I tried coffee for the first time — for 15 minutes I felt like a completely different person

If there's one thing in life I'm jealous of, it's people who drink coffee. I've lost count of the number of times I've gone to someone's house or out for 'coffee dates' only for my companion to be left horrified when I place my usual order of a Diet Coke.

Sadly, I have never been a hot drinks person, always opting instead for water, juice or fizzy drinks over a cup of tea or coffee.

The thing is, on paper, I should love it; I have a toddler, a busy schedule, frequent late nights and a partner whose specialist subject on Mastermind would undoubtedly be coffee in all its many forms. But even in the depths of the many sleep regressions that made up my daughter's first year of life, I never once turned to coffee.

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I've tried a tiny sip here and there over the years and have always been immediately repulsed by the taste. The fact that I also don't particularly like milk doesn't help matters either.

But in the spirit of broadening my horizons, I decided to finally give the drink a proper try. When I asked some of my coffee-drinking friends and colleagues which coffee I should try, they all said flat white.

My understanding was a flat white is essentially a latte, but with a higher proportion of espresso to milk. With hindsight, maybe not the most beginner-friendly coffee.

I'm sure many people would say my second mistake was opting for a coffee from Pausa, Dunelm's in-store café. And while I agree there are probably far better places to buy coffee from, I was in Dunelmwith two coffee drinkers, so it just made sense in the moment.

After sitting down with my coffee (and a back-up glass of water), I was feeling optimistic; it had an appealing smell and it actually looked quite nice. But from the moment it first touched my lips, I knew that was where the positives would end.

All I could taste was bitterness, so after soldiering through three mouthfuls, I tried adding some sugar to see if it would make it any more palatable. Alas, it did not, and I actually liked it even less with the sugar.

Thinking a different coffee would perhaps be better, I tried my companion's cappuccino. This was no better; I clearly do not have the taste buds for coffee.

Taste aside, what I will say is, for a short time, I felt more awake than I have done in years. My eyes were wider, I was full of energy and truly felt like I could take on the world.

But sadly, five sips can only take you so far, and 15 minutes later I once again felt mortal, and very tired.

After reflecting on my experience, I decided to go out the next day and try again. This time, I opted for a local independent coffee shop and bought a mocha, thinking the addition of chocolate might soften the blow of the coffee and milk just enough for me to tolerate it.

After letting it cool down for a little while and spilling it down my favourite sweatshirt, I cautiously took my first sip and was amazed to discover I loved the taste. I don't drink any hot drinks, so hot chocolate is also a no for me usually, but the combination of coffee and the chocolate somehow really worked for me.

I finished the whole cup, and cannot wait to actually order a coffee on my next trip out, though it might be a while before I try a flat white again. Iced frappuccino anyone?