When a Starship Visited Madres Espresso
On a crisp morning in Olympia, as the fog rolled in off the Puget Sound, something curious appeared above the horizon. It wasn’t a ferry or a fishing boat—it was the Starship Enterprise, quietly gliding into low orbit like it had mistaken downtown Olympia for a Federation StarBase. Moments later, Captain Jean-Luc Picard himself beamed down, not for a diplomatic mission, nor to resolve an interstellar crisis, but for something far more urgent: coffee.
His destination? Not some gleaming futuristic café, but a little local treasure—Madres Espresso, a cozy stand nestled on the corner where regulars line up daily for their caffeine fix. Starfleet officers, it turns out, are no different from Earthlings when it comes to needing a good cup of coffee to keep the galaxy spinning smoothly.
Picard ordered a double Americano with the gravitas of a man requesting warp nine. Commander Riker went bold with a quad shot latte, while Data politely asked the barista for “the most efficient beverage for optimal human-like energy output,” and walked away with a honey lavender latte he’s still analyzing. Worf grumbled that the mochas were “too sweet for a warrior” but finished his anyway. Even Spock raised an eyebrow of approval at the stand’s oat milk options, declaring them “most logical.”
For a moment, Madres Espresso became the center of the galaxy, its friendly baristas serving both locals and starship crew alike. Customers in line hardly blinked—it is Olympia, after all, where unusual sightings are just part of the charm. And when the Enterprise finally beamed everyone back aboard, the crew carried not only caffeine but also a little piece of Earthly delight: the memory of a small stand in Washington where the coffee was strong enough to fuel even a starship.
