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An 'acquired taste' often refers to an appreciation for a food or beverage that is unlikely to be enjoyed by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it, usually because of some unfamiliar aspect of the food or beverage, including a strong or strange odor (e.g. stinky tofu), taste (such as bitter teas or hot spices), or appearance. Acquired taste may also refer to aesthetic tastes, such as taste in music or other forms of art. The relationship between taste in food and taste in art is subject to much discussion.^[1] For more on non-gustatory taste, see the article taste (sociology). A connoisseur is one who is held to be an expert judge of taste in a certain area, for example a coffee connoisseur.
In most cases, this introductory period is considered worthwhile, as many of the world's delicacies are considered to be acquired tastes. For examples of such, a list of acquired tastes is available. In principle, though, anything for which one can have a taste, can also become an acquired taste. It depends on how one comes to have the taste, not what the thing in question is.
Acquired taste is distinguished from ordinary taste in that it stems from a ''decision'' to like something instead of the direct discovery of personal satisfaction. A typical motivation for acquiring taste is an internal conflict between an immediate dissatisfaction with something and an independent belief about the aesthetic value of the thing in question. For instance, one might believe that they ought to like Leonardo's ''Mona Lisa'' because it is considered a great work of art, but they may still not like it. One might have a similar belief about a food like ''sushi.'' Such an individual may believe that their mental state of dislike or indifference ought to change. An acquired taste results from changing that mental state.
Intentionally changing one's preferences can be hard to accomplish. It usually requires a deliberate effort, such as acting as if one likes something in order have the responses and feelings that will produce a new taste.
The process of acquired taste looks very much like a form of ''adaptive preference formation'' (as described by Jon Elster). An individual deliberately changes beliefs in order to make them more compatible with some situation. The famous example is of the fox who states that the grapes high on the vine are too sour for his taste because they are too high to be reached. By changing his taste, he feels better about the fact that he can not reach them. His distaste for sour grapes is an acquired one.^[2]
Of course, it is easy to imagine how acting as if one likes something in order to acquire a taste for it might lead to all sorts of excesses such as self-deception and pretentiousness. ,^[3] The process of acquiring taste may result in stilted and superficial taste rather than more refined or sensitive taste. The challenge becomes one of distinguishing authentic or legitimate acquired tastes resulting from deeply considered preference changes from inauthentic ones motivated by, for example, status or conformism. ^[4]

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References

1. Carolyn Korsmeyer (2002) ''Making Sense of Taste'', Cornell University Press.
2. Elster, Jon, (1983) ''Sour Grapes: Studies in the Subversion of Rationality'', (New York: Cambridge University Press).
3. Kevin Melchionne (2007). "Acquired Taste," ''Contemporary Aesthetics'', http://www.contempaesthetics.org/newvolume/pages/article.php?articleID=485]
4. Bovens, Luc (1992)."Sour Grapes and Character Planning," ''Journal of Philosophy,'' Vol. LXXXIX, No. 2 and (1995). "The Intentional Acquisition of Mental States," ''Philosophy and Phenomenological Research,'' 4: 821-840.