I gradually acquired the taste of both. In the case of coffee, I was with a friend who ordered a mocha frappuccino at Starbucks. He said, "You want one too?" I said, "Sure." It was awesome, and I got hooked. Winter rolled around, and it was too cold to order frozen drinks, so I started ordering hot mocha coffees. I eventually realized that I could just make coffee at home, tried drinking it black, and really enjoyed it. Now it's part of my routine.

In the case of beer, I started with Guinness (again, with friends at pub in London). Despite the appearance, it's an easy beer to drink. After a while I started trying other beers, and then eventually got into the craft beer stuff.