Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat to just below a simmer. Add black tea leaves and mix until all tea is saturated. Let steep, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cream takes on a light tan hue and is fragrant. Transfer to a covered bowl and let cool in the fridge.

When cream is completely cool, transfer to your stand mixer bowl. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Whip on medium speed (4-6) for 5-8 minutes until stiff peaks form. Keep cold until ready to use.

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and stir until butter is completely melted.

Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously until no lumps remain. Over medium-low heat, mix dough with rubber spatula, scraping bottom constantly, until a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute.

Transfer the mixture to a KitchenAid bowl fitted with paddle attachment (can also be done by hand) and let dough cool for 5 minutes. Mix the dough a few times to help it cool off.

Once dough is no longer hot, add eggs, one at a time, while mixing, waiting for the last egg to be incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down sides after each addition and mix until all eggs have been incorporated and dough is smooth. When the spatula is lifted, the dough should fall in a “v” shape.

Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2” (13 mm) round pastry tip (*Footnote 3). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Pipe the dough into 2” (5 cm) circles, about 2” (5 cm) apart (*Footnote 4), yielding about 12 cream puffs. At this point, you can freeze the dough and bake later. The baking method stays the same and you don’t need to thaw the dough before baking.

Dip your finger in water and gently flatten any peaks left from piping to smooth tops.

Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 10 minutes. Then turn down to 350°F (176°C) and bake for 10 to 12 more minutes, until light golden brown all over (*Footnote 5). Turn off the oven and leave the door closed for another 10 minutes before removing the tray to cool.

Once the puffs cool completely, slice them in half by finding the natural seams that formed during baking. Fill with cream either using a pastry bag with an open star pastry tip or a spoon.