Fireweed Harvesting Stories 2026

Hello tea lovers, I suspect that your tea cabinet reserves are dwindling steadily and that when you sip your favourite hot beverages, you wish you could have them endlessly. Well, let me reassure you, because at Tea of the North, we’re currently redoubling our efforts and taking double sips to make the finest teas produced entirely in Quebec, and we’re ready to aim even higher to keep your reserves full.


For readers less familiar with our processes, know that the majority of our tea production occurs over a short two-month period during the summer, and it takes place in Champneuf, Abitibi. This year, our harvesting team is bigger than ever, with our loyal veterans Victor, Audrée, Arielle, Marco and Lôrel returning to lend a hand to Julien, joined by David, Mégane and Joanie, who are new to the team. We even had to convert our pantry into a bedroom to house everyone. Each person brings their own touch of talent, knowledge and enthusiasm so that the harvest is at its best. Respect for the environment is at the heart of all our values, and we all take care to ensure an ethical and poetic harvest. I’m convinced that the flavour of our joy in harvesting will be tasted in your next infusions.

It’s now been three years since we decided to move our production from Kamouraska to the municipality of Champneuf! Three years of constant improvement to our infrastructure and production techniques.

Now that we’re better oriented in the region and its territory scattered with fireweed fields, we’ve been able to target our efforts across the different patches spread throughout this Abitibi area. We even took a few days at the beginning of the season to test alder leaves for a possible future tea recipe to add to our collection. Honestly, so far, it’s very promising! Among the major additions for the 2026 season, we built a greenhouse that now serves for solar wilting to recreate a climate similar to Asia. It was quite a project, but the result is rather satisfying when you can taste the work of the sun on the leaves

By spending time alongside fireweed in the meadows, much like it does, we end up developing a relationship with the light, from sunrise to sunset. That’s why one of our favorite team traditions is watching the spectacular sunsets of this Abitibi landscape and appreciating those first moments of darkness — a peaceful moment every time. Then, every morning, we wake to the rhythm of rays streaming through the window announcing the start of the next harvesting day.

Marco Déry, Harvesting Team Lead

15-07-2026