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        Coffee is a beloved drink of millions of people around the world. It is so popular that it has acquired all sorts of endearing nicknames, and “cup of Joe” is one of the most common ones. However, how the beverage came to bear the nickname of “Joe” is still a bit of a mystery. 

        Some theorize that the origin of “cup of Joe” stems from a 1914 ban on alcohol on U.S. Navy ships imposed by the Secretary of the U.S. Navy, Josephus “Joe” Daniels. After his order, General Order 99, the strongest drink of any kind allowed on naval ships could only be black coffee. Those who believe this theory claim that sailors, angry about the ban, began to call coffee a “cup of Joe” in protest. 

        Historians have cast doubt on this theory. For starters, alcohol was not widely available on Navy ships prior to the ban, so General Order 99 would have had very little, if any, practical effect. More importantly, this theory does not account for the twenty-year gap between the ban and the rise of the term “cup of Joe” in the 1930s. Linguists believe it came into being at that time as a bizarre shortened version of another common nickname for coffee “jamoke”—a combination of java and mocha. They think that, over time, “jamoke” may have transformed into “Joe,” since it’s natural for slang terms to shorten over the years. 

        Another theory holds that coffee came to be known as “cup of Joe” because “Joe” itself is a slang term meaning “a common fellow or guy.” This usage of “Joe” has been in the English language for a long time. Hence, a “cup of Joe” is the “common man’s drink.” Which theory makes the most sense to you? After all these years, it’s basically impossible to prove one way or another how this term “cup of Joe” came to be. Perhaps it’s a debate best left as a discussion among friends…over a cup of Joe, of course!