How much coffee do you need?

I need to say upfront that I do not drink coffee, so I don't understand why people need to spend $5 for a bucket of coffee in the morning to get going. I understand that caffeine is a stimulant, but a little moderation needs to be practiced here. The cup I saw on the bus this morning looked like the size before you move up to a Big Gulp.

I also think it's strange that coffee shops don't have small or regular coffee's anymore. I have heard all the jokes about the fancy names they use, but they basically start at medium and go up from there. My favorite is venti, it sounds pretentious, but it's Italian for 20, as in 20 oz. I have never personally seen an Italian drink a 20 oz coffee, they all sip it out of little espresso cups. I think an Italian would be sick if they saw the sizes of our coffee cups. If you need 20 oz of coffee to wake up in the morning, you may need to re-evaluate your sleeping habits. Of course, you probably can't sleep as you are so full of caffeine. And wait till you try to save some money and cut back on your coffee intake. That's when you find out coffee is just as addictive as nicotine.