The role of caffeine as a chemical defense of coffee against the berry borer Hypothenemus hampei was investigated. No positive correlation was observed between resistance and caffeine content in experiments in which seeds from several coffee species presenting genetic variability for the alkaloid were exposed to adult insects. The same was observed in an experiment with coffee seeds that had their caffeine content doubled by imbibition with caffeine aqueous solutions. Other experiments showed that the attractiveness to insects was not related to the caffeine content of mature fruits. These results indicate that H. hampei has evolved an adaptation to handle the toxic effects of caffeine.