A new Seattle walking tour lets you sample and shop for coffee treats

Savor Seattle Tours founder Angela Shen has launched Coffee Bites and Sights, a new downtown walking tour of all things related to coffee, from caffeinated cocktails to cacao (which shares a growing region with coffee beans), with a hearty sprinkling of Seattle history thrown in for local flavor.

The new tour, which kicked off last week, joins Savor Seattle's existing offerings: Gourmet Seattle, Pike Place Market and Off the Beaten Path, which lead foodies all around the city on two- to three-hour jaunts of culinary discovery.

Coffee Bites and Sights is a great excursion for out-of-town guests and Seattleites alike. On a recent media preview of the tour, I learned the real location of the first Starbucks store (which is not where I thought it was) and whose beans the company sold there (hint: not their own).

Shen passes on her local knowledge while deftly walking backwards, holding an umbrella and keeping up an entertaining repartee, which includes more details than I ever thought I'd know about "Grey's Anatomy." Each participant gets a personal audio device with a range of 150 feet, so it's easy to listen along.

The tour starts at Oliver's Lounge in the Mayflower Hotel, heads west on Olive Way to Caffe D'Arte for some coffee education, then on to The Chocolate Box on Pine Street to sample the magic that occurs when coffee and chocolate merge.

The next stop is The Confectional in Pike Place Market for rich mocha cheesecake, followed by samples of delicious and innovative coffee at Starbucks.

A quick trip on the Monorail delivers participants to lower Queen Anne, where the tour takes a savory twist with a unique coffee-rubbed cheese from the Cheese Cellar. The final destination is the Space Needle for a delicious nibble of meltingly tender Mocha Braised Short Ribs at Sky City restaurant.

The pace of the tour is brisk and doesn't really leave time to shop, but participants receive a discount card good at all the stops, so they can keep a list of the things they like at each location, then return afterwards for a discount on their purchases.

The tour is geared toward coffee and the people who love it, but non-coffee drinkers can request substitutions at each stop. Just be sure to tell Savor Seattle of your preference when you book your reservation.

Coffee Bites and Sights is $69 per person and lasts about two and a half hours. Kids two and younger are allowed on the tour for free, but no strollers, please. For more information, visit www.savorseattletours.com. 

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