Loukoumi as a Gift: Weddings, Christenings and Cypriot Hospitality

In most countries a sweet is just a sweet. In Cyprus, loukoumi carries a message. It says welcome, thank you, congratulations. Understanding that makes it a far better gift, whether you are sending a box to family abroad or planning favours for a wedding.

The Sweet of Welcome

Walk into a traditional Cypriot home and, before you have properly sat down, a small plate appears: a cube or two of loukoumi, a glass of cold water and a cup of coffee. This is kerasma, the offering to a guest, and refusing it is almost impossible.

The same gesture is found in village coffee shops, in monasteries, where visitors are often offered loukoumi on arrival, and at the end of a meal in many tavernas. If you want to recreate it at home, all you need is a box of rose loukoumi and a bag of Cyprus coffee. Our guide to making coffee in a briki covers the rest.

The Gift You Bring Home

For generations, a box of loukoumi from Geroskipou has been what Cypriots carry to relatives abroad and what visitors take home from Paphos. The roadside shops of the village have been a stopping point for well over a century. The large boxes of bergamot and almond or rose and almond loukoumi are the classic choice.

Wedding Loukoumia: A Different Sweet With the Same Name

This confuses almost everyone outside Cyprus. At a Cypriot wedding you will be handed loukoumia tou gamou, wedding loukoumia. These are not the soft cubes. They are small baked pastries, filled with almonds, scented with rosewater or blossom water, and buried in icing sugar so that they look like little snowballs.

The village of Athienou is especially famous for them, and traditionally they were made by the women of the family in the days before the wedding and given to every guest. Today they are also offered at christenings and engagements.

We stock Athienitika loukoumia, made in the Athienou style, for anyone abroad who wants the real thing on their table.

Ideas for Weddings and Christenings Abroad

If you are planning a Cypriot or Greek celebration outside the island, a few touches go a long way.

• A loukoumi table. Set out three or four flavours in bowls next to the coffee. Our flavour guide will help you choose a mix.
• Favours. Two cubes of rose loukoumi wrapped in tulle with a ribbon make a simple, traditional favour, alongside or instead of sugared almonds.
• Wedding loukoumia for the top table and for close family, as would be done at home.
• A bottle of Commandaria to toast with. Sweet wine and rose loukoumi are a lovely pairing.

For larger quantities, please get in touch well ahead of the date so we can confirm availability and advise on timing.

Loukoumi Gift Ideas by Occasion

• For a host: the orange loukoumi in its hexagonal box.
• For grandparents abroad: a large rose and almond box and a bag of coffee.
• For someone who has never tried it: the Aphrodite Delights assortment.
• For children: the fun loukoumi souvlaki skewer or a fruit flavour.
• For someone watching their sugar: the sugar free box. See our dietary guide.
• For a food lover: carob loukoumi, a flavour found almost nowhere else.

More ideas beyond sweets are in our Cyprus gift guide.

Why Loukoumi Travels So Well

It is light, it is not fragile, it needs no refrigeration and it keeps for months. Few gifts are as easy to send across the world. To post it directly to someone, enter their address as the shipping address at checkout.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Cypriot wedding sweets called?

Loukoumia tou gamou, often simply loukoumia. They are almond-filled pastries coated in icing sugar, and are different from the soft loukoumi cubes.

What is the traditional sweet to bring back from Cyprus?

Loukoumi from Geroskipou, followed closely by soutzoukos and Commandaria.

What do you serve with loukoumi?

Unsweetened or lightly sweetened Cyprus coffee and a glass of cold water.

Browse all our loukoumi and traditional sweets, shipped from Cyprus.