There still seems to be this underlying feeling among many that every cup of coffee you find in Seattle is one made of gold. That opinion might be somewhat hyperbolic, but there is little doubt that Seattle has a true coffee culture, something we'd like to see in Spokane.

So, how well do three coffee shops—one recommended to us, one random, and one a predictable choice—stack up to those over-the-moon expectations? We investigated by grabbing an Americano at each spot.

Espresso Vivace

The recommended one, and I have little doubt they know how to make a good cup of coffee here. They apparently do have a great reputation. My experience was sadly a bit off, and I'd rank the espresso shots up with a high-end Spokane coffee shack.

This had a sour taste and was frankly far off from what I had expected. Very disappointing and I'd have a hard time recommending Vivace from my experience.

Bauhaus Books & Coffee

I tried this spot a few years back, and remembered it when rather randomly passing it again. The interiors here are awesome, and Bauhaus is just a cool spot to hang out in.

The coffee, meanwhile, was not quite up to par. From what I could gather, the grounds weren't evenly tampered as the coffee came out in stops and spurts. Coffee shack quality came to mind again.

Still, it did taste marginally better than Vivace, and it's hard to beat the interiors here. You can sit around feeling intellectual, and wonder what would have been, had the Nazis not shut down Bauhaus (the original school). Oh, so deep. So, so deep.

Stumptown

I suppose it's a bit of a slap in Seattle's face that the best cup came from Portland, but regardless, good is good, and Stumptown pulled great shots of espresso. I'd count this as one of the better cups I've recently had, and would gladly go back here.

In fact, I liked this well enough to pick up a bag of their coffee. If there was one thing we found odd, it was the tasting notes on the bag that compare the flavor of the beans to iced tea.

But I digress: Stumptown was excellent, a spot that truly lives up to its reputation.

As for Seattle, there are dozens of other spots with stellar reputation to try. As Vivace proved, though, you never know what you'll find and even reputable places can have consistency issues.