For many of us, coffee is a great friend or even a best friend for some. And like we do with any friend, we give it a few nicknames. Coffee slang terms can be overwhelming at first because there are so many synonyms and terms about coffee out there.
We did some research collecting the most important phrases so that after reading this article, you will know all about the fun slang for coffee!
24 Coffee Slang Terms
Here is some of the commonly used coffee slang terms and the most popular nicknames for coffee:
- A Cup of Juan Valdez’s Best
- Battery Acid (for bitter coffee)
- Bean Juice
- Brain Fuel
- Brain Juice
- Cup of Joe
- Cuppa
- Dirt
- Go Juice
- Heart Starter
- High Octane
- Hot Stuff
- Java Lava
- Jet Fuel
- Jitter Juice
- Leaded
- Liquid Energy
- Liquid Gold
- Morning Brew
- Mud
- Rocket Fuel
- Unleaded
- The Fix
- Wake-Up Juice
8 Important Words For Coffee Lovers: Synonyms for Coffee
Image Credit: Tyler Nix, Unsplash
Here are some of the most important words for coffee lovers, all are synonyms for a cup of coffee:
- Brew
- Café
- Caffeine
- Espresso
- Jamocha
- Java
- Joe
- Mocha
Top 40 Useful Coffee Terms
Here’s a comprehensive list of common coffee terms that every coffee lover should know:
- Aeropress: a manual device for preparing coffee using pressure. The Aeropress is a great choice for people who are on the move and looking for something portable that extracts delicious coffee flavors.
- Americano: Espresso diluted with hot water, resembling American-style drip coffee.
- Barista: A coffee professional who prepares and serves espresso-based drinks.
- Bean Juice: Slang term for coffee.
- Black Coffee: Coffee without milk, cream, or other additives.
- Blonde Roast: A light roast coffee with bright, acidic flavors.
- Breve: An espresso-based drink made with half-and-half instead of milk.
- Caffè: Italian word for coffee.
- Caffè Au Lait: A French coffee drink made by mixing equal parts brewed coffee and steamed milk.
- Chemex: a manual pour-over style glass coffeemaker that brews a smoother cup with less bitterness because of the glass construction, a special filter, and the unique shape of the device.
- Cupping: cupping is a professional tasting method used by coffee experts.
- Demitasse: a demitasse is a smaller 2-3 oz cup used to serve espresso.
- Drip coffee: a brewing method exposing coffee beans to hot water.
- Fairtrade: a system of certification to ensure fairer pay to farmers and high-quality products.
- Filter coffee: a brewing method using paper, ceramic, or plastic filters to control the water temperature fully and the coffee.
- Flat White: An espresso-based drink with a double shot of espresso and steamed milk, similar to a cortado.
- French Press: A manual coffee brewing method that uses a plunger and a metal or nylon mesh filter to separate coffee grounds from water.
- Frappé: A Greek iced coffee drink made with instant coffee,
- Latte art: is practiced by professional baristas to make sure that the coffee looks tempting and personalized.
- Lungo: An espresso made with more water than usual, resulting in a longer, milder shot.
- Magic: An espresso-based drink similar to a flat white or cortado, typically made with a double ristretto shot and steamed milk.
- Manual Drip: A pour-over coffee brewing method that involves manually pouring hot water over coffee grounds in a filter.
- Moka Pot: A stovetop coffee maker that brews coffee by forcing steam through ground coffee.
- Nitro Cold Brew: Cold brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas, giving it a creamy texture and a frothy head.
- Percolator: A type of coffee maker that continuously cycles boiling water through coffee grounds using gravity.
- Piccolo Latte: A small latte made with a shot of espresso and steamed milk, similar to a cortado.
- Pour-Over: A manual coffee brewing method that involves pouring hot water over coffee grounds in a filter.
- Pourover: Another term for pour-over coffee.
- Red Eye: A coffee drink made by adding a shot of espresso to a cup of brewed coffee.
- Ristretto: A concentrated, short shot of espresso made with less water than a regular espresso.
- Robusta: A species of coffee beans known for its strong, bitter taste and high caffeine content.
- SCAA: Specialty Coffee Association of America, a trade organization for the specialty coffee industry.
- Single Origin: Coffee sourced from a single geographic region or farm.
- Siphon: A vacuum coffee maker that uses a combination of vapor pressure and vacuum to brew coffee.
- Slow Drip: A coffee brewing method that slowly drips cold water over coffee grounds, extracting flavors over a long period.
- Solo: A single shot of espresso.
- Specialty Coffee: High-quality coffee beans that have been scored 80 points or above on a 100-point scale by certified coffee tasters.
- Straight Up: A coffee drink served without any additives, such as milk or sugar.
- Turkish Coffee: A strong, unfiltered coffee made by boiling very finely ground coffee beans with water and sugar.
- V60: A type of pour-over coffee maker with a cone-shaped filter.
Why Is Coffee Called Joe?
Joe is the primary slang for coffee in the US. The first written reference to a cup of coffee as “Cup of Joe” is from 1846, but the name’s true origin is unclear. There are three leading theories on the origins of this term:
- A cup of Joe could be a reference to coffee being the average person’s drink. And Joe is the average person’s name.
- Joe Daniels was a legendary Navy secretary who banned alcohol on U.S. Navy ships in 1914. His action made coffee the strongest drink on those ships and possibly led to the term: cup of Joe.
- Joe could be a short version of Jamocha or the related Jamoke, as this was a popular name for coffee in the 1930s.
Takeaway: Slang for Coffee
Coffee culture is about connecting with other people, having fun, and learning about coffee. It may seem complex at first because there is so much information available and heavy use of coffee jargon and terminology.
Add coffee slang to all of this, and you have got a large number of phrases. Hopefully, this article helped you familiarize yourself with the most important terms, and you will be more comfortable the next time you are discussing this great beverage!
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Featured Image Credit: Nathan Dumlao, Unsplash