I love everything about coffee — except the sky-high prices. Sick of making bad coffee at home and tired of paying lots of money for someone else to make it for me, I jumped at the chance to learn from people who make coffee for a living. Surely the coffee they make at home doesn't taste like sludge!

Now, having attended Brewing School at a local Starbucks, I feel like my own barista. If only they could teach me how to give myself enough time in the morning to stop and savor a cup.

LESSON 1: YOU CAN TRY THIS AT HOME

Customers at Starbucks in Edgewater, N.J., frequently complain to store manager Milton Velez that they can't make a good cup of coffee. He says: "You can't make great coffee until you know what great coffee is."

Velez sports the coveted black Starbucks apron. That's the reward for passing a rigorous coffee exam administered by district manager Mieke Fonteyn. The two were so determined to teach me all about great coffee that they let me wear one, too.

We made our coffee in a French press because it does not use a paper filter. The fibers in paper absorb flavorful oils and interfere with the marriage between the grind and the water. A French press is a glass carafe with a metal plunger. You boil water separately, place ground coffee in the bottom of the carafe and pour the water over, allowing it to steep briefly. Then place the tight-fitting plunger on top and push it down to trap the grounds against the bottom of the carafe. Easy — and the coffee is delicious. Many high-end restaurants prefer this method.

But you don't have to use a press at home. Some newer coffeemakers have a gold cone filter that eliminates the need for paper. Aside from allowing your coffee to stay more flavorful, they are environmentally friendly and last two years.

LESSON 2: FOUR FUNDAMENTALS: PROPORTION, GRIND, WATER AND FRESHNESS

Two tablespoons of coffee should be used for every six ounces of water.

"People are usually shocked by the amount of grind that this turns out to be," Velez said, "but not using enough grind will impact the final result."

When using a press, the grind should be coarse, so the water will extract as much flavor as possible. A finer grind, normally used for espresso, allows the water to pass through the press too easily and will result in a weak taste. A drip coffeemaker, however, will accommodate any size grind.

Since water is 98 percent of your cup of coffee, the better the quality of water, the better the taste. Velez recommends using bottled water unless your tap water is particularly fine-tasting. Second-best is filtered tap water. Heat the water to just below boiling; the ideal temperature for brewing is 199 degrees to 201 degrees F.

Freshness is critical. Opened ground coffee should be kept in an airtight container away from sunlight and should be discarded after seven days. Best is to grind fresh before each brewing; store whole beans in a cool, dark place or in the freezer.

"Would you keep a loaf of bread for seven days? People should think of (ground) coffee in the same way," Fonteyn said.

Whole beans in a sealed package stay good indefinitely, but the second the bag is opened, moisture in the air causes the coffee to begin to "brew."

In a French press, allow the coffee to brew in the hot water for four minutes. For other coffeemakers, the normal brewing cycle will suffice.

LESSON 3: CHEW ON YOUR BREW

Tasting involves four steps: smell, slurp, identify and describe. No milk or sugar allowed!

While I cupped my nose with one hand and held the small cup with the other, Velez instructed me to take in the aroma. (It smelled like coffee!) Once my olfactory nodes were satisfied, Velez instructed me to slurp.

Slurp? Was he serious? "Slurping allows the taste of the coffee to permeate your mouth and linger, allowing you to consider the aftertaste and the overall experience," Velez explained, noticing my trepidation.

Though somewhat awkward and definitely not ladylike, slurping (taking in air with your coffee) did allow me to "identify" the nuttiness, fruitiness and overall strength of the three blends of coffee sampled (and trust me, I'm no foodie). How well you'll be able to do this depends on the sensitivity of your palate, but almost everyone can identify the broad character of a coffee — whether it's bitter or sweet, what flavors it may yield up.

It's best to begin your slurping and tasting with a milder brew, like a coffee from Latin America, and work your way toward the stronger flavors in Asian and Hawai'i-grown coffees so as not to overwhelm your senses.

The last step required me to describe each sample so I'd remember how it's supposed to taste when I make it myself.

Throughout the process, Velez encouraged me to sample bits of chocolate cupcake before the coffee aftertaste left my mouth. Flavors like chocolate enhance the taste of coffee, allowing the taster to better understand the experience. It's also a great excuse to eat chocolate.

No matter what accompanying treat you choose, be sure it's complementary: Orange slices are to be avoided.

LESSON 4: TIPS AND TRICKS

Velez explained that bad coffee is most often the result of one of the above steps gone awry.

If you do use a filter, choose a real filter and not a paper towel, which absorbs almost all the flavor of the grind.

Another common problem is an unclean coffeemaker. Try using a cup of hot water mixed with a cup of vinegar to loosen the calcium deposits that may be clogging the drip. Let the coffeepot soak a bit, then run water through once again to get rid of any lingering vinegar taste. This should be done every three months.