Java, Joe, Mud Or Coffee; Whats In A Name

So, we are all fans of a cup of joe or that daily trip by the local java joint, but where did these terms come from? While modern coffee slang includes phrases like half-caff and venti latte, some coffee related terms predate today’s coffee obsessed culture. Coffee is more than just a beverage, and has now become a cultural phenomenon with its own slang, lingo and more.

Java specifically refers to coffee beans produced on the island of Java in Indonesia. Java coffee beans typically have a light, clean flavor. The Dutch first began growing coffee beans on the island of Java in the 17th century and exporting them from there. In Indonesia, the phrase kopi jawa refers to a strong sweet coffee brew with powdered grains added to it. Java began to be widely used as a nickname for coffee in 1850. The term coffee was occasionally applied to other brewed beverages, but java has always referred to coffee, albeit not necessarily good coffee.

Another common slang term used when referring to coffee is cup of joe. While the origins of java as a reference are clear, cup of joe is less so. It has been suggested that the term joe, in this case is a derivative of java. While this is certainly possible, the other alternative may be more likely. Joe was historically used as a reference to the common man, or possibly in reference to enlisted servicemen, or G.I. Joes. Thus, coffee was the drink of the common man. It is also possible that the term is derived from the 1860 Stephen Collins Foster song, “Old Black Joe”. It has also been suggested that the phrase originated with Admiral Josephus “Joe” Daniels who abolished the officers’ wine mess on naval ships in 1914. The phrase cup of joe is first seen in print in 1930 and was common enough to have been used in a military manual in 1931.