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Black Tea

Kumaon Tiger Black

$18.99

The first whole leaf black tea of the factory we own with Kumaon farmers. Inspired by the golden-style teas of eastern Nepal, this is a rich cup with velvety notes of honey and dried fruit. This tea draws its name from the striped pattern in the leaf, while also paying homage to Kumaon's most iconic wildlife.

Kumaon Tiger Black - 2 oz (56g) is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.

Preparation

Steep 1 | 1 Tbsp / 2.5 g | 8 oz | 210°F | 3.5 min
Steep 2 8 oz | 210°F | 4 min

Tasting Notes

Molasses and Dried Fig

Origin

Kumaon, North Indian Himalayas

Tea Makers

Champawat Tea Makers

Flavor

Tiger Black is a whole leaf black tea with a more perfumed aroma and thicker body than most Indian blacks. The large, undamaged leaf releases flavor gradually -- notes thick molasses, sweet and tarty dried fig, and a touch of malt come forward without astringency taking over.

Where mass-market Indian teas extract fast and hit hard, this one opens slowly. That's the whole point.

Origin Story

Tiger Black was created by accident.

At the end of the Kumaon Tea Factory's first season, Raj and Desmond spent three days with the team sorting through the year's finished teas. Working through literal mountains of leaf, they noticed something unexpected coming out of the sorting chutes: large, undamaged black leaves streaked with golden buds.

They raced up to the cupping room to try it -- and realized they had accidentally found the factory's first whole leaf black tea. As elusive as the king of Kumaon's jungles, Tiger Black came from that moment: something nearly overlooked, revealed and revered in full.

  • Origin Story
  • Production

Tea Makers

Desmond Birkbeck comes from the only local family that stayed in tea after the British pulled out of Kumaon in the 1920s.

Desmond grew up on his family’s tea garden named Chirapani, which means “split water” and is named for the waterfall at the top of their tea garden. Desmond proudly tells the story of writing to the Tea Board of India when he was 14 years old, requesting that his family’s tea garden be able to sell into the Kolkata auctions.

Now he's considered a founding father of Kumaon's tea revival. We're honored to call him our partner.

Impact

In 2025, together with local farmers, we launched India’s first farmer-owned specialty tea factory after more than a decade of collaboration.

Farmers who have joined as co-owners—90% of whom are women—benefit in two ways: by selling their harvest at up to 5x commodity prices, and by sharing in the factory’s long-term profits. We are expanding ownership to ~500 farmers in Champawat, with a longer-term goal of setting up additional farmer-owned factories to serve the ~6,000 farmers growing tea across the state.

By connecting tea makers like Desmond with other smallholder-led origins, we’re helping build a broader network of knowledge across the Himalayas—one where ideas, techniques, and opportunity move between regions.

Together, we’re building a new model of Indian tea that raises quality to improve the lives of the people who grow it.

Our Packaging

Our commitment to sustainability means we offer our teas in several types of packaging:

Tins

Durable and reusable, made from 100% recyclable steel. Labels are not recyclable but made from 50% hemp and 50% post-consumer waste.

Bulk Bags

Tough, resealable stand-up pouches with storing moisture and oxygen barriers. Not recyclable due to a 3-layer structure that serves as a food-safe barrier to keep your tea fresh as long as possible.

Pyramid Tea Bag

Recyclable stand-up pouches with tea bags, strings, and tags made from 100% sugarcane PLA, commercially compostable and degrades into organic matter. For best results, use a commercial compost facility.