Genetic Control of the Caffeine Content of Coffee

CAFFEINE is one of the main constituents of the coffee bean. In spite of the existence of a limited but expanding market for decaffeinated coffee, most people still seem to prefer the normal product with caffeine. So important is the caffeine in coffee that Chevalier1 separated all 18 coffee species of Madagascar and Mascarene Islands into a special section Mascarocoffea, on the basis of the presence, or absence, of caffeine. On the other hand, the Eucoffea section, which includes the cultivated coffee species, comprises only species with caffeine.