Photos: Alaska Pure Sea Salt from Sitka

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A close look at the flakes of Alaska Pure Sea Salt, a Sitka company.

This is a story about salt. It's a humble mineral for one that has served as ancient currency and shaped historic trade routes.

But this is also a story about Alaska oceans, a love of place and a passion for creating an unparalleled product to share with the world.

Darcy and Jim Michener, founders of Alaska Pure Sea Salt Co., have quietly pioneered North America's salt renaissance from their homegrown operation in Sitka.

After years of lugging jugs of seawater up the dock, they perfected the methodology to produce a unique flake-style salt. Those flakes are spreading throughout Alaska and the Lower 48, finding a place in the go-to arsenal of top chefs and in the pantries of home cooks.

READ MORE: Southeast Alaska sea salt business takes off