[Coda]

Actually I rather like most of the menu at McDonald's. It's obviously a guilty pleasure because it's not good for you at all, and their regular hamburgers are kinda bland, but aside from that and the coffee it's not bad.

As for ordering at Starbucks... They just made up fancy names for their sizes. Relative to common soft drink sizes, "tall" is very small (12oz), "grande" is small (16oz), "venti" is medium (20-24oz depending on the drink), and "trenta" is large (30oz).

Frappuccinos are definitely things you can feel safe ordering in terms of flavor, because it's BASICALLY like a milkshake. They're also ridiculously loaded with sugar and will ruin your diet. >.>;

Straight espresso is NOT something you want to order if you don't know what you like. It's worth trying, because you MIGHT like it, but it's VERY strong -- it's served in shots, not cups. So don't order espresso unless you're willing to take a gamble on whether or not you like it. (Me, I like it, but Starbucks charges way too much for the straight shots; something you can add to a drink for $0.60 costs twice that if you want to order it straight?)

Cafe Americano is espresso plus hot water. It's roughly the strength of normal brewed coffee, but it's got a different flavor. It's a little sweeter and a little bolder. You can also order it iced, which is basically the espresso poured over ice cubes so that they melt into a cold drink.

Cappuccino is a bittersweet drink. It's espresso plus steamed milk and frothed milk.

Cafe Latte is espresso plus steamed milk. The flavor is similar to but milder than cappuccino. It's considered a good starter drink if you don't know what to order.

Cafe Mocha is a latte with dark chocolate added to it. It's one of the sweetest traditional espresso drinks, and it's also a good starter drink.

A flat white is similar to a cappuccino, except the espresso is made differently and the proportions are different. It's sweeter and richer than cappuccino, but not overly sweet. It's one of my favorite drinks. It's... also rather expensive. The way I order it (venti, with mocha syrup) rings up at over $6.

But basically, yeah, if you don't know what you want to order, a mocha is pretty safe, or a latte if you want something less sweet.