Cup of Joe

Miles Hyman Studio

Do you know where the phrase 'Cup of Joe' come from? There are quite of few theories out there like the one on Quartz which explains that 'Joe' comes from the name Josephus Daniels, former secretary of the US Navy under Woodrow Wilson. "Daniels tried to imbue the navy with a strict morality. He increased the number of chaplains, discouraged prostitution at naval bases, and, most controversially, banned the consumption of alcohol." Subsequently, the purchasing and consumption of coffee rose.
 "A cup of coffee became disparagingly known as ‘a cup of Joseph Daniels,’ and as legend has it, this was soon shortened to a ‘cup of Joe,’” according to biographer Lee Craig.

 The website Snopes has an interesting list of theories (which includes the one above) and thinks the most likely explanation is that 'Joe' comes from the "corruption of one or two other slang words for coffee: java and jamoke" (jamoke is a compression of java & mocha). 

Why not grab a cup of joe and have a read!

Stefano Vitale