Raktajino

File:Raktajino, For the cause.jpg

A cup of raktajino

"After six months, I was hoping the Klingons would invade... at least they know how to make coffee, even if they are foul-smelling barbarians."

– Arne Darvin, 2373 ("Trials and Tribble-ations")

Raktajino (pronounced rack-tə-jeen-oh) was Klingon coffee, served steamed or iced.

Raktajino wasn't known in Federation facilities such as Deep Space Station K-7 until sometime after 2268, as the time traveling Odo, while existing as a Solid, attempted to order one at that facility, only to be told by a waitress that it was not available – and that another patron, who planned to return later, had asked for it as well. Soon afterward, numerous Klingons from the IKS Gr'oth, taking shore leave on the station, requested the drink, much to the waitress' annoyance. She later warned that Odo's companions (Worf, Doctor Bashir, and Chief O'Brien) not dare ask for it; her explanation of why they shouldn't request it came as such a surprise to the table's occupants, three of whom didn't see any Klingons (and the one who did had absolutely no intention of identifying them as such) that she assumed they were intoxicated and refused to serve them. (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")

The beverage was eminently popular with the Starfleet members on Deep Space 9 in the 2370s, the senior staff in particular. Major Kira also drank raktajino occasionally. (DS9: "Duet")

Jadzia Dax and Julian Bashir drank raktajino occasionally. In 2369 they were sitting at the Replimat and performing repairs during the absence of Chief O'Brien. Bashir asked Dax if she would like to have another one but Dax said that this would keep her up all night. Bashir then answered he knew better things to keep her up all night than Klingon coffee. Later that year Dax and Bashir ordered two raktajinos, extra strong. In 2370 Bashir said, again in a flirtatious manner, "Your replicator or mine" in response to Jadzia's suggestion that they have a raktajino together. (DS9: "Dax", "If Wishes Were Horses", "The Alternate")

Benjamin Sisko started every morning off with a raktajino; in fact, he was not awake, much less did he talk to anyone until he had his first cup. Sisko also enjoyed drinking his raktajino with jacarine peel; this drink also went well with icoberry torte. During 2373, however, Benjamin was trying to cut back on his consumption of raktajino. (DS9: "Second Sight", "The Homecoming", "Children of Time")

Both Curzon and Jadzia Dax enjoyed raktajino, with Jadzia occasionally enjoying hers as a double raktajino, extra sweet or iced with extra cream. (DS9: "The Passenger")

In 2371, Sisko told a nurse on Trill to tell Doctor Torvin to get himself a raktajino – as opposed to preparing a new host for the Dax symbiont – just before confronting Doctor Renhol. (DS9: "Equilibrium")

Soon after, Gul Dukat sarcastically commented that he hoped Sisko hadn't been killed while ordering a raktajino, after a counter-insurgency program had replicated a disruptor that was firing at Ops personnel. (DS9: "Civil Defense")

Tom Paris enjoyed raktajino with whipped cream on top; in 2372, he considered ordering the beverage with his extra replicator rations. (VOY: "Meld")

Before Odo put an end to his daily security briefings to Major Kira he would have a freshly-replicated cup of raktajino waiting for her when she arrived. (DS9: "Crossfire")

The Jennifer Sisko from the mirror universe enjoyed raktajino, as Jake Sisko made her a cup the same day she kidnapped him from Deep Space 9. (DS9: "Shattered Mirror")

Jake himself enjoyed his raktajino extra sweet, and drank it with makapa bread, which when dipped in the raktajino would induce it to froth up with a peppermint-flavored foam. This was, apparently, not a very common pairing, as Benjamin, a dedicated raktajino drinker, was surprised the first time he witnessed it. (DS9: "For the Cause")

At the request of Chief O'Brien, Quark tried to create a decaffeinated version of raktajino in 2373. This was for the benefit of Major Kira, who was pregnant with O'Brien's son at the time. Quarktajino, as Odo called it, was apparently disgusting. (DS9: "Nor the Battle to the Strong")

Rom had a raktajino in 2373 when assigned to a swing shift in an effort to socialize with his standoffish colleagues who were drinking the same thing. (DS9: "The Assignment")

Raktajino has the properties to intoxicate Talarians. (DS9: "A Simple Investigation")

During the Dominion occupation of Deep Space 9 of late 2373 to early 2374, Mavek brought Kira Nerys a raktajino every morning. (DS9: "Rocks and Shoals")

While Ezri Tigan hated the beverage, once she was joined with the Dax symbiont she was unable to control the urge to drink it. (DS9: "Shadows and Symbols")

The prop department placed several in-jokes on the label of the raktajino bottle. The label read "100% Colombian," "Made from the Green Hills of Earth" (a title of a short story by Robert Heinlein), and "Imported by Harcourt Mudd".

The Star Trek Cookbook (p. 176f.), describes Raktajino as "real java, aged java you can make even more robust and vigorous by mixing with dark French roast or Italian espresso beans". It can be prepared in a drip coffeemaker, in a French plunger coffee carafe or even in a vacuum coffeemaker.