Origins of Sea Moss: Where Does It Come From?

Sea moss is an amazing food and ingredient that has many health benefits. However, not all sea moss is the same; there are many different species from different places across the world. If you’re looking for some sea moss for yourself, learn about the origins of sea moss to identify what you’re buying.

Purple or Jamaican Gold Sea Moss

Purple sea moss comes from the Caribbean Sea. The most common harvest spot is St. Lucia. This raw sea moss gold has very similar benefits to the Irish sea moss, but it is an entirely different species. This can get quite confusing, especially since people call it “Irish sea moss” due to confusion about Irish immigrants going to Jamaica.

Irish Sea Moss

Sea moss—which was originally called Irish sea moss—needs cold waters as its habitat. That’s why this sea moss grows and is harvested mostly in Europe. It’s also plentiful in North America and can be found along the borders of Canada and Maine.

Wildcrafted Vs. Pool-Grown

These are the two popular kinds of sea moss people regularly consume and use in their products, but there’s another massive distinction in the origins of sea moss. Sea moss is either wildcrafted or pool-grown. Wildcrafted sea moss grows in the ocean and doesn’t experience any human influence (other than harvesting) while pool-grown sea moss is grown in special environment-controlled pools. In general, wildcrafted sea moss has a lot more nutrients and a deeper flavor because it’s natural.

These are the major distinctions between the different types of sea moss available on the market. However, there isn’t a big health difference between Irish sea moss and gold sea moss. It all comes down to availability. But there is a huge difference between organic wildcrafted moss and pool-grown moss. Buy wildcrafted sea moss whenever possible for the best health benefits.