High Tea in the Blue Ridge: How “A Spot of Tea” Found Its Home at Engadine

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Afternoon tea isn’t just for London. In this episode of Asheville Reboot, Ward Henderson sits down with Christy, creator of A Spot of Tea — a fully customizable English-style high tea service now thriving in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Christy shares how her years at Biltmore Estate inspired her to launch this luxury experience, why Hurricane Helene became the unexpected catalyst for her business, and how Engadine Inn & Cabins became one of her premier partners. From Victorian elegance to wellness-focused menus, Christy’s teas are steeped in tradition, creativity, and local flavor.

If you’ve ever wanted to sip tea in a Queen Anne Victorian, savor cucumber sandwiches, or explore matcha-inspired desserts, this is your invitation.

📍 Book your Spot of Tea experience now:
https://www.engadineinnandcabins.com

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Follow Engadine:
📸 Instagram: @engadineinnandcabins
📘 Facebook: @engadineinnandcabins
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AshevilleReboot

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hi everyone, and welcome back toanother episode of Asheville
Reboot the podcast, sharingstories of real people during
the hard, beautiful work ofhelping Western North Carolina
recover and thrive in the wakeof Hurricane Helene.
I'm your host, Ward Hendersonwith Engadine Inn and Cabins.
Today I'm joined by Christy, thecreator of Spot of Tea, a fully

(00:22):
customizable English style hightea experience, now available
right here in the Blue RidgeMountains.
Hey Ward, thank you so much forhaving me on today.
So, yeah, the spot of tea wasreally inspired by my
experiences working in theluxury hotel realm.
I was working at the in onBiltmore estate and helped with

(00:42):
their afternoon teas there.
And when they discontinued thatexperience, I found a niche in
the market that was ready to beopened up.
And it's something I love.
I love tea.
I found some local purveyorsthat really provide excellent
tea and it's.
It's something that I've reallyjust taken a real interest in.

(01:03):
I have a background in culinary.
I was a trained chef from ourlocal college that is nationally
ranked and also have experienceas a butler also at Biltmore.
So the service and thepreparation of the food,
everything comes together and itmakes it a really unique and
special luxury tea experience.

(01:25):
Yeah, I know firsthand'causeI've been a part of one of those
experiences with our team hereat Engadine.
We got to enjoy that ourselves.
And me being from an Englishbackground, I really appreciated
the authenticity.
So I'm so excited you're here.
What's the experience like forsomeone booking a high tea?
Do you have, signature themes ormenu items?

(01:46):
So we really, we focus on theclassic, traditional.
Expected menu items for a hightea scones and the, deviled eggs
and all the things you expect.
But we also, stray into moreunique areas as well.
We, it's fully customizable, soif someone wants to focus on
wellness or focus on certaindietary restrictions, we

(02:08):
accommodate those as well with,with notice.
We really work to make it aspecialized experience so anyone
can join.
I've partnered with a chef thatwas in culinary school with me
at AB Tech Community College,our local culinary school here,
which is, nationally ranked.
They're very competitive.
It's a very competitive program,and we had a fantastic time in

(02:31):
school together she was actuallythe lead chef cooking for the
Biltmore Afternoon teas.
And so we've.
Work together to take what welearned from the front of house
and the back of house, and makea really luxury experience for
afternoon tea.
and she and I have workedtogether to curate a menu that

(02:53):
was inspired by Biltmore andmake really, really special
flavors.
It's not just what you buy fromthe store, it is a really unique
handmade menu.
As you know, this podcast is allabout rebuilding after Hurricane
Helene.
So my question to you, Christy,is how did Hurricane Helene,
impact your business?

(03:14):
So the hurricane really, it tookus all by surprise here in
Asheville.
And it actually was the catalystthat ended up kicking off a spot
of tea.
I'd been thinking about curatingthis experience for a while,
but, my career kind of took ashift after the hurricane and
spot of tea has become a majorpart of that.

(03:37):
How does this new partnershipwith Engadine impact the
building of your business?
So Engadine has actually beenone of our premier clients that
we've worked with.
So we do teas with bed andbreakfasts and, lodges and
really any private homes as wellaround the area.
But Engadine has been one of ourbest partners so far.

(03:58):
We love you guys and it reallyfits our vibe with an Queen Anne
Victorian house from 1885.
So it's meant to be, it's meantto be.
Absolutely.
So we love the Victorianbackground and environment.
That's why bed and breakfastsespecially in Asheville where
there's so many historic homesare such a great fit.
But we will do it anywhere.

(04:18):
And like I said, we customize tothe environment and to the
particular requests, as well.
But definitely there's somethingvery classic about having high
tea in a Victorian home thatmakes Engadine.
A premium spot.
So looking ahead, what are youmost excited about?
Any new offerings ideas or goalson the horizon for you guys?

(04:41):
So we're always looking toexpand and always getting new
ideas and finding new recipesand making.
New connections one of thethings that we've been doing is,
expanding into experiences likebachelorette parties and
weddings we also have workedwith doing more wellness teas so

(05:01):
we can focus on the healthbenefits of green teas.
We have a matcha cake roll thatwe can put on the menu and we
have all kinds of fun.
Experiences that are associatedwith more of the wellness aspect
of tea.
So we can do high tea with theEnglish style or we can move
more into the Asian teas.

(05:23):
And there's so much to exploreand so many different
opportunities out there.
But also just expanding to newhorizons.
I don't know.
It's gonna be pretty tough tobeat those cucumber sandwiches
you made that I had that day.
Oh my goodness.
Well, Christy, thank you, somuch for joining us today and
sharing your journey and yourexperiences.

(05:44):
You can now book Spot of TeaExperience right at Engadine Inn
and Cabins.
Whether you're celebratingsomething special or just wanna
slow down and savor somethingbeautiful, visit Engadine Inn
and Cabins.com to plan your stayor book your high tea
experience.
And if you'd like to learn moreabout Christy's business you'll
find her details on our site.

(06:05):
Under the experiences tab, andalso by emailing her directly at
Mountain [e-mail].
Thank you so much for having meon.
It's been a pleasure and we'rereally excited to see what the
future holds for A Spot Of Teaand also for Engadine inn and
cabins.
So thanks for letting me be apart.

(06:25):
You're welcome.
We're excited to have you guys.
Asheville is open for business,and the hospitality here is
richer than ever.
Thanks for listening toAsheville Reboot, and we'll see
you next time.