What's Inside the Nepal Hills Black Tea Lover Pack? A Guide to All Four Teas
Last updated: September 2026
The Black Tea Lover Pack is Nepal Hills Tea's bundle of four black teas: Gold Black Tea (50g), Muscatel Black Tea (25g), Ruby Black Tea (25g), and Special Black Tea (25g), for $47.40 CAD. That's one tea from each of our four Nepal farms, all whole leaf and all naturally free of bitterness.
New to Nepal Hills Tea? Start with the Tea Sampler Kit ($30 CAD). It covers all four types of tea (black, green, oolong, and white) from all four farms, so you can find out what you actually like before buying a black-tea-only bundle. Already know you're a black tea drinker? The Black Tea Lover Pack is made for you.
What's Inside the Black Tea Lover Pack?
Four single-origin black teas, one from each Nepal Hills farm: Gold Black Tea (50g) from Farmers Tea Co., Muscatel Black Tea (25g) from Norling Specialty Tea, Ruby Black Tea (25g) from Sandakphu Tea Estate, and Special Black Tea (25g), also known by its artisanal name Theba Black, from Pathibhara Tea Estate. That's 125g of tea in all, about 45 to 50 cups, for $47.40 CAD. It's for people who already know they like Darjeeling-style black tea and want to compare four different takes on it side by side.
Where Does Each Tea in the Pack Come From?
| Tea | Farm | Elevation | Organic Status | Sensory Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Black Tea | Farmers Tea Co., Malate, Ilam | 5,500 ft | Grown on a certified organic farm | Smooth malt, light caramel, honey sweetness, golden tips |
| Muscatel Black Tea | Norling Specialty Tea, Ilam | 5,000 to 5,500 ft | Norling Specialty Tea is in the process of organic certification | Honey-grape muscatel, dried apricot, light rose, silky smooth |
| Ruby Black Tea | Sandakphu Tea Estate, Ilam | 5,000 to 6,000 ft | Grown on a certified organic farm | Dark cherry, cocoa, velvety feel, bold |
| Special Black Tea (Theba Black) | Pathibhara Tea Estate, Taplejung | 6,000 ft | Conventionally farmed (not certified organic) | Deep dark chocolate, dried plum, pine resin, intensely aromatic |
Four farms in two districts, Ilam and Taplejung, and none of these teas tastes like the others, even though all four are fully oxidised black teas. That's what single-origin gets you: the farm and the elevation show up in the cup.
The difference in elevation matters. A 2013 South Indian planting trial (Muthumani et al., Journal of Natural Products and Plant Resources) found black tea grown higher up had a significantly higher flavour index and more theaflavins than genetically identical tea grown lower down, with the same cultivars and only the altitude changed. Pathibhara Tea Estate, home of Special Black Tea, is the highest farm in this pack at 6,000 ft, which fits with tasters consistently calling it the boldest of the four.
Why Is Orthodox Whole-Leaf Black Tea Smoother Than Bagged Tea?
All four teas in this pack are made by orthodox processing: the leaf is rolled and twisted whole, not shredded. Most bagged commodity tea is made by CTC processing, short for crush-tear-curl, which grinds the leaf into a fine, fast-brewing powder. The UPASI Tea Research Foundation's technical description of the two methods says CTC produces "complete maceration" of the leaf with more enzyme activity, while orthodox rolling "ruptures the cells" less and gives teas with "good flavour and aroma." When fewer cells break, less of the leaf's harsher tannin ends up in the cup, especially if you over-steep, which is part of the reason whole-leaf orthodox tea is more forgiving than a tea bag. Every tea in the Black Tea Lover Pack is orthodox, hand-processed, and whole leaf; none of it is CTC dust. For more on Nepal's tea sector, see the National Tea and Coffee Development Board.
The difference shows up in real black tea, not just in theory. A 2026 analysis of 32 commercial Assam black tea samples (Sarmah et al., Foods) measured orthodox and CTC tea from the same growing regions and found their polyphenol profiles measurably different, even from the same estates. Separately, a controlled comparison at India's Tocklai Tea Research Institute (Deka et al., 2020, RSC Advances) found that astringency and bitterness tracked closely with how many catechins the processing method released into the cup (R² = 0.89), and a trained tasting panel rated the orthodox version higher overall than the CTC version for every cultivar tested. That study looked at green tea, not black, but the same mechanical principle applies across tea types: CTC breaks more cells and releases more compounds, harsh ones included, which is why bagged CTC black tea is less forgiving than whole-leaf orthodox tea like the four in this pack.
"People who say they don't like black tea have almost always only had CTC tea bags," says Bhaskar Dahal, founder of Nepal Hills Tea. "Put whole-leaf Gold Black next to a supermarket tea bag and it's not even the same category of drink. One is dust designed to brew fast. The other is a leaf that was rolled, not crushed."
How Should You Brew Each Tea in the Black Tea Lover Pack?
Gold Black Tea: 90°C, 3 minutes, 3g per 250ml. Muscatel Black Tea: 90°C, 3 minutes, 3g per 250ml. Ruby Black Tea: 90 to 95°C, 3 to 4 minutes, 3g per 250ml; it can take the higher end without turning bitter. Special Black Tea: 90 to 95°C, 3 to 4 minutes, 3g per 250ml. All four are whole leaf and can be steeped a second time with a slightly longer infusion, a good way to make the 25g bags go further while you compare.
Is the Black Tea Lover Pack Certified Organic?
It's mixed, and we'd rather say so plainly than round up. Gold Black Tea and Ruby Black Tea are both grown on a certified organic farm (Farmers Tea Co. and Sandakphu Tea Estate). Muscatel Black Tea comes from Norling Specialty Tea, which is in the process of organic certification and not yet certified. Special Black Tea comes from Pathibhara Tea Estate, which is conventionally farmed. So two of the four farms currently hold organic certification, and we'd rather tell you that exactly than blur it into one blanket "organic" claim.
Who Is the Black Tea Lover Pack Best For?
If you already drink Darjeeling, Assam, or Ceylon black tea and want to compare four Himalayan alternatives side by side, this is the pack for you. It also suits people switching from coffee to tea, since Ruby Black Tea and Special Black Tea both have enough body to replace coffee's boldness without the bitterness. If you're not sure yet whether you're a black, green, or oolong person, buy the Tea Sampler Kit first; this pack is for people who've already decided.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's in the Nepal Hills Black Tea Lover Pack?
Four single-origin black teas: Gold Black Tea (50g, Farmers Tea Co.), Muscatel Black Tea (25g, Norling Specialty Tea), Ruby Black Tea (25g, Sandakphu Tea Estate), and Special Black Tea (25g, Pathibhara Tea Estate). That's 125g in total for $47.40 CAD, from all four Nepal Hills farms in Ilam and Taplejung.
Is the Black Tea Lover Pack organic?
Two of the four teas are grown on certified organic farms (Gold Black Tea from Farmers Tea Co. and Ruby Black Tea from Sandakphu Tea Estate). Muscatel Black Tea's farm is in the process of certification, and Special Black Tea's farm, Pathibhara Tea Estate, is conventionally farmed.
Which tea in the pack is the boldest?
Special Black Tea (Theba Black) from Pathibhara Tea Estate, grown at 6,000 ft in Taplejung, has the deepest, most intense flavour: dark chocolate, dried plum, and pine resin. Ruby Black Tea from Sandakphu Tea Estate is a close second, with dark cherry and cocoa.
Is any tea in the Black Tea Lover Pack bitter?
No. All four are naturally free of bitterness thanks to high-altitude growing (5,000 to 6,000 ft across the four farms), whole-leaf orthodox processing, and hand plucking, not a brewing trick or an additive. That holds even if you over-steep a cup by a minute or two.
How is orthodox black tea different from the tea in a grocery-store tea bag?
Most bagged tea is made by CTC (crush-tear-curl) processing, which grinds the leaf into fast-brewing dust. Orthodox processing, used for all four teas in the Black Tea Lover Pack, rolls the leaf whole and breaks fewer cells, giving better flavour and more forgiving brewing.
How much tea is in the Black Tea Lover Pack, and how many cups does it make?
125g in total across four teas (50g + 25g + 25g + 25g), which is about 45 to 50 cups at the standard 3g per 250ml. That's around $1 CAD a cup across the whole pack, less than a single cup of tea in a café.
Should I buy the Tea Sampler Kit or the Black Tea Lover Pack first?
If you're new to Nepal Hills Tea, start with the $30 Tea Sampler Kit, which covers all four types of tea, not just black. Once you know black tea is your favourite, the Black Tea Lover Pack lets you go deeper into it.
Ready to Compare All Four?
Get the Black Tea Lover Pack ($47.40 CAD) to taste Gold Black, Muscatel Black, Ruby Black, and Special Black side by side. If you'd rather try them one at a time, Gold Black Tea is the easiest place to start for a coffee drinker switching over, and the Tea Sampler Kit ($30 CAD) is still the cheapest way to taste all four types of tea Nepal Hills Tea makes, not just black.
Bhaskar Dahal is the founder of Nepal Hills Tea, a Canadian direct-trade specialty tea company sourcing single-origin loose-leaf teas from Ilam and Taplejung, Nepal.
Related reading: What's Inside the Tea Sampler Kit? · How to Cold Brew Black Tea · Nepal Hills Special Black Tea: A Rare High-Altitude Tea
