Cup of Josephus? There are many folk theories, some more plausible than others, for why a cup of coffee came to be called a cup of joe. (more) Why Is Coffee Called a Cup of Joe? Written by Aman Kumar Aman Kumar is an editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. Aman Kumar Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Mar. 16, 2026 •History It is difficult to pin down when the word joe came to mean coffee or when the phrase cup of joe came into use. Several conjectures related to the slang term are posited as its etymology, but historical evidence and linguistic analysis help us identify the most plausible theories. The term joe seems to have been used for coffee by 1927, at least in some contexts. As the Danville Bee, a Virginia newspaper, noted that...

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