Combined sensory, volatilome and transcriptome analyses identify a limonene terpene synthase as a major contributor to the characteristic aroma of a Coffea arabica L. specialty coffee.

Background: The fruity aromatic bouquet of coffee has attracted recent interest to differentiate high value market produce as specialty coffee. Although the volatile compounds present in green and roasted coffee beans have been extensively described, no study has yet linked varietal molecular differences to the greater abundance of specific substances and support the aroma specificity of specialty coffees.

Results: This study compared four Arabica genotypes including one, Geisha Especial, suggested to generate specialty coffee.