Where does this phrase come from?

[mickeywho?]

"Cuppa Joe"
I know there must be some story behind it...I wonder about strange things like this. Someone I work with said it this morning and it's been bugging me ever since.
Anyone know?

 

[GeorgeG]

I think it's some old G.I. (Joe) slang for coffee that started around W.W. II.

 

[Cantw8]

I've always been curious too but right now, I'm too lazy to Google

 

[Pop Daddy]

I've always been curious too but right now, I'm too lazy to Google

me too, I wonder if anyone on the dis has the energy to goggle it and let us know

 

[Geoff_M]

I always thought "Joe" was slang for "Java"... which is slang for "Coffee".

 

[JARNJ3]

I always thought it started during the depression.......

But this website says the following:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_coffee_called_a_cup_of_Joe

"Cup of joe" is an American nickname for coffee. The phrase goes back to the mid-1840s, and is of unclear origin, though it is possibly short for "Old Black Joe," the title of a popular Stephen Foster song. In any case, it predates Josephus Daniels, the Secretary of the Navy who banned the serving of alcohol on ships in 1914.

Another possible origin lies in the birth of America's taste for coffee, which developed in the 19th century after tea was no longer available from British merchants. The phrase may have come into the American English language via a misunderstanding of the French word chaud, which means "hot" and is pronounced similarly.

 

[pogo791]

JarnJ3,

Otherwise a good theory, but Stephen Foster's 1860 lyrics to "Old Black Joe" don't refer to coffee at all. Why would a song lamenting people you'll never meet again, turn into the origin of a term for coffee?

In addition to the "Old Black Joe" theory, there are a lot of other theories out there, with three that seem to lead the pack.

One is that "cuppa Joe" got its name from being the drink of choice of "the regular Joe". As a theory, though, that doesn't seem to make sense. If you're going to associate regular guys with a drink, it's beer that comes to mind, not coffee. Joe Sixpack, yes; Joe the coffee drinker, no.

Another is that "Joe" comes from Java, which was a popular nickname in the U.S. for coffee back in the late 1800s, when Java was a major source of the stuff. That makes some sense.

The theory that seems to be most popular lays the blame on the Navy. According to the BBC site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1300410), "In 1914, the secretary of the US Navy, Admiral Josephus 'Joe' Daniels abolished the officers' wine mess. From that time on the strongest (and apparently therefore the drink of choice) on board navy ships was coffee. It was dubbed 'a cup of Joe' after the secretary."

Other sites say it ain't so, arguing that stopping the officers from drinking alcohol on board wouldn't have that much an impact on the ordinary sailors. They also say that the phrase "a cup of Joe" predates the Admiral's order, but they don't give any evidence.

I'd put my money on the Navy story. The Navy is strong on tradition, and the amount of coffee served on board Navy ships around the world would probably float a battleship or two. Besides, the Navy's own Reserve Officers Manual in 1931 says the phrase "cup of Joe" derives from the Admiral's ban on alcohol on board. And if you can't believe the U.S. Navy, who can you believe?