We’re excited to share some updates about the MOMENTEM project and clarify our stance on collaborations and sponsorships. Since the launch of MOMENTEM, we have been fortunate to receive an incredible amount of interest and support from baristas, national champions, coffee influencers, and the coffee community as a whole. We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt appreciation for the enthusiasm surrounding our grinder.
However, with all the requests pouring in, we believe it’s important to explain how we manage collaborations, and why we have chosen to operate differently from other coffee brands. As many of you know, MOMENTEM is a project under I’M NOT A BARISTA, a non-profit organization with a clear mission to empower coffee people and give them a stronger voice in the industry. All our products, including the MOMENTEM grinder, are designed with a purpose—to support our community and fund charitable initiatives.
Because of this, our approach to collaborations and product promotion is fundamentally different:
Why We Don’t Offer Sponsorships or Influencer Collaborations
We’ve received numerous requests from professional baristas and influencers to collaborate, but we want to make it clear that we do not engage in these traditional marketing activities. Here’s why:
- No Sponsorships
We do not sponsor baristas for competitions or provide grinders for use on stage. While we greatly respect the talent and hard work of these competitors, our mission is to keep all feedback and reviews unbiased and authentic. This approach helps us stay true to our values and ensures that every opinion about MOMENTEM comes from real users who have experienced the product firsthand. It’s not about creating hype or boosting visibility—it’s about genuine user experience. - No Influencer Collaborations
We are immensely grateful to the content creators and influencers who have shown interest in collaborating with us. However, we don’t engage in collaborations that involve providing free products in exchange for unboxing videos or social media posts. We believe that the quality of the product should speak for itself, and all feedback should come from individuals who have chosen to support our project on their own terms.
A Note to Our Supporters and Community
Our goal has always been to focus on the product itself and improve it step-by-step based on your feedback. We want MOMENTEM to be recognized for what it is—a unique grinder that embodies the passion and dedication of everyone involved in its creation. We understand that not engaging in traditional collaborations limits our exposure, but we’d rather have a small, dedicated community that truly believes in what we do than rely on sponsorships to gain attention.
Clarifying Our Collaboration History
To ensure transparency, we want to share a bit of our journey. In the past, we did send a few prototype units to coffee professionals whom we respect and trust deeply, including Lance Hendricks and Wayne, as well as production units to Ourcoffeeshelter, Daddgygotcoffee, and ARAMSE. These were not paid sponsorships but genuine efforts to gather professional feedback and ensure the product meets the standards we strive for.
Open for Technical Collaborations
While we don’t collaborate for promotional purposes, we are absolutely open to working with individuals who can help improve the technical aspects of MOMENTEM. If you’re an engineer, designer, or coffee expert with insights into grinder mechanics, burr design, or materials, we’d love to hear from you. Our goal is to continue enhancing MOMENTEM with every batch, and your expertise could play a key role in that journey.
Looking Ahead
We’re sorry to all the baristas and influencers who we had to turn down, and we hope you understand our reasoning. When everyone else is competing for a bigger slice of the coffee industry pie, we are here quietly working on perfecting MOMENTEM, building our small community, and staying true to our values.
A special thank you to the coffee professionals who have used MOMENTEM in competitions and shared their genuine reviews, like @specialtycoffeepanama, @brewpadawan, and @CoffeeNerdAaron. Your support means the world to us!
If you’re curious to know more about our collaboration policy, feel free to read the full details on our policy page here.
Thank you for being a part of our journey!
The I’M NOT A BARISTA Team
