…rAndOm…or…RaNDoM…

i’m tired***Most crazy…brazillian and columbian, all from arabia—dutch treat i love coffee

In the mid-90’s – Starbuck’s opened a store 2 doors down from my office in Glendale, Ca. My partners and I were [ecstatic] at first! We could walk in for a really good cup coming into work, and didn’t have to concern ourselves with making Folgers and so forth in the office – we could get right to business with a great tasting drink to boost us along…

Pretty soon, we had to get to work 30 minutes early to account for waiting in line behind 20-30 people ordering a Venti half-caf Mocha Frappacino with a quarter fraction pump of something, and extra foam…and determining the proper flavor of Scone, and asking it it was wrapped in environmentally friendly and recycleable paper…

Finally, after observing all the fascinating social interaction and decision making that those ahead of me seemed to live for – and it was my turn to be asked ‘What can I get started for you today?’…my answer was always the same. I JUST WANT A CUP OF COFFEE PLEASE – BLACK!!!! 10 seconds later I was on my way…forget going back for a refill later…not enough time in the day…

Now I’m so sophisticated that I sometimes opt for an Iced Vanilla Latte in the afternoon when it’s 100+ outside (I live in Palm Springs now) – but the experience of standing in line hasn’t changed much…

Back in my days as a US Marine we referred to coffee that was very poor quality as a cup of Joe.
Which fits with your explanation that coffee was the drink of the common man in the 1930’s. During the Depression people couldn’t afford to buy coffee as often as today and they would re-use their coffee grounds over and over with the quality of the coffee thus produced getting lower each time.