C*O*F*F*E*E

 

Normally, this post would have listed some of the stuff that can be celebrated or noted for the month of October, but when I discovered that October 1^st was International Coffee Day, I decided to dedicate the whole post to that wonderful beverage.

 

Coffee, cuppa joe, life’s blood, mother’s milk, whatever name it goes by, it’s one of life’s essentials. At least for me. I know purists decry decaf, but for those of us whose caffeine intake is limited, I love the fact that I can still enjoy decaf after I’ve had my 2 cups of caffeine I allow myself. Personally, I like lots of cream and sugar in my java.

 

If you are a Star Trek DS9 fan, you are familiar with the Klingon drink raktajino. It’s a mixture of Ra’taj (a Klingon liqueur) and strong coffee or espresso. I understand it’s almost impossible to procure Ra’taj, but here is the closest and easiest recipe I could find. And it’s endlessly adaptable to whatever your taste is. I DO NOT JUDGE.

 

Basics:

1 part strong coffee. The stronger, the better.

1 part milk, 1 part froth.

Molasses to taste.

Whiskey to taste. (This is the part I don’t judge)

Sprinkle cinnamon and/or cardamom

 

If you don’t want to mess with a double boiler, you can skip making the froth. Or you can go ahead and whisk the whole batch together. Whatever you want. If you don’t care for molasses, use whatever sweetener you want. Use sweetened creamer if you don’t want milk. Just about anything you do that involves coffee and booze is going to be a winner. Drink it hot if you’re feeling chilly. Drink it iced in the back yard watching the fireflies come out in summer. BTW, there are NO fireflies in this area so I’m stuck drinking in the dark.

 

Sisko relied on his morning cup of raktajino and Dax was a pretty heavy partaker of it as well. Especially after a long night of drinking. She stumbled to her replicator and ordered: Raktajino, double strong, double sweet.

 

If you are REALLY a Trekkie, you can get a raktajino mug on Amazon…