// The Collection · live
An AI-powered kinetic coffee sculpture for UAE events and venues: a guest takes a personality survey, gets matched to 1 of 10 signature Arabian spice blends, and watches their gahwa brewed theatrically through a transparent, dallah-shaped machine.
The problem
At an event, a coffee station is a queue, not a moment. Gahwa, spiced Arabian coffee, sits at the center of hospitality in the region, yet activations pour it generically: the same cup for everyone, nothing to watch, and no record of who stopped by.
What it does
The machine’s form echoes the traditional dallah coffee pot, with transparent systems and geometric Sadu weaving patterns honoring Bedouin heritage. A guest answers a personality survey and is matched to 1 of 10 signature spice blends: cardamom for the visionary, cinnamon for the grounded, ginger for the bold, saffron for the opulent. The brew itself is the show: coffee moves through exposed tubing and mixing bowls in full view. The site’s own line: “Where tradition meets innovation, served in a single cup.”
- PHP 8.4
- Vanilla JavaScript
- Three.js r128
- Twenty CRM · GraphQL
- Apache · cPanel
Receipts
- Live site: gahwa.ai, pitching the machine for events, activations, and venues across the UAE.
- Interactive 3D viewer: I built a Three.js model of the machine at gahwa.ai/gahwa3d.html: camera presets, all 10 blends selectable with animated brewing (liquid flow, steam, cup filling), and an openable access panel revealing the 5 internal canisters, pump motors, and tubing. Mobile responsive.
- Lead pipeline: the booking form writes up to 3 linked records (person, company, opportunity at stage LEAD) into a self-hosted Twenty CRM over GraphQL, with email fallback.
Outcome
Gahwa.ai is owned and operated with Project Hospitality Solutions, listed on projecthospitality.me alongside its sister platform GrapeToGlass.ai. The CRM pipeline shipped in February 2026, and the machine is bookable for events through the live site. It sits in The Collection as one of the studio’s commercial products.