Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Quint.
Jack, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up in Seattle the nephew of a distinguished coffee roaster, Jack was immersed in coffee culture from a very young age. While completing a Master’s in Accounting at the University of Washington, Jack met his soon to be wife and life partner…you guessed it…Jill. As a CPA specializing in international taxation Jack developed a passion for gaining insight from cultures much different than our own, which would play an important role in his pivot to coffee.
As a new dad, the fast-paced lifestyle of a large, multinational tax consultant wasn’t as exciting as it was in the earlier years of his career. While living in Chicago, Jack became keenly aware of the role food awareness plays in his personal physical and mental health. With a newfound love of fresh, locally sourced whole foods and a rejuvenated love for the outdoors, he knew it was time for a change.
As a graduate of Cal Poly, Jill remembers her college years filled with plenty of sunshine, healthy fresh foods, abundant sunshine, and an overall vibrant, balanced lifestyle. After careful planning and consideration, Jack and Jill packed up the kids and headed to San Luis Obispo County to launch an organic, specialty coffee roaster. Jack and Jill’s vision was to create community and self-awareness through coffee.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Our biggest obstacle out of the gate was admittedly, our imposter syndrome. The skillsets of a CPA working for a large accounting firm compared to the owner of a very hands-on, highly technical small coffee roasting operation and espresso bar are vastly different. At the same time, we discovered that many of the skills carry over and actually give us a competitive advantage.
The original plan was for Jack to run the production operation while Jill managed the espresso bar. We all have a plan until we get punched in the face, right? Shortly after opening, Jack and Jill were blessed with a set of twin boys, bringing the grand total to five kiddos under the age of 7, which meant the Head of Roasting Operations made a lateral move and added Café Manager to his roles and responsibilities. Leaning into his new role, Jack embraced his inner barista and remains heavily involved in the operations of the café.
In our third year of operations, we became tangled in a dispute over the name of our company. After vetting our legal position and doing some soul searching, Jack and Jill decided resources would be better spent rebranding with an exciting new name and fresh logo as opposed to duking it out in court. With the help of the Oceano community, we relaunched as Deltina Coffee Roasters, which is a historical reference to the origins of the small town we love. After a few very stressful months, we realized the name change was a much bigger deal to us than to our customer base and our disruption was minimal.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
While learning how to source green coffee, Jack quickly realized that much of variability in coffee is attributed to cultural differences in the growing and harvesting processes across the various coffee growing regions. Being able to highlight the attributes resulting from these differences through the roasting and extraction processes is a wildly fun and rewarding experience.
Just over four years into our operation, we believe our mission is as critical as ever. We encourage our customers to observe our coffee roasting process and love fielding questions about where and how we source our coffee. We also love getting asked why we do what we do. Our hope is that sharing our passion with our community will inspire the next generation to push outside their comfort zone to align their lifestyle with their own passions and values.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
1) The Great Gatsby
Challenging the American Dream
2 ) Out There: A Story of Ultra Recovery by David Clark
Maximize personal talents and experiences in a way that will make the world better
3) The Grapes of Wrath
Resilience under oppression but wariness of promises to good to be true
4) The Four Agreements
Be kind to yourself and trust your intuition
Contact Info:
- Website: www.deltinacoffeeroasters.com
- Instagram: @deltinacoffee
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deltinacoffee
Image Credits
The photos have various photographers, but credit is due to Becky Clair at Clair Images in Arroyo Grande, CA, and Jennifer Williams Cordova at Willis and Williams Design Studios in Bakersfield, CA.
