For Albanian brides, the pressure is on

BY LAURESHA XHIHANI | REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

It's not easy being an Albanian bride. They're judged on appearance, behavior, pedigree — and, of course, coffee-making skills.

Six brides were put to the test Sunday during a Mother's Day celebration at the Albanian-American Cultural and Islamic Center Hasan Prishtina on Columbia Boulevard in Waterbury. Organizers made a game of the Albanian tradition of coffee-serving by having six brides compete on who can make coffee and serve their mothers-in-law the fastest.

Each lined up with a small burner, a serving tray, small cup and saucer and a xhezve, a Turkish coffee cooker, in front of them. They worked fast, spooning Turkish coffee and sugar in the xhezve and enough water to fill a small Turkish coffee cup, about the size of an espresso cup. The coffee cooked in the burner, with each bride watching the boiling point as relatives cheered them on.




If it boils over, the coffee is pretty much ruined because the much-coveted foam would be gone, not only making a mess but ruining presentation. No foam means lesser-quality coffee — and as a result, a displeased mother-in-law.

For the mothers-in-law there was pressure too. They wanted good coffee and most importantly bragging rights. It's all about having the bride who makes the best coffee, is the fastest and is most graceful.

Jetlira Zhaku of New Jersey, who will marry into the Alimi family of Danbury in October, was the winner. She is a bride at engagement and once married, will remain a bride. In the Albanian language, the word bride, nuse, also means daughter-in-law