Quote:
Originally Posted by Unsettomati
I understand that. However, 'cuppa' in reference to tea obviously derived from the longer phrase 'cuppa tea', which obviously derived from 'cup of tea'. Once the latter was also applied to coffee, and 'cuppa coffee' emerged - which was probably inevitable, given the similarity of the beverages and the fact that both are commonly consumed through the Anglosphere - the use of 'cuppa' as a standalone to refer to coffee as well was also just a matter of time.
Anyway, a coffee shop in Las Vegas:
Holley's Cuppa
Just 'Cuppa'. No 'Coffee' in the title, but that's their primary product. And they have a roast called 'Cuppa City Roast'. Again, no 'Coffee' in the name of the roast.
Also, a little googling shows 'cuppa' to have widespread use in Australia in reference to either tea or coffee.
The idea that there are correct and incorrect usages for an informal colloquialism is silly. It's appropriate use is for that which it is commonly understood to refer, which is demonstrably for either tea or coffee. |
But that's my point. It's always been commonly understood to refer strictly to tea. Maybe you can search Google and find instances where it's being used otherwise, but that doesn't make it correct. If someone said "Would you like a cuppa?", would you think they're offering you coffee? I would never think that they're referring to anything other than tea.
To use "cuppa" in reference to any other drink reduces it to nothing more than contraction and it loses its meaning entirely.
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