2-6 p.m. Friday, choose one of four routes through local coffee shops, $25; 1-816-679-2474, caffeinecrawl.com

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However you choose to ingest it, caffeine never goes out of style.

Caffeine Crawl, a traveling coffee klatch of sorts, explores the many intricacies of coffee, tea and chocolate. And it’ll get you wired for the weekend. The event comes to Colorado Springs for the first time on Friday.

The crawl began five years ago in Kansas City, Mo., when founder Jason Burton decided to shine a light on artisanal coffee, tea and chocolate products. He wanted the event to connect baristas, coffee roasters and shop owners to the folks who regularly consume their products.

“I love coffee. I’ve been a barista for about four years in different shops,” says event organizer Sadie Colwell. “My favorite part is the connection that comes through coffee. Making somebody their coffee in the morning is a great thing.”

Eight local shops will participate, including Switchback Coffee Roasters, Fifty Fifty Coffee House, The Coffee Exchange, Colony Class at Mountain Fold Books, The Principal’s Office, The Wild Goose Meeting House, Peak Place Coffeehouse and Radiantly Raw Chocolate.

Attendees will select one of four routes that will hit six of the shops. At each location there will be a 10- to 15- minute presentation and a 2- to 3-ounce sample of coffee, tea or chocolate. A tour guide will be assigned to each route, but attendees will be responsible for their own transportation.

Andy Schlesinger, owner of The Coffee Exchange, plans to share information about the little known white espresso bean. “It’s the same organic coffee bean, but it’s lightly toasted instead of fully roasted,” he says. “It’s a very light tan color and it doesn’t smell or taste like coffee. It has a nutty aroma and some people think it smells like peanut butter. We tell people that’s what it’s going to taste like.”

He’ll offer samples of two of their specialty drinks – White Zombie (white espresso, white chocolate and vanilla) and the Island Zombie (white espresso, coconut and white chocolate).

JENNIFER MULSON, THE GAZETTE, 636-0270, JEN.MULSON@GAZETTE.COM