The people who say they need 3 cups of black coffee to start their day are just addicts with a high tolerance that experience mild withdrawal symptoms each morning.
If you feel like that, it’s your body crying for you to take a break.
If you like an occasional cup of coffee or energy drink to get through something, then that’s fine. But if you ever feel like one isn’t working like it used to, you should take a break from caffeine to reset your tolerance, not up the dosage like an addict.
People don’t mean they literally cannot function without having coffee first thing in the morning. It’s just a clishé they say. Drinking coffee in the morning and after lunch is a habit rather than addiction. I don’t drink coffee because I need the energy boost it gives me because it doesn’t. I drink coffee because I like drinking coffee. It’s a moment of relaxation. At worst it’s a habitual addiction rather than a physical one. Also it’s not even particularly bad for you. Some might even say it’s healthy. Within reason ofcourse.
I used to drink two cups of coffee a day, and I did get addicted in that I had headaches when I stopped doing it. (I ran out of beans, and I didn’t bother to buy more. I didn’t know what was causing my headaches until I drank more coffee.)
That being said, it’s not really that bad of an addiction. Like anything there is a point where it gets bad for you. If it makes you behave in a way that’s hostile or mean to other people, that’s definitely an issue. If it gives you withdrawals, it might be worth it to change your habits. You can happily drink it every day if that works for your mind/body. If you’re like me, you’ll develop some dependence on it, but it’s not that big of a deal. It didn’t take long for me to start having it less often without the headaches.
TL;DR: You can be honest with yourself and moderate how much you enjoy caffeine. There’s no reason to get judgmental about other people.
Cliché, possibly 🙃