Coffeehouse observation No. 172

Want to know about the origins of the phrase “cup of joe”? Yahoo! Answers asked the question and someone pointed them in the direction of a U.S. Navy website on naval traditions. We use “cup of joe” because:

“Josephus Daniels (May 18, 1862-January 15, 1948) was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Among his reforms of the Navy were inaugurating the practice of making 100 Sailors from the Fleet eligible for entrance into the Naval Academy, the introduction of women into the service, and the abolishment of the officers’ wine mess. From that time on, the strongest drink aboard Navy ships could only be coffee and over the years, a cup of coffee became known as ‘a cup of Joe.’”

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/traditions/html/navyterm.html#joe

Now we all know where it comes from.

Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.