Coffee Facts

Coffee Origin

There is not a consensus on the true origin of the English word coffee. It is thought the word coffee originated from the Turkish pronunciation kahveh of an Arabic word, Qahwah (related to wine or dark stuff). The English version may have come from the Italian term, caffe, Dutch, koffie, or French, café.

An alternative is coffee takes its name from the Ethiopian Kaffa region, which is potentially also the native home of the coffee plant. Some feel this is not likely due to the coffee plant being labelled after the Arabic bunn meaning "raw coffee" and the coffee drink being called būno.

Espresso Origin

Espresso is an Italian word meaning to be pressed out. Hence the espresso coffee drink having the name based on the extraction process of pressing hot water through finely ground coffee grinds.

Cappuccino Origin

The drink Kapuziner was named after the hooded robes of the Capuchin (Kapuzin) friars of Vienna in the 1700s. The color of the friars clothing was similar to that of the drink.

The drink changed over the years and in the 1900s. The Italians would popularize the term cappuccino.

How Coffee Became Known as Joe

Joe is a slang word for coffee.

During the first World War, a US Navy secretary banned alcohol from US Navy ships as part of his morality purge. Obviously this led to an increase in alternate beverage consumption, coffee being a predominant one.

One theory is it led to the sarcastic term having "a cup of Joe" in place of a preferred alcoholic beverage. Joe being short for Josephus.

While this is a good story, it may be a myth.

Other less exciting options include:

• The shortening of "java" or "jamoke"
• It being the drink of the common man (an ordinary joe).

See here for a more detailed analysis.

Cooking with Coffee

Instant coffee is often used in cooking because it contains no water. A recipe might no need any water, and if it does, you need to cater for that in your measurements when using real coffee.

The coffee flavor is concentrated in instant coffee and it is easy to use as a standard measurement. There are no grounds that can cause grit and instant coffee is simple to use in cooking.