stir stir stir

The first time I saw this scene from Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, I kept waiting for the dramatic reason why Robert De Niro was taking forever to stir his coffee.  (No, it's not a Guinness Book record like the YouTube spoof claims or even 8 hours long, but it was certainly long enough.)  The spoon circled round and round and the suspense built and the questions formed -- did he think it was poisoned?  Was he going to fling it in someone's face?  Was he stalling for time or was it just really hot coffee?

It turned out that De Niro a/k/a Noodles' stirring was a bit of a control thing and not overly integral to the plot, but as an hours-long epic film, the movie had room for expansive coffee and character moments.  Lately my own favorite espresso blend to stir and stir is Ferrara's Café Espresso, originating from NYC's century-old Ferrara Café, a can of which somehow ended up in Chicago for me to buy on sale for $4.99.  I haven't even been using an espresso machine but instead am making big 10 ounce cups with a Melitta drip cone and filter -- it's smooth enough for that method, yet also a nice morning or late afternoon eye-opener.