Brazil Maps DNA of Coffee, Will Use It to Make Better Brew

Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) --

Brazil, the world's biggest coffee producer, said it has decoded the genetic map of the coffee plant and will use the knowledge to produce beans with a richer taste, more aroma and resistance to frost and disease.

"This a jump of at least two decades in the race to unlock the coffee genome," Brazilian Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues said in a statement on his ministry's Web site.

A two-year government project studied 200,000 sequences of coffee DNA and identified 35,000 genes, which in combination give the drink its flavor and aroma, the statement said.


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