The fruit is hard to get. Açaí berries live in massive açaí palm trees that can grow over 60 feet. Harvesting is done by hand which can make it incredibly challenging and dangerous to retrieve the desirable fruit. The berries are shipped by boat and spoil rather easily so they must be harvested with a great deal of speed and then frozen or freeze dried. This is why you won’t find them in the produce section of your local grocery store; you will have to look in the frozen section.