Tea is enjoying a renewed popularity

Starbucks is jumping on tea’s renewed popularity with a trendy new Tea Bar in New York City. The opening of the New York City store on Thursday comes after Starbucks last year bought Teavana, a chain of about 300 stores. Starbucks has said it plans to use the acquisition to make tea a bigger part of American culture, as it has with coffee.

Already they noted people are more knowledgeable about tea, with customers increasingly familiar with different varieties such as Oolong and Darjeeling. They are discovering people are more likely to buy food with tea than with coffee. Smart bartenders will look at Teavanna's and competitors' multi-flavored fruit and herbal blends as convenience bases for boozy cocktails and chefs may use them for basting. Solaris Tea has worked for a while on the perfect teas for cooking—be it for marinating, steaming, reductions, deserts & cocktails.

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Here our Solaris Earl Grey Panna Cotta:

What you need:
- 200ml Whipping Cream
- 150ml Whipping Cream stiffly whipped
- 30g Caster Sugar
- 1 Leaf Gelatine Sheet
- 4 Solaris Earl Grey Teabags
- 500ml Solaris Breakfast Tea brewed cooled and strained
- 50g Sugar
- 3 Sheets Leaf Gelatine

Method
Allow the gelatine to soften in some cold water. Add the tea and sugar to the cream and bring to the boil.
Allow to infuse before straining into a clean bowl and then add the soaked gelatine. When the cream has cooled well fold in the stiffly whipped cream. Pour the mixture into whisky tumblers, then chill to set.
While the panna cotta is setting make the jelly. Bring the strained tea to the boil then add the sugar simmer for 2 minutes. Soak the gelatine in cold water until soft and pliable. Drain and add to the tea mixture then remove from the heat and allow to cool. When cold use to top the panna cotta.