Snow Shan Green Honey Panna Cotta
A silky panna cotta infused with Snow Shan Green tea and wild honey — the tea's gentle smoke and natural sweetness turn a simple dessert into something quietly complex.
This panna cotta is built around Snow Shan Green's most distinctive trait: its honeyed finish. Steeping the leaves directly in warm cream draws out that natural sweetness and a faint toasty-smoky note, so the dessert needs less added sugar than a typical panna cotta to feel rich and rounded.
Using real honey instead of all granulated sugar reinforces the tea's own honeyed character rather than competing with it — choose a light, floral honey so it doesn't overpower the tea's more delicate notes.
Strain the infused cream carefully so the texture stays silky with no leaf sediment. The pale jade flecks left from the tea leaves are part of the charm, but you want them barely visible, not gritty.
Serve well-chilled, unmolded onto a small plate, with an extra drizzle of honey and a few toasted pine nuts or sesame seeds on top for crunch. It's an elegant, not-too-sweet way to close out a meal that already featured the tea.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 tbsp loose Snow Shan Green tea leaves (or 4 tea bags)
- 1/3 cup honey, plus extra for drizzling
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp powdered gelatin
- 3 tbsp cold water
- Pinch of salt
- Toasted pine nuts or sesame seeds for garnish
How to make it
- 1Sprinkle gelatin over the cold water in a small bowl and let it bloom for 5–10 minutes.
- 2Heat cream and milk in a saucepan until just simmering. Remove from heat, add the tea leaves, cover, and steep for 5 minutes.
- 3Strain the cream through a fine sieve, pressing gently to extract flavor. Return the strained cream to the saucepan over low heat.
- 4Whisk in honey, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Add the bloomed gelatin and whisk until fully melted and smooth — do not let it boil.
- 5Pour into 4–5 small ramekins or glasses. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 4 hours, or until fully set.
- 6To serve, dip ramekins briefly in warm water and invert onto plates (or serve directly in the glass). Drizzle with extra honey and scatter toasted pine nuts or sesame seeds on top.
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