The mightiest bean on the planet

Coffee has been called many things in America. Joe, Java, mud, murk and Jamoke.
Poplar theories abound. The word Joe for coffee has two seemingly reasonable possibilities.
In 1860 a popular song of the times was "old black Joe" written by Stephen C. Foster the same man who wrote "Camp town races" and "Oh! Suzanna". Diners of the time picked up the slang 'Cup O Joe'.
Another possible answer could be that Secretary of the Navy, Joseph Daniels banned alcohol from US Navy warships in 1913 and sailors began drinking more and more coffee and calling it 'Joe'.
Whatever the reason it is called that, Coffee has been a standard for most Americans for a very long time. We drink it in the morning to wake up, sip it during the day to keep going and down it at night just to stay awake long enough to watch the news on TV. We drink it hot and cold. We gulp it down in such vast quantities that it has made Starbucks a household name.
Most coffee snobs would turn their noses up at being offered a classic cup of Joe IE a cup of black, house brand coffee maybe with a little sugar in it. They down their Venti Triple Espresso Double Caff with Soy Milk and designer whipped cream and poo poo the plain and simple fact that the only difference between their $7.00 drink and my $1.25 cuppa is $5.75 and a fancy name.
Now don't get me wrong, some coffees are better than others and I enjoy the more expensive ones when I can afford them, but Maxwell House gives you exactly the same buzz and tastes pretty good and some of the best cups of coffee I get come from simple little diners that probably spend $30.00 or so on an industrial size container of coffee grounds.
But expensive or cheap, fancy or plain Coffee is the balm that truly keeps most of us drinkers from simply reaching out and beating the hell out of someone who has really cheesed us off. So it's time we give the mighty coffee bean its due and quit hiding our cups behind newspapers so that no one can see us.
Oh for those who are wondering, this column will not always be about coffee. Mostly whatever catches my attention that doesn't fit into the format of my other blog. Hopefully you will find these posts humorous, maybe a little insightful and definitely fun. Drink on, my brothers and sisters of the Bean.