T E A H O U S E
Royal Van Rees Tea House is a conceptual experiential extension inspired by Royal Van Rees’ heritage, exploring how the brand could translate its values into a modern, immersive tea ritual.
This concept project was created for portfolio and educational purposes only.
A Legacy in Tea Since 1819
Founded in 1819 by Jan van Rees,
a young Dutch tea enthusiast, the company began with a local spirit, delivering tea via horse and bicycle across the Netherlands. Over two centuries, this regional trade evolved into an independent global network spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Honored with a 'Royal' designation by King Willem-Alexander in 2019, we now bridge the distance from garden to home. Royal Van Rees Tea House translates this 200-year legacy into a sanctuary of calm for the modern world.
ROTTERDAM • LONDON • COLOMBO • MOMBASA • JAKARTA • DUBAI • TORONTO • HANOI • BLANTYRE • COIMBATORE
Royal Van Rees Tea House is guided by three principles that shape every touchpoint of the tea experience.
theRitual
A curated moment of pause. Every step, from the first pour to the final sip, is designed to encourage presence, intention, and care.
theCalm
An environment intentionally free of clutter. Soft colors and restrained layouts guide your attention back to the tea, and to yourself.
theCraftsmanship
Sourced from our partners in Shizuoka, Japan
Heritage in every detail. We bridge the gap between global tea gardens and your home with a 200-year commitment to quality.
Brand Positioning
A quiet luxury tea house experience rooted in ritual, calm, and craftsmanship.
Royal Van Rees Tea House offers a refined yet understated experience where quality is felt rather than announced. Every detail, from the environment to the service to the tea itself, is designed to slow the pace, invite presence, and elevate everyday moments into something intentional.
Project Objective
To reinterpret Royal Van Rees’ heritage through a contemporary tea house experience that emphasizes ritual, calm, and craftsmanship.
The goal was to design an immersive environment where every touchpoint, from packaging to digital menus, supports a slower, more intentional way of engaging with tea.
This project explores how Royal Van Rees’ heritage could be translated into a modern, immersive tea house experience. By prioritizing calm, intentionality, and craftsmanship across both physical and digital touchpoints, the concept elevates tea from a product to a ritual and examines how experience-driven design can shape meaningful guest journeys.
Problem / Opportunity
How might a B2B premium tea brand create a direct, experiential connection with consumers?
Royal Van Rees is positioned as a premium tea brand, yet its presence exists primarily within a B2B context, making the brand largely inaccessible to everyday consumers. While its teas are served through hotels, restaurants, and institutions, the brand itself remains behind the scenes.
As a result:
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Consumers rarely engage directly with Royal Van Rees as a brand
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The premium quality and heritage are experienced indirectly
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The emotional and ritualistic aspects of tea remain underrepresented
This presents an opportunity to explore a direct-to-consumer experience through a dedicated tea house — one that allows guests to fully engage with Royal Van Rees’ craftsmanship, heritage, and ritual in an exclusive, immersive setting.
Solution Overview
Royal Van Rees Tea House introduces a direct to consumer, experience-led environment designed to bring the brand’s heritage to life.
The concept reimagines Royal Van Rees beyond product by creating a calm, ritual-based tea house where guests can engage directly with the brand. Through a carefully curated atmosphere and intentional touchpoints, the experience translates craftsmanship and heritage into a modern, immersive setting.
The experience is shaped through:
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Guided tea rituals that encourage presence and slow engagement
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A restrained digital interface that supports, rather than distracts from, human interaction
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Thoughtfully designed physical touchpoints — from packaging to tableware — that reinforce quality and care
The Alchemy Palette
THE DEPTH | Midnight Forest #02100F
Inspired by the oxidized leaf, the moment a tea leaf transforms
from bright green to a deep, complex dark shade during processing.
This tone honors the Royal Darkgreen foundation of the parent company while providing the immersive "Calm" environment needed for a premium consumer experience.
THE VITALITY | Sun-Drenched Leaf #BADA55
Capturing the color of first-flush tea buds as they catch the morning light in the garden. This raw, living energy serves as the "Ritual" accent, drawing the eye to the most important parts of the experience, the tea and the ceremony.
THE CLARITY | History Off-White #EDEBE5
Derived from the refined porcelain of a traditional tea bowl and the ethereal steam rising from a fresh pour. It utilizes the official History Off-White to provide a soft, legible bridge between a storied corporate past and a new sensory future.
THE FOUNDATION | Raw Obsidian #000000
Echoing the charred wood (Shou Sugi Ban) of the tea house architecture and the stillness of a focused mind. It provides a
high-contrast "Void" that allows the vibrant patterns of the tea boxes and the golden liquor of the tea to stand out as the heroes.
000000
EDEBE5
BADA55
02100F
TECHNICAL SPECS
Accessibility Compliance:
Standard
WCAG 2.1 Level AA
Contrast Validation
Verified via WebAIM; primary palette maintains an average contrast ratio of 12.9:1.
Compliance Tools
WebAIM Contrast Checker, Adobe Accessibility Suite.
The Typography System
A Dialogue of Heritage and Ritual
Our typographic system is built on a dual foundation that bridges the 200-year stability of the Royal Van Rees network with the modern, sensory experience of the new Tea House sanctuary.
THE HERITAGE | Figtree
As a robust geometric sans-serif, Figtree acts as the structural foundation of the brand. It is utilized for Primary Headings and Historical Callouts to echo the reliability of our global lineage. Its clean, open curves provide a sense of stability and institutional trust, anchoring the modern environment to its storied past.
THE RITUAL | Poppins
Poppins is the voice of the sanctuary. With its perfect circles and balanced weights, it is used for all Body Copy and Descriptive Narratives. This typeface creates a sense of "Quiet Luxury" and modern clarity, guiding the guest through the slow engagement of the tea ceremony and the peaceful atmosphere of the environment.
Usage & Hierarchy
THE FOUNDATION | Figtree
Primary Wordmark | Figtree Bold
Used for the Royal Van Rees name to establish a stable
and grounded presence that honours our 200-year history.
Structural Headers | Figtree Light
Applied to the most formal document headers to provide
clear organization and a sense of professional heritage.
THE EXPERIENCE | Poppins
Section Titles | Poppins Medium
Used for main headings to create a soft yet confident starting
point for the eye within the modern tea house environment.
Product Identification | Poppins Regular
Applied to menu categories and tea names to keep the information
clear and easy to navigate at a glance.
Storytelling & Ritual | Poppins Light
The primary choice for tasting notes and brand stories, designed to
feel airy and allow the reader to engage with the narrative slowly.
Refined Details | Poppins Extra Light
Reserved for secondary descriptions and fine details to
add a layer of understated elegance and a "Quiet Luxury" feel.
Type Specimens
Figtree
Bold | 14pt
Light | 12pt
Poppins
Medium | 20pt
Regular | 16pt
Light | 14pt
Extra Light | 12pt
Royal Van Rees: The Sensory Experience
A Cinematic Brand Study
To bridge a 200-year legacy with the 2026 digital landscape, this brand film transforms the act of drinking tea into a high-fidelity sensory ritual. By prioritizing "Quiet Luxury," the film moves away from traditional advertising to create an emotional, immersive sanctuary for the modern consumer.
Technical Breakdown & Narrative Glue
THE NARRATIVE
A bespoke script mastered through ElevenLabs, designed to ground the brand in tranquility and heritage.
THE VISUAL BED
A curated sequence of high-fidelity, royalty-free cinematography sourced from Pixabay, meticulously color-graded to match the Alchemy Palette (Midnight Forest & Sun-Drenched Leaf).
THE SOUNDSCAPE
An multi-layered audio experience using high-fidelity sensory foley—including rain patter, ceramic contact, and steam—to create a 4D "tactile" feel.
INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE (AODA)
Engineered for universal access, featuring minimalist, high-contrast captions that comply with AODA WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards for sound-off environments.