Eastern hemlock
Tsuga canadensis
A shade-loving tree with drooping branches, hemlock fed the tanneries and lumber camps; its needles brew a citrus-tasting tea.
Don't let the name worry you: our hemlock has nothing to do with the poison hemlock that killed Socrates. It is a tall, peaceful conifer that loves shaded ravines and cool streambanks, with a leader that droops like a feather duster and branches that fall in cascades. Its needles are tiny, flat, set in two rows, with a line of even smaller needles lying upside down along the top of the twig: that is its signature.
A tannery story
In the nineteenth century, hemlock bark drove the tanneries of Québec and New England. Rich in tannin, it gave leather its characteristic russet colour. Whole forests were stripped of bark and the trunks left to rot. That is what makes today's big hemlocks so precious; some in the Laurentians are over three hundred years old.
Harvest
Étienne never touches the bark. He picks young needle tips in spring, when they are a tender, almost fluorescent green, and gathers twigs brought down by winter storms. Dried in the shade, the needles hold their scent for months.
In the workshop
Steeped in hot water they make a clear, lively drink tasting of lemon and forest, the same brew lumberjacks drank in their camps. In incense blends they add a green note softer than pine.
Our products are artisanal plant-based preparations. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.