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Customers come to us specifically to drink our own coffee

Cafe Tarina is a café business founded in 2016. Its first café opened in January 2017 in Munkkiniemi, Helsinki, led by entrepreneurs Essi and Tommi Rautiainen and a team of five employees. Since then, a café has also opened in Tapiola, Espoo, along with a bakery and a bakery shop café in Lauttasaari, Helsinki. By 2025, the company has around 30 employees.

Cafe Tarina has always competed on quality rather than low prices. That’s why coffee was a priority from the very beginning. Even before opening, Rautiainen dreamed of a custom coffee blend for the café that would help it stand out.

“The quality of coffee is crucial, because if the coffee is bad, people might not even buy a pastry.”

Before launching the café, Rautiainen researched several small roasteries to understand what kind of products they could offer and how they would be delivered. Robert Paulig Roastery was chosen as a partner, especially for its consistent quality and reliable delivery.

“When you’re running a business, a critical raw material can’t run out. Our customers come specifically to drink our own coffee, and it has to taste the same every time.”

Customising coffee is a surprisingly easy process

Customising coffee for a café may initially seem like an expensive and complicated project. However, Rautiainen quickly dispels these assumptions: “The customisation process was the easiest part of setting up the café.”

Rautiainen had a clear vision for the coffee: it should be dark-roasted, have a smooth mouthfeel, and be enjoyable both with milk and black. At Robert Paulig Roastery, two different options were roasted, which Rautiainen tasted blind at the small roastery located in Tolkkinen. Designing a custom coffee can also be done remotely if needed. The project includes developing a visual identity that supports storytelling, along with all necessary materials.

The price of a custom coffee blend is slightly higher than ready-made products, but according to Rautiainen, the difference is not unreasonable. The minimum order quantity is just 40 kilograms, which is the capacity of the roaster at Robert Paulig Roastery. “We usually order 80–100 kilograms at a time.”

A custom coffee blend elevates the café’s brand

The value of a custom coffee blend lies especially in its branding impact. If a café bakes its pastries in-house, why not invest in the coffee with the same level of care? According to Rautiainen, the equation doesn’t work if a high-quality pastry is paired with mediocre coffee.

“If the coffee were basic, the customer would likely go to another café for a cheaper price.”

Rautiainen emphasizes that visiting a café isn’t a basic human need—it’s about adding something extra to everyday life. In that context, many people are willing to pay €15 for something truly special rather than €10 for something average.

“People usually want the best possible experience for their money. Of course, there are also those who seek the cheapest coffee and pastry—and there’s definitely demand for that too.”

Rautiainen sees coffee as a key “draw-in product”, which can be paired with and used to recommend other items.

“Our custom coffee blend isn’t available anywhere else, and the customer might also buy a delicious slice of cake to go with it—even if the total price is higher than at the café next door.”

Small-batch roasted coffee enables storytelling that supports the experience

The customer’s perception of value isn’t just about what’s in the cup or on the plate. The sense of experience also comes from the storytelling around the products—and a custom coffee blend offers excellent opportunities for that. “When a new customer asks about our coffee, we can tell them it’s from a small roastery and customized just for us. We can describe the flavor. That gets the customer excited to taste the coffee more attentively.” Storytelling can also be used with ready-made coffee blends. At Cafe Tarina, alongside their own blend, they introduced Robert Paulig Roastery’s new Taste of Harvest specialty coffee, which features the best coffee beans from each harvest season. The beans are hand-picked, roasted in limited batches, and their flavor nuances are highlighted through a special processing method. Rautiainen encourages customers who usually add milk to first taste the coffee black, and only add milk afterward to fully appreciate the aromas. “We’ve had customers come to the counter saying, ‘Wow, I actually found those unique flavors in this—this was really good.’”

The Paulig Group behind Robert Paulig Roastery brings many advantages

When choosing a small roastery, Rautiainen recommends checking its background: how long it has been operating, what kind of expertise it offers, and what additional services are available beyond just coffee. Over the years, other roasteries have tried to win over Cafe Tarina as a customer, but the collaboration with Robert Paulig Roastery has worked so well that there’s been no need to switch. “The approach is solution-oriented, and it genuinely feels like they care about how the customer is doing.” Although Robert Paulig Roastery is part of the larger Paulig Group, which might raise questions about whether it’s truly a small roastery, Rautiainen suggests visiting both the Paulig factory in Vuosaari, Helsinki, and the Robert Paulig Roastery in Tolkkinen, Porvoo to see the difference. “The difference is like night and day. Robert Paulig Roastery is clearly a small roastery.” Having a larger parent company behind the small roastery actually brings many benefits to the café. From one source, you can get the full package—from coffee to equipment and maintenance. Paulig also invests significant time and resources into understanding consumers. Thanks to this, Robert Paulig Roastery can offer its customers training, ideas, and insights into current coffee trends. Café development and product innovation are key parts of the operation. A small independent roastery wouldn’t have the same capabilities. “They provide insights into what’s currently trending.”

Essi Rautiainen’s tips for pricing small-batch roasted coffee

Map the Market: Visit different cafés and record their prices to get a full picture of current pricing practices.
Target Your Audience: Consider your café’s location and customer base—what are they willing to pay for coffee?
Plan Ahead: Coffee is a valuable product that always faces pricing pressure. Leave room in the consumer price for fluctuations in raw material costs.
Be Mindful: Design operations so that coffee doesn’t end up down the drain. Profitability improves when coffee consumption is understood and managed.
Be Bold: Set the coffee price correctly from the start, rather than increasing it little by little.
Show Pride: Prepare coffee with care and keep equipment clean and well-maintained. Talk proudly about your coffee quality and practices—this helps justify the price to customers.