Chances are, you love coffee as much as I do. (And I really, really love coffee.) About two-thirds of Americans drink it every day, according to the National Coffee Association. Whether you brew it at home in a single-serve machine or a fancy French press, hit up a popular chain or order it at the trendy neighborhood coffee shop, you’ve simply got to have that daily cup of joe. But hold up: Why is coffee called joe?

As someone whose job revolves around words, I couldn’t help but delve into the history of the curious slang. Is the term based on some guy named Joe? And just how long have people been calling coffee by this nickname? I asked two linguists to spill the (coffee) beans about this tasty mystery. Read on to learn all about the term cup of joe’s meaning and use.

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How long has coffee been called joe?

We’ve been referring to coffee as joe for over a century, but coffee was discovered long before that.

Here’s a fascinating coffee fact: In ninth-century Ethiopia, according to legend, a herder noticed his goats eating a berry that made them so energetic that they couldn’t sleep at night. He shared his findings with the abbot of the local monastery, who struggled to stay awake during evening prayer. The abbot made a drink with the berries and found that it kept him and the other monks alert—one of the reasons we still drink coffee.

From there, the magic of the coffee bean spread, eventually making its way all around the world.

When was the first written instance of calling coffee joe?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the earliest recorded instance of coffee being called joe is in Jay Smiley’s 1941 book, Hash House Lingo. “Smiley was a reporter who noticed that there were things peculiar to particular diners but also that countermen across the country shared a vocabulary too,” says Michael Adams, PhD, a professor of English and linguistics at Indiana University.

But despite the cup of joe origin provided by the OED, Adams says it’s not a 1940s term. “It’s at least a 1930s term, and maybe a 1920s or earlier term, because it’s the type of word that gets into the vocabulary where you don’t expect it, and then it rises to a level that people recognize it in print.”

In other words, the phrase likely became popular long before it found its way into Smiley’s record of diner lingo. It seems that Green’s Dictionary of Slang agrees, citing the following passage from a 1927 Virginia newspaper article:

The U.S. Navy has a language or a ‘slanguage’ all its own. For instance […] coffee is ‘joe.’

“They literally say it plain. Which as a lexicographer, I love to see,” says linguist Grant Barrett, co-host of A Way with Words, a national radio show about language.

Why is coffee called joe?

Why Is Coffee Called Joe Find Out Before Your Next CupREADER'S DIGEST, GETTY IMAGES (2)

As is the case with many colorful phrases, there’s no definitive origin story explaining why coffee is called joe. “I would believe anything for which there was evidence, and there isn’t a heck of a lot,” says Adams.

That said, there are a lot of interesting theories. Let’s pour out a few of them.

Java

Some people believe coffee is called joe because it starts with the same letter as Java, an island in Indonesia famous for its coffee production. Though there’s no evidence, Barrett thinks the connection is possible. “Java is an exotic place, and this strange, intoxicating bean comes from this faraway, mysterious place,” he says.

Jamoke

A related theory claims that the origin of the term joe goes back to the 1930s, when a popular slang term for coffee was jamoke. This portmanteau was formed by combining the words Java (the Indonesian island) and Mocha (a port city in Yemen), two places known for their coffee exports. But as Barrett notes, neither was a major source of coffee for the United States—we got most of our beans from Brazil.

The Navy

Another theory traces cup of joe‘s origin to Josephus Daniels, the Secretary of the Navy who, in 1914, banned alcohol on military ships. As a result, sailors supposedly started calling a cup of coffee (the strongest drink available to them) a cup of Joe in protest. However, as Barrett notes, “Daniels forbade alcohol in 1914, but joe doesn’t show up until the 1920s.” This gap in time seems to dispute the theory.

Average Joe

Coffee is an everyday beverage enjoyed by everyday Americans—average Joes, if you will. This leads to yet another possible explanation for the phrase cup of joe. “Joe is used for a long time [as far back as 1846, per the OED] as a term for a familiar person, a guy, someone you know, a friend,” says Adams. “If you’re looking for a cup of joe, in a sense, you’re looking for a friend.”

Vagabond slang

This leads us to a related theory as to why coffee is called a cup of joe: The phrase rose out of the slang terms used by railroad transients, those who often traveled as stowaways on freight trains. “When you were a tramp on the rails, you’d end up in these camps of hobos,” says Adams. “You’d sit around, and you’d drink coffee. And that would be coming together with people who were your new friends, but your old friend was coffee itself. So you get together for a cup of joe.”

How has the phrase cup of joe evolved over the years?

The saying cup of joe hasn’t evolved or changed over the years. “I think it’s a really transparent and largely unevolved thing,” says Adams. But it definitely became more widespread after the 1940s—and that’s largely because of World War II and the military effort.

“Coffee drives the military,” says Barrett. “Caffeine drives the energy of these people to do this hard work: to do the drills, to fight the wars, to do the hard work of keeping the world safe.”

And the military drove a lot of language adoption at the time. “What the Second World War did for a lot of American English was to broaden speakers of terms that were once local or unusual,” says Adams. “Because if soldiers were using those words, then other soldiers picked them up, and they took them back to wherever in the states they came from.” So because of people mingling in the military, sayings like cup of joe spread throughout the country.

Can you use the term joe for any type of coffee?

Don’t tell the barista you want “a cup of joe” if you’re looking for a fancy drink. A cup of joe is just “plain old coffee,” says Barrett. “It’s not a fancy drink with caramel or whipped cream. Joe is that nearly burnt stuff that you get at a gas station.”

What are some fun synonyms for your cup of joe?

Here are a dozen and a half other ways for coffee lovers to talk about their gotta-have-it beverage.

  • Alkali
  • Battery acid
  • Bean juice
  • Bilge water
  • Brain juice
  • Brazil water
  • Brew
  • Dirt
  • Dishwater
  • Embalming fluid
  • Go juice
  • High octane
  • Java
  • Jitter juice
  • Liquid energy
  • Liquid gold
  • Mood mover
  • Mud
  • Rocket fuel

Though cup of joe‘s origins may be murky, one thing’s clear: People around the globe can’t get enough. So go ahead, pour yourself another cup of joe.

About the experts

  • Michael Adams, PhD, is a professor of English and linguistics at Indiana University Bloomington, where he served as chair of the Department of English for four years. He specializes in the history, theory and practice of lexicography and has contributed to dictionaries and several books, including Word Mysteries and Histories: From Abracadabra to Zeus.
  • Grant Barrett is a lexicographer and dictionary editor who specializes in slang and new words. He is the co-host of A Way with Words, a national radio show about language, and has written several books, including Perfect English Grammar.

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At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experience where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. For this piece on why coffee is called joe, Jo Ann Liguori tapped her decades of experience as a copy editor to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

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Jo Ann Liguori
Jo Ann is a Brooklyn-based editor and writer who specializes in grammar for Reader's Digest. She has served as copy editor, copy chief and/or managing editor at numerous magazines, including Good Housekeeping, Country Living, Modern Farmer, Working Mother and Cosmopolitan. A self-described “grammar enforcer,” Jo Ann is always on the hunt for ty...
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