Coffee in the alimentary culture and traditions of the Albanians in the Balkans

The Balkan Peninsula is rightfully considered to be the region with one of the highest rates of coffee consumption per capita. Coffee (Coffeae Semen L.), which became widespread in the region during the Ottoman rule, has become an integral part of traditional cuisine, the institution of hospitality, ritual practices and the daily life of residents of various zones. This study examines the culture of coffee consumption, as well as its role in national etiquette, food ideology and folk medicine among the Albanian population in the Western Balkans (with the deliberate use of a large thesaurus of field materials collected by the author during expeditions from 1990 to 2024 in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Greece and southern Montenegro). The study is also based on data from specialized ethnographic and linguistic archives and draws on information from the works of anthropologists who studied the region. The author analyzes the use of coffee for food purposes, rituals, folk medicine, and the reflection of ideas about the beloved drink in folklore and written tradition. Coffee primarily serves as a raw material for the preparation of a drink that plays an almost sacred role in communication; it is rarely consumed raw for desserts and alcoholic mixes. The persistence of narratives about the meaning of coffee for different purposes among Albanians allows us to draw certain isoglosses, isopragmas and isodoxes that mark the boundaries in the traditions and idioms of the peoples and ethnic groups of the Balkan Peninsula.