An excerpt from All Recipes -
Why We Call Coffee a "Cup of Joe"
Several theories attempt to explain the phrase.
By Stacey Lastoe
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| istock photo |
One theory on cup of joe's origin goes like this: In 1914, a ban on alcohol on U.S. Navy ships imposed by the Secretary of the Navy Josephus "Joe" Daniels meant that the strongest drink available aboard the ship was black coffee. It wasn't long before the angry sailors began referring to the hot drink as Joe or cup of joe, a nod to the Navy secretary.
Gabrielle Bernstein, co-founder of Joe Coffee Company, of which there are now 20 in New York City, subscribes to this theory: "What I always heard about the origin story of cup of joe was that it was during World War II, and there was a sergeant who didn't allow the troops to drink booze, so he gave them a lot of coffee instead." The booze-banning sergeant's name was Joe, and so, says Bernstein, "they started calling coffee 'a cup of Joe.'"
Another theory plays into this story: Many believe that the nickname cup of joe is a way of saying coffee is common — it's a common man's drink. Joe, being a common name, represents the basic beverage (though these days, coffee is often anything but basic). Coffee wasn't a cappuccino or a latte or a flat white or cold brew. It was coffee grounds and water. Hot, caffeinated, and open to milk or sugar additives, coffee was regular. Low-brow, low-key, cheap, and purpose-serving.
The third and no less compelling explanation for how cup of joe came about goes back to the 1930s when coffee's most popular nickname was jamoke, from mocha java. Some linguists say joe is a shortened version of jamoke. British etymologist and writer Michael Quinion's research supports this understanding of cup of joe's origin.
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