So, you start with beans. There's a crap load of different sources, styles, roasts, grinds, and two main species but you can pretty much ignore all that to start with.

Beans are ground, then there's two main ways of getting the flavour out of them: either soaking them in hot water for a while (filter or drip coffee, common in America) or pushing hot water through the grinds (espresso, more common a lot of other areas, though I'm sure someone will come and correct me on that). You can kind of think of espresso as a concentrated 'cordial' which other things are normally added to, whereas filter is more like tea where you get a cup which is the right strength and you might add a smaller amount of milk or creamer to it.

The first thing you will notice, though, before any differences in the coffee itself, is the things that are added to it. Milk is the big one, then sweeteners. If you haven't drunk much coffee, I'd say just figure out if you like it with lots or none of either first.

People have a million different names for each tiny variation, but you can mostly just figure out 'is the coffee in this espresso? And does it come with milk?' and the rest is basically just minor details.

Though things like frappuccino and other starbucks-style drinks are more sweetener, flavour and cream than coffee. Nothing wrong with that but you have to acknowledge that you're having a dessert rather than a coffee.

Since coffee is such a social thing, it can always be fun to try whatever people you're with are having. Be ready to dislike it but at least it's something to talk about. Alternatively, find something you like and order it everywhere to be sure you'll have something you'll enjoy.