The Reason Why You May Call Your Coffee 'A Cup Of Joe'

Coffee serves many purposes, from fueling our workaholic minds to providing a convenient excuse for why we've been acting like a jerk all morning ("Sorry, I just haven't had my coffee yet!"). As such a vital part of daily life, it's no surprise that coffee has picked up quite a number of nicknames throughout the years, some of which make perfect sense, and others ... well, others less so. Take 'Java,' a catchy nickname that originates with the famous coffee-growing region of the same name, or 'jitter juice,' the root of which should be evident to anyone who's ever had one too many cups in the morning. Some nicknames refer to coffee's dark and murky appearance, such as 'dirt' and 'mud,' but none of these is as notable as coffee's most famous American epithet: 'cup of Joe,' sometimes shortened simply to 'Joe.' Despite being such a widespread nickname, the origins of this term are shrouded in mystery, although there are a few prevailing theories worth exploring.

The most commonly told story behind the moniker 'cup of Joe' links it to Josephus Daniels, the United States Secretary of the Navy, during World War I. As impressive a role as this may sound, Daniels was hardly a man worth admiring. A North Carolina newspaper publisher who used his platform to promote violent white supremacist beliefs, Daniels was gifted the post of Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913 after helping the 28th president on the campaign trail. A year after assuming the post, Daniels issued General Order 99, banning alcohol on naval vessels and bases. This meant that the strongest drink left available to the sailors was coffee, and legend has it they bitterly referred to this offering as a 'cup of Joe' to spite Daniels. However, this story has two problems, the first being that the term 'cup of Joe' did not appear in writing until 1930. The other knock is that while General Order 99 banned naval officers from having alcohol, the sailors' rum rations had already been banned years before.

So, if the tradition of calling coffee 'a cup of Joe' did not begin with Josephus Daniels, where did it originate? There are two other theories, although neither one has much evidence to back it up. The first suggests that 'Joe' is a shortened form of the word 'jamoke,' another nickname for coffee that arose in the 19th century from a combination of the words Java and Mocha, both varieties of coffee beans. The final theory behind the name links it to the use of 'Joe' as a moniker for the working man in America, i.e., 'average Joe.' Since coffee has often been seen as a working-class drink, the nickname may have arisen from it being the average Joe's beverage. Of course, neither of these theories is particularly compelling due to lack of evidence, and the real origin of 'cup of Joe' has likely been lost in the annals of history.