Stories from Gatherers 2026

Hello fireweed friends

And just like that, a seventh harvest season at Tea of the North comes to a close.

Once again, our record for tea produced has been broken compared to the previous year…

Once again, the bugs and the heat waves gave us with everything they had…

Once again, we were left in awe by the beauty of the Abitibi sky, its sunsets, and the warm welcome of the people of Champneuf and the surrounding area…

Once again, the fireweed was abundant, generous, and so beautiful…

But above all, once again, it was a rich human adventure, with its highs and its lows. We were a small tribe, tightly knit, for the length of a summer.

We work together, we eat together, we laugh together, we live together. 24/7. 24/7

This unique experience forges bonds that will stay with us for a long time.


This year is no exception, with a band of merry characters of the most eclectic kind, each one more original than the last… it is never boring around here… oh no, ladies and gentlemen!

Hi, my name is David. This is my first time with Tea of the North.

I am passionate about plants, but I didn’t know much about fireweed or Abitibi before arriving. Here I have two roles: picker and tea processing assistant.

A normal day starts in the morning. I wake up, have breakfast, and head out to pick. In the early afternoon, I come back with the team and the harvested leaves. Then we move into processing.

We weigh the leaves, wither them, then sort through them. We remove anything that does not belong and prepare the plants for the next steps. You have to pay close attention because each step changes the final product.

What I really love about this work is seeing the process from A to Z. I love being able to start with the plant directly in its natural environment, pick it, bring it back, transform it, and finally see the finished product. It is really fascinating to see the entire journey a plant takes before becoming the tea we drink.

Dancing with the Bumblebees

Some encounters with nature can, at first glance, seem counterintuitive. And yet they remind me that every living being occupies an essential place in the ecosystem, and that as humans, we do not play a more important role than any other, despite what our ego often tries to make us believe.

While picking fireweed leaves, we share the space with bumblebees, who are after the flowers of that same plant to carry out the noble task of pollination. We then have a choice: to compete with them, or to coexist.

Since bumblebees are not aggressive by nature, it is entirely possible, by staying attentive and present, to share the plants and harvest alongside them in their company. In this contact, I perceive a kind of beauty, a reflection of humble and respectful sharing that deserves to be valued in many other spheres of our human lives.

When spring gives way to summer, it always makes me smile to announce to my friends and family what I will be doing for the season. As someone who loves connecting with nature and ancestral knowledge, it is an honour to return to Abitibi as a fireweed picker. In an interconnected world where everything moves so fast, we sometimes forget where we come from, and this job allows me to get a little closer to my roots.

My main responsibility is making sure the harvesting goes as well as possible for everyone, starting with exploring the local forests in search of the finest patches. I love those moments that awaken my explorer’s nature.

I have also learned a great deal about fireweed, which I can now spot from hundreds of metres away, identify its different varieties, and better understand its ecology. To me, this knowledge gives me a deeper appreciation of the vegetation that surrounds me.

I’m Arielle, and this summer I wore the chef’s hat for the harvest crew.

Days spent on my own, cooking good food for a whole gang of motivated, driven people united by a common purpose: making tea. When dinnertime comes, the kitchen wakes up. The table fills. The stories from the day spill out, the laughter gets loud, and the conversation flows in that space where we all land together at the end of each day.

Cooking with good ingredients, having fun putting together meals that would make everyone happy, working on the perfect picker’s oatmeal cookie recipe, which some would say is the best ever. Though others would hold firm that it was the Saturday granola bars. We never did agree on that one.

Here in the kitchen, creativity meets repetition. Calm meets chaos. Silence meets laughter. The slow fermentation of yogourt meets the quick whisk of a vinaigrette. The comfort of a soup meets the surprise of a strawberry tapioca. Every day a little the same. Every day a little different.

This summer marked my third harvest season in Abitibi, in the village of Champneuf specifically. For me, it always signals a return to quiet. Yes, we are there to work, but the beauty of nature always takes over, and that makes the whole thing wonderfully calming.

The village welcomes you with open arms and warm smiles. And for most of the time, the task is beautifully simple: we pick fireweed leaves.

That lovely plant that adorns the meadows and forest edges with its pink-violet flowers.

Then comes the “magic”: withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying. The cycle unfolds over the days following the harvest, with Julien pouring all of his expertise into producing teas worthy of the name.

Outside of that, I take care of odd jobs and share cooking duties (alternating with Arielle), keeping the hungry crew well fed after long days in the fields.

Our experienced picker, who always has a pun up her sleeve.

Working at Tea of the North allows me to find my tribe again, for the length of a harvest season. That precious feeling of being fully yourself within a group where every member is working in the same direction, with a shared commitment to doing things right. The tasks at hand become a creative adventure.



The idea of making tea from local plants, something I had never imagined possible before, takes shape through the strength of the group, intuition, and full immersion in our five senses.

Throughout the entire process, the team takes care to carry out this shared mission in the best way possible.
Having been here since the very beginning of the company in 2020, I can say that 2026 has been a year of setting new records: record total harvest in a single day, record individual and collective picking ratio per hour, record comfort, record outings and activities, and record good vibes and team spirit.

A lot happens here at Tea of the North, but it is better lived than read about.

That is why I will not go on forever about every incredible moment, but I did want to say a word about the famous Saturday granola bar and its creator. I am not entirely sure if they were made on a Saturday or meant to be eaten on a Saturday, but one thing is certain: I have never had so many feelings about a granola bar. Thank you, Arielle. Because of you and your talents, some truly epic fits of laughter were born.

Thank you for the impromptu trips into town that turned out to be the best ones. For the bonfire nights and movie nights. For the sunsets and the rainbows. For the good food and the good company. And for every single moment, without exception, lived here among the fireweed and my friends.

I am going home with my head and heart full. Full of gratitude, completely unforgettable memories, and new friendships that I hope will keep growing long after this summer.