Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming but not boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 cup of the loose leaf tea. Remove from the heat and steep for 10-15 minutes. Pour the cream through a sieve to strain out the tea. Transfer the cream back into the saucepan.
Return the saucepan to medium-low heat and cook again until steaming but not boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute. Using a whisk, stir the mixture until a glossy ganache is formed. Let stand at room temperature until the ganache thickens to the consistency of soft, spreadable chocolate frosting. Transfer the ganache to a disposable piping bag with a 1/2-inch hole snipped in the end.
Cut two pieces of waxed paper to 12×20 inches. Roll each piece up from the short side creating a 12×1-inch tube. Affix a piece of cellophane tape across the seam to hold the tube closed. Stand each tube upright inside two tall drinking glasses or tumblers. Place the tip of the piping bag into the opening of one of the tubes and squeeze until the tube is filled with ganache. Rap the glass on the work surface to remove air bubbles or gaps in the chocolate. Fill with more ganache if needed.
Transfer the tubes to the refrigerator to chill, about 3 hours or overnight. You will have a little leftover ganache, so I recommend rolling them into truffles.
Sift the cocoa onto a jelly roll pan, or other baking pan with a lip.
Lightly grind the remaining 2 tablespoons of tea in a mortar and pestle, or crush the leaves between your fingers. Transfer to a small bowl.
Unmold the ganache by unrolling the waxed paper. Cut the 12-inch batons into three 4-inch cigars using a knife or bench scraper. Immediately roll the cigars in unsweet cocoa powder. Dip one end of the cigars into the ground tea. Using a straight edge, such as the edge of a ruler or knife, impress a line diagonally through the center of the cigars to give them an authentically rolled appearance.
Print and cut out cigar bands using an X-acto knife (see blog post for link). Affix to cigars using a small piece of cellophane tape. Wrap cigars individually in cellophane, or package them in an unused (new) cigar box lined with parchment paper.
Keep cigars refrigerated.
Keyword edible cigar, lapsang souchong, white chocolate ganache