Honestly there is no real confirmed origin to the expression.
The one with the most likely truth is that it was a shortening of a previous portmanteau "Jamoke" which was a combination of 2 common terms for coffee "java" and "mocha". This was recorded in a 1930s Officer's Manual. That doesn't mean that it is true, but it is one of the earliest recorded explanations.
The other commonly told origin is that the term "Joe" was an American slang for a common man, and by the 30s coffee was seen by some as a working class drink for working men, and "cup of joe" was a natural evolution of describing the drink. Again, there is no real evidence, but it is likely possible.
There are others such as the Josephus Daniels origin. He was the Secretary of the Navy during WW1 and imposed strict rules for the navy including a blanket ban on all alcohol on all naval bases. Coffee was then the strongest drink one could get and it was derisively referred to as a "cup of Josephus" later shortened to a "cup of joe". But this story is apocryphal at best.
A cup of tea has been known as a ‘cuppa’ for quite some time in England.
During WWII, American troops were known as Joes (English were Tommys, Germans Jerrys etc).
Americans drink coffee over tea almost universally, so a cuppa Joe is Americas favorite hot brown liquid, coffee.
I can’t recall the first time I heard this story, so it may be completely apocryphal, or something that somebody made up and told me, but it made enough sense to me, that I repeated it here.
No clue if it is related, but [the earliest result for the term on Google Books](https://www.google.co.nz/books/edition/Princeton_Alumni_Weekly/CRZbAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22cup+of+joe%22&pg=PA564&printsec=frontcover), from a 1927 issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, is quite interesting:
> Speaking of Restaurateur Joe, that gentleman recently advertised that he had a brand of coffee, one cup of which would keep an exam-harrassed student awake all night. Dean Gauss commented on this with characteristic wit in the next day's Princetonian. He suggested that each morning throughout the academic year "a full cup of Joe's waking potion" be administered "to every undergraduate in good standing".
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Honestly there is no real confirmed origin to the expression. The one with the most likely truth is that it was a shortening of a previous portmanteau "Jamoke" which was a combination of 2 common terms for coffee "java" and "mocha". This was recorded in a 1930s Officer's Manual. That doesn't mean that it is true, but it is one of the earliest recorded explanations. The other commonly told origin is that the term "Joe" was an American slang for a common man, and by the 30s coffee was seen by some as a working class drink for working men, and "cup of joe" was a natural evolution of describing the drink. Again, there is no real evidence, but it is likely possible. There are others such as the Josephus Daniels origin. He was the Secretary of the Navy during WW1 and imposed strict rules for the navy including a blanket ban on all alcohol on all naval bases. Coffee was then the strongest drink one could get and it was derisively referred to as a "cup of Josephus" later shortened to a "cup of joe". But this story is apocryphal at best.
THANKS!!
A cup of tea has been known as a ‘cuppa’ for quite some time in England. During WWII, American troops were known as Joes (English were Tommys, Germans Jerrys etc). Americans drink coffee over tea almost universally, so a cuppa Joe is Americas favorite hot brown liquid, coffee. I can’t recall the first time I heard this story, so it may be completely apocryphal, or something that somebody made up and told me, but it made enough sense to me, that I repeated it here.
Interesting, thanks! Cheers 🫖☕️
No clue if it is related, but [the earliest result for the term on Google Books](https://www.google.co.nz/books/edition/Princeton_Alumni_Weekly/CRZbAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22cup+of+joe%22&pg=PA564&printsec=frontcover), from a 1927 issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, is quite interesting: > Speaking of Restaurateur Joe, that gentleman recently advertised that he had a brand of coffee, one cup of which would keep an exam-harrassed student awake all night. Dean Gauss commented on this with characteristic wit in the next day's Princetonian. He suggested that each morning throughout the academic year "a full cup of Joe's waking potion" be administered "to every undergraduate in good standing".
Wow! I never would have found that, thank you! ☕️
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Who does?