Why is coffee sometimes called a cup of joe?
Three ideas: 1. Secretary of the Navy in 1913, Josephus "Joe" Daniels, prohibited alcohol at sea leading to more coffee consumption. 2. It’s a shortened version of two other slang terms for coffee: java and jamoke. 3. Coffee is considered “a common man” drink and Joe is “a common man” name.
Some believe 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 Navy Josephus “Joe" Daniels. After his order, imposed near the beginning of World War I, the strongest drink a sailor could get on a ship was black coffee.