The first questions about the jargon terms are where they came from and how they originated. Where they originated covers a wide spectrum of places. Some began by military groups during wars, while others originated in men’s and women’s prisons. Others originated in foreign countries, by university students, or simply by groups of people who felt they needed another name for their cup of coffee. This even includes people who don’t drink coffee because of its taste, but because of the reaction they get from drinking coffee. Some words are more of a description than jargon. Of the hundreds of terms, those mentioned here are just a sample.
Slang names that come from where the coffee is grown or made include Java and Cocoa Java from the island of Java in Indonesia. Kaffee comes from Switzerland while Manila comes from the Philippines. An Americano is a regular coffee made in the United States, while Kona comes from coffee grown and made on the Kona coast of Hawaii. Kahwa, which is a French slang word for coffee, actually comes from the Egyptian language spoken in the Korcafa area near Ethiopia.
A Cup of Joe or Cup of Jo has three stories about the origin of the term. Some say it comes from Stephen Foster’s song, Old Black Joe. Another theory holds that the drink was nicknamed in honor of Admiral Josephus “Joe” Daniels, who was the United States Secretary of the Navy. Others say that Joe was a term used by soldiers during WWII. Joe was used as the name of a person who was always present, but whose name was never really known, but there was always someone present when needed. Therefore, a cup of Joe or a cup of Jo was a drink that was always available. It was later expanded to a cup of Joe Black, for black coffee and Mojo along with other related terms using joe or jo.
Arbuckles became a slang term that cowboys used for coffee. It was the brand of coffee that was used on the road. An additional comment here; Arbuckles was cowboy coffee because it came in proprietary one-pound airtight packets of beans in a sturdy 100-pack wooden box that kept the coffee fresh.
Some terms used in prisons include mud, cloudy water, morning mud, and caffeine, misstated on purpose. WormDirt, Blue Bag, after a brand that comes in blue, and many other terms have been used or are being used, including those with sexy or pornographic connotations.
The words Cuppa and Brew came from England and meant a cup of tea. Cuppa, Brew and Cup of … over time, they have become coffee. Other slang words are more definitive than slang. These words include day starter, caffeine fix, wake-up juice, jolt cup, bean juice, daily energy, or liquid energy. The French words Café au lait means coffee with milk, while Café Noir means black coffee makes them quite descriptive. The daily grind is more of a word game-like term, while the word Crap has several meanings and is often used in gambling establishments.
Despite all the modern drinks, the list of slang terms keeps growing. Some of the most resentful coffee slang words that have been used include Rocket Fuel, which means strong coffee, and C8H10N4O2, which is the formula for caffeine. Now that espressos are a must drink, some slang names for them are: Regular brew, Red Eye for one shot of espresso, Black Eye for two shots, and Glass Eye for three shots of pure espresso.
