Treasure behind the treasure: Hug the Tea

In this monthly feature, we shine a spotlight on one of our local entrepreneurs. This time, we’re chatting with Claire and Lisa, The Hague’s very own matcha sisters. From their lovely tea bar, Hug the Tea, they’re on a mission to get everyone in the city excited about this green gold. Read on!

How did you become the city’s go-to matcha bar?

We started out in 2015 with a small tea bar in The Hague, serving organic tea and matcha. Back then, matcha was still relatively unknown in the Netherlands. We were immediately enthusiastic about it ourselves and started organising lots of tastings to introduce people to matcha.

Little by little, matcha became more popular, and Hug the Tea grew along with it. In 2019, we moved from Oude Molstraat to Papestraat because we needed more space. This allowed us to offer High Teas, demonstrations and workshops for groups, alongside our matcha and tea.

These days, we also supply matcha to various hospitality businesses, including fellow The Hague treasures Sam Sam and Blend One. At Hug the Tea, you can also enjoy freshly made onigiri, sweets, Japanese tea and, of course, our High Tea. We love sharing Japanese tea culture in all kinds of different ways.

Which other The Hague treasure would you love to swap places with for a day?

Great question! We’d choose MAAK Atelier. We both love getting creative, and we’d be thrilled to take a peek behind the scenes and spend a day working alongside this creative treasure. Taking one of their workshops has actually been on our list for a while!

Any exciting plans for autumn?

Absolutely! At the beginning of October, we’re launching our autumn menu, featuring new seasonal specials such as our Pumpkin Spice Matcha Latte, as well as new cakes and onigiri.

Our Houjicha Latte also remains a firm autumn favourite, both hot and iced. We’ve now added houjicha macarons with a delicious milk chocolate ganache to the menu, too.

We’re also making a few changes to our concept, embracing a true less-is-more philosophy. We want to focus on what Hug the Tea is really all about: high-quality organic matcha and tea, fresh onigiri, delicious sweets and High Teas, beautiful rituals and, above all, being a welcoming spot in the heart of The Hague where people can pause for a moment and simply enjoy.