Meet Melissa Fielding, Spa Consultant at Creative Spa Concepts.  Melissa works on various spa projects throughout the world.  When she started in the spa industry tea became a small passion of hers.  We spent some time with Melissa getting her advice and feedback on integrating tea with spa programs.

Q: How did you get involved with the spa industry?

A: “My background is mainly in food and beverage.  When I entered into the spa world I noticed that a lot of spas were forgetting to include the food and beverage area as part of the concept and experience.  Tea is an easy affordable way to enhance the area.”

Q: So Melissa what are your top health tips with tea you recommend to your clients Condé Nast spas?
A:Here are my 5 detox and health tips
1.)     Tea is a great source of antioxidants
2.)     Tea is a wonderful appetite appeaser
3.)    The caffeine in tea is much healthier then the caffeine found in other beverages
4.)    Tea can help calm the mind and body after a stressful day
5.)    Tea is not only healthy when you drink it but also has benefits when used in face creams, body lotions, scrubs and wraps.

Q: Discuss the making of their custom Qua Tea Blend at Qua Bath and Spa Caesars Palace Bath.
A: When I was working as the Spa manager at Qua Baths and Spa, Art of Tea and I worked closely together to create the perfect signature blend.  We took all aspects of the spa into consideration, the concept of the spa, the size, the guest experience, the menu of services and the space available.  After looking at all of those aspects, Steve Schwartz, CEO of Art of Tea and I talked about what I wanted the signature blend to taste like. It was important to me that the tea could be served hot or cold and the flavor was so good that it would leave an impression with the guest.  Steve then sent various samples to us and I did tasting with myself and my management team.  I had everyone rate each tea based on look of the loose leaf, smell of the liquor and dry leaf, and most importantly the taste.  After I received the results I went back to Steve and we took the best of all blends to and created the Qua Signature Blend.

Q: What are your core concepts that you would recommend to people wanting to get into or more out of the spa and health industry?

A: As a global spa consultant I believe that serving tea in a spa is a must.  I believe that spa is a sensory experience and you must entice all 5 of your guests’ senses.  Tea is the perfect way to reach your guests sense of taste and smell.  A properly executed tea program can help you stand out in a unique way among the hundreds of spas.  Don’t be afraid to try something completely new and interesting with your tea program.  Have fun with the program and your guests will too.