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Centrum · Rotterdam · Netherlands

The Tea Lab

A relaxed Rotterdam tea and coffee bar serving loose leaf teas, locally roasted coffee, and a largely plant based lunch menu.

The essentials, at a glance

◐
Impact score
1 - Starting
→
Documented practices
Local sourcing
Plant-forward menu

Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Cuisine
International
Good to know
Terrace
Wheelchair accessible
Child-friendly
Laptop-friendly

The delicious details

The Tea Lab opened in 2013 as a tea and coffee bar in the centre of Rotterdam, built around a slow approach to tea and a menu that leans firmly towards plants. More than forty loose leaf teas sit at the heart of the offering, alongside coffee roasted locally by Giraffe Coffee Roasters.

The kitchen prepares much of its food in house, from soups and granola to cakes and iced teas, and builds its sandwiches on organic bread. Vegan and vegetarian dishes run through the whole menu, with plant based options clearly marked and a signature vegan high tea.

The space is roomy and relaxed, with power sockets and free WiFi that make it as suited to working or studying as to a long afternoon over a pot of tea.

Menu
What's on the table, and what's left off

Breakfast and lunch menu built around loose leaf teas — more than forty varieties alongside coffee roasted locally by Giraffe Coffee Roasters. Kitchen-made soups, salads, grain bowls, and toasted sandwiches on organic bread, with plant-based dishes clearly marked throughout and vegan and gluten-free versions of the high tea available.

Cuisine
International
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Gluten-free options
Dairy-free options
Allergies handling
Notice At booking

Notify the restaurant at booking; the kitchen accommodates gluten and dairy allergies and offers plant-based alternatives on request.

What the restaurant explicitly accommodates
Milk (on request)
Gluten (on request)
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
1 - Starting

The Tea Lab has confirmed responsible practice in two parts of its operation. Its coffee is roasted locally in Rotterdam by Giraffe Coffee Roasters, a short and direct supply line for one of the bar's core products, and its sandwiches are made on organic bread.

The menu is also firmly plant led: vegan and vegetarian dishes run throughout, plant based choices are clearly marked, and a vegan high tea sits among the signatures.

The impact dimensions
Local & direct sourcing✓
Seasonal cooking
Plant-forward menu✓

Coffee roasted locally in Rotterdam by Giraffe Coffee Roasters; sandwiches made on organic bread.

One named, traceable local supplier is confirmed: Giraffe Coffee Roasters roasts coffee locally in Rotterdam, named on the restaurant's website. Sandwiches use organic bread (supplier not named) and tea is sourced globally.

Strongest sourcethetealab.nl ↗

Seasonal specials mentioned on the homepage alongside a largely static core menu.

The homepage references seasonal specials but these sit alongside a stable lunch and tea menu. Seasonal language is occasional rather than a structured rotation.

Strongest sourcethetealab.nl ↗

Vegan and vegetarian dishes run throughout; plant-based choices are clearly marked and a vegan high tea is a signature.

The menu is predominantly plant-based: vegan and vegetarian dishes run throughout, plant-based options are clearly labelled, and soy milk and soy yoghurt are offered as alternatives. A vegan high tea is among the signatures.

Third-party directories record multiple vegan and vegetarian meals with plant-based options described as the priority. The kitchen is positioned as a tea bar rather than a vegetable-led kitchen and holds no plant-forward guide recognition, so the score reflects dominant but not fully plant-based engagement.

Strongest sourcethetealab.nl ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
In-house preparation
✓
Low-impact beverage program

Several kitchen outputs are made in house: soups, granola, baked goods, lemonades and iced teas, corroborated by third-party review coverage.

Specialty coffee roasted locally in Rotterdam, an extensive loose leaf tea programme of more than forty varieties, and house-made lemonades and iced teas.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Nieuwe Binnenweg 178A, 3015 BJ Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€
Format
Lunch café; high tea by booking
Hours
Monday09:00–17:30
Tuesday09:00–17:30
Wednesday09:00–17:30
Thursday09:00–17:30
Friday09:00–17:30
Saturday09:30–18:00
Sunday09:30–18:00
Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Good to know
Terrace
Wheelchair accessible
Child-friendly
Laptop-friendly
Web
thetealab.nl
Reserve a table
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 15 Jul 2026
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How we score
The My Treats impact scale

Every restaurant is assessed against SEERO, our six-dimension sustainability framework — covering sourcing, seasonality, waste, animal products, social impact, and plant-forward cooking. Each finding is weighted by how strongly it is corroborated. The combined result is translated into a planet rating from 1 to 5.

The five levels

SEERO is an acronym for Starting, Engaged, Endorsed, Recognised, Outstanding:

Starting First verified signals of sustainable practice.
This place
Engaged Credible practice across two dimensions.
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
Outstanding Top-tier practice, confirmed by recognised third-party audit.

How a level is reached. Each level needs two things together: a minimum number of dimensions covered, and a minimum overall strength of evidence across them. A dimension only counts once its evidence is specific and substantiated — a passing mention doesn't qualify. Meeting only one of the two keeps a restaurant a level lower.

Ratings of four or five planets require human validation and, at the top tier, an external audit. Scores are based on publicly available evidence and restaurant submissions at the time of assessment.

Full methodology→
Impact dimension
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How this dimension works
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How evidence is weighted
Self-declared Stated by the restaurant on its website, menu or in a submission. Plausible, but not yet independently corroborated.
Researched Found through independent research; one credible third-party source backs the claim.
Vouched Corroborated across more than one independent source. Some gaps may remain.
Audited Fully corroborated across independent sources or by a recognised third-party certification.
What the sourcing checkmarks mean
✓ Full check — independently verified: corroborated across more than one source, or audited / third-party certified (vouched or audited).
✓ Light check — self-declared or from a single source. Not yet independently verified.
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