I've heard several reports of the benefits of giving up coffee from people who were drinking several cups a day. What about moderate consumption? I usually start the day with one double-shot latte, and that's it.
In my experience, the whole caffeine thing works best with small amounts, divided throughout the day, rather than a spike and crash. Besides, for programming you want to be calm-but-alert, not wide-eyed, sweating profusely, and jibber-jabbering.
Whether that means one cup of coffee in the morning and another after lunch, a thermos of green tea over the day, or a couple slightly-caffeinated mints every few hours depends on how your body handles caffeine.
