Raktajino (Klingon coffee)

I love coffee. Unconditionally, since I like it in all of its shapes and varieties. I drink black coffee, coffee with milk and sugar, an espresso or an americano. It doesn’t matter the presentation, l just love coffee. Even in the beginning, when a regular coffee was too much for my hyper excited nerves, I drank decaf. The taste was everything that I needed. When it comes to Star Trek, I am more picky. The next generation, Voyager and Lower decks, plus some movies. That’s it. Therefore I was delighted to find out that the favorite drink of capitan Cisco from DS9 is Raktajino. Well also a little frustrated since it took me so long to learn this, but anyways. Raktajino is klingon coffee and that in itself is awesome! Coffee is great but klingon coffee should be stronger, better, faster and meaner looking.

Making of Raktajino

Naturally I immediately tried to recreate it. First, the base. Since the coffee is klingon, it should be strong. I use double the usual amount of coffee to make the base brew. The preparation method is not that important, since the taste is heavily modified. High concentration of caffeine and base taste is the only thing we need. Just use your favorite method like french press or drip, even instant coffee is ok.

Now the spices. This is the main source of the taste. A strong, arabic mix of spices is exactly what a klingon coffee needs. So cinnamon, cardamom and allspice are a must. This is not in line with my klingon bloodwine recipe, but then agin, wine and coffee are not similar beverages. The combination of spices provides a nice balance and creates a round, rich taste. If you want to add more punch,  add some black pepper to the mix. And don’t go easy on the spices! Almost a half of a teaspoon of the spice mix per cup of raktajino sounds a lot, but it is needed to counter the strong taste of coffee. And it will give the punch that the klingon coffee promises and deserves.

You can drink it as such, but it is too bitter for my taste. So a teaspoon of sugar is definitely a great improvement. The sugar adds to the body and makes the coffee taste more rounded and full. For the finishing touches you can add a few drops of rum or cognac. This does not alter the taste, but it helps the spices to express themself more. Alcohol namely evaporates easily and can carry fragrances to the nose. Therefore making alcohol free beer that is similar to alcoholic one is so difficult.

MemoryBeta Raktajino

When crawling the Internet about Raktajino references, I came across MemoryBeta. Here it is mentioned that Raktajino is a blend of coffee and ra’taj liqueur. What a wonderful idea! The addition of fine alcohol seems like a logical extension of klingon coffee. Sadly, no more references were found to what the ra’taj liqueur is, but in my mind there was no doubt: coffee liqueur! I tried to buy Kahlua, but then found something equally delicious: Tia Maria Cold brew. Anyway, the addition of fine coffee liqueur added a hafty body to the drink and infused it with the inner heat that lingered for a long time in your torso. Magnificent! On the side note, this variant is not something to be drunk in the morning for your pick-me-up, but rather in the afternoon for your get-me-ready-for-the evening! Cheers!

Raktajino recipe

• 1 cup Extra strong coffee
• ½ teaspoon of mixed spices (equal parts of cinnamon, cardamom and allspice, optionally black pepper)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon rum or cognac (optional)

Add spices to the coffee when it has cooled dow just a little bit to prevent flavor to escape in great amounts. Add sugar and optional rum, mix and enjoy!

MemoryBeta Raktajino recipe

• 1 cup Extra strong coffee
• ½ teaspoon of mixed spices (equal parts of cinnamon, cardamom and allspice, optionally black pepper)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 20 mL of a good coffee liquor (e.g. Tia Maria Cold brew)

I must confess that I do regularly treat myself to Raktajino (sometimes to the MemoryBeta version). It is a welcome change from everyday coffee taste and it definitely starts you up for the task ahead. So treat yourself to one!

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Making the Klingon bloodwine Jordanian spiced chicken and rice Cold brew coffee Romulan ale (beer) recipe Caffeine solubility, content in coffee beans and extraction Dairy free chocolate liqueur Instant coffee Caffeine from coffee, tea, matcha, mate, guarana and soft drinks – is there any difference?