Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 12 - "Let Sleeping Borg Lie"Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) is arguably the most famous coffee enthusiast in Star Trek, but Star Trek: Prodigy gave her a big lifestyle change and switched Janeway's favorite beverage. In the second half of Star Trek: Prodigy season 1, Admiral Janeway commands the USS Dauntless as they search for the missing Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and the USS Protostar in the Delta Quadrant. Adding to Janeway's stress levels, the Dauntless brought aboard the Diviner (John Noble), whom they are unaware is a diabolical, time-traveling villain who hid a Starfleet-destroying doomsday weapon aboard the Protostar.
In Star Trek: Prodigy episode 12, "Let Sleeping Borg Lie," Admiral Janeway has given up coffee and now drinks tea. Although Janeway's not happy about it, she had to give up coffee because of "doctor's orders." This may be shocking, but it actually already happened in Star Trek: Voyager's series finale, "Endgame." When Admiral Janeway time-traveled and met Captain Janeway, she told her coffee-drinking younger self that she gave it up "years ago." Star Trek: Prodigy now canonically shows the beginning of the aging Admiral Janeway's conversion into a tea drinker. On Star Trek: Voyager, Captain Janeway was constantly downing coffee in her favorite silver mug, and one of her most famous quotes is, "There's coffee in that nebula!" Admiral Janeway officially giving up coffee for tea in Star Trek: Prodigy marks the end of an era.
Admiral Janeway Is Now A Tea Drinker Like Picard
Admiral Janeway (reluctantly) drinking tea makes her akin to the most famous lover of tea in Star Trek, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Picard is synonymous with tea, and his ordering "tea, Earl Grey, hot" from the replicator in Star Trek: The Next Generation is a legendary part of his character. Picard and TNG helped raise awareness of and popularized Earl Grey tea in the United States. It's very possible that the health benefits of tea contributed to Admiral Picard living well into his 90s. Admiral Janeway's doctor obviously wants the same health and longevity for her, and it's quite possible Picard and his love of tea may have crossed Kathryn's mind when she made the switch.
Admiral Janeway may have given up coffee, but Star Trek is still filled with characters who love a good cup of joe. Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) was often seen drinking coffee from a blue cup in Star Trek: The Original Series and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) was often in search of black coffee after stressful situations on the Starship Enterprise. On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the space station was populated by Klingon coffee enthusiasts. Everyone from Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) to Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) to Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) loved triple-brewed Raktajino. Star Trek: Discovery season 2 established that Commander Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) also drank Raktajino in the 23rd century.
Will Admiral Janeway Get Jealous Hologram Janeway Drinks Coffee?
Admiral Janeway and the Dauntless haven't intercepted the USS Protostar yet in Star Trek: Prodigy episode 12, but when she inevitably finds and boards the starship, will she get jealous that her counterpart, Hologram Janeway, can still drink coffee? Hologram Janeway was programmed with Captain Janeway's characteristics from when she was the commander of the USS Voyager, and the Hologram is often drinking holographic coffee just like her flesh-and-blood counterpart used to. This may become a source of animosity between the two Janeways, but hopefully, Admiral Janeway doesn't reprogram the Protostar's Hologram to also drink tea.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.