It might be different for a person who was drinking a liter of soda daily. As someone who never drank a lot of soda, I switched to carbonated water when I wanted something more, but didn't want sugar. My significant other (who regularly drinks soda) says carbonated water just tastes "bitter".
It is definitely acquired. I got some Pellegrino but it was bitter, but I had a case to kill, so I drank it anyway. All of a u sudden, it stopped being bitter, and became refreshing.
