceae family — with basil, garden sage, lemon balm, mint and rosemary.
As a microgreen: small, fine shoots with very fine purplish stems topped by tiny heart-shaped cotyledons of tender green — a delicate, almost ethereal silhouette. Subtle, fresh flavour, lightly herbaceous and minty, with a final earthy note characteristic of the sages. Tender, fragile texture.
Use: delicate garnish on smoothies (the living version of the chia already found in the drink), on granolas and yogurts, on tacos and Latin American dishes, on fresh cheeses, or mixed with other microgreens for a chef's blend.
Important particularity: like basil, garden cress and mustard seeds, chia seeds are strongly mucilaginous on contact with water (they coat themselves in seconds with a transparent gel — the same phenomenon that produces the famous chia pudding). This mucilage makes jar-sprouting impractical but poses no problem for tray culture on potting mix or fibre mat.
- Soak: NOT recommended (strongly mucilaginous seeds).
- Germination time: 2 to 4 days.
- Microgreen harvest: 8 to 12 days after sowing.
- Yield: about 1 teaspoon of seeds produces a 20 × 20 cm tray of microgreens.
- Best use: smoothies, yogurts, granolas, Latin American dishes, delicate garnishes.
